Not sure whether to sign...

[girasoledonna]

Hey,So i got forwarded and then contacted by the head of A&R at a little label with big ties to a major european distributor and Song/BMG. They said they wanted to use two of my songs on a compilation CD to be distributed overseas, but when I got the contract it wasn't your standard compliation CD contract. It was a 5 year deal with the territory being stated as "Europe" (strange) and had the rights to all of my publishing, and master rights - copyrights. Yet the contract didn't seem to state what they had to do in return. I was just wondering if anyone out there got forwarded for this listing? Major artists Duffy and Amy Winehouse are supposed to be on the CD. Looking for advice on whether to sign... and getting conflicting info about the director from TAXI and my attorney..- Girasoledonna

[stephen1977]

I have yet to get anything forwarded... ...I just joined... ...BUT... ...like any contract, I would highly advise having a lawyer look at it.A few years back I scored a song in a film and immediately took the contract to the lawyer and he found a few things that I overlooked and ultimately we had them changed to seal the deal. This can get pricey, so be sure your take is going to outweigh lawyer costs for sure.But, don't take advice on contracts from ANYBODY unless they are a lawyer. IMHO

[hummingbird]

Sept 24, 2008, 5:44am, stephen1977 wrote:But, don't take advice on contracts from ANYBODY unless they are a lawyer. IMHOThat pretty much says it. Only thing we can offer is an opinion. Take the advice of your entertainment lawyer and politely write back to the company and ask for the changes you desire. You have to weigh up the advantages of having a publishing credit & having songs on a CD being distributed in Europe, getting songwriting royalities & mechanicals... against what is being offered. I would bulk at master rights if they are using your recordings on the CD. If they are recording the songs, then the masters do belong to them.