What to do ????

[adad]

As my tag implies I am a DAD.My minor daughter created a demo and has mailed it to about 50 smaller "A and R registry " listed companies.She chose smaller ones just to get feedback on quality, appearance of package etc. We expectd no real responses.As of this writing we have gotten 7 "firm" responses. 2 were just weird or at least un usual, 2 want to meet with her in person to discuss a development deal. ( of course a parent is involved)And 2 have sent actual "development deal memos" to her with a third to followAll in the last 3 weeks.SO we have been zooming the internet trying to get information, most of which is very negative and cautionary.Do any of you folks have advise ?

[hookstownbrown]

Heed the caution warnings. Think about joining a legit service like Taxi.Like any career, you have to spend money in the right places to find success in the right places.Best wishes...

[gitarrero]

well, what exactly do these firms offer..? contracts with "developement deal" as title but you have to pay for the demo/promo cost's?can you put an mp3 online of what your daugther sent so we can give it a listen?

[Casey H]

Get the name of a good entertainment attorney in your area and don't do anything without their guidance. The fact that you got so much interest after unsolicited mailings is very good! . But, you have to be cautious since there are both very legitimate and not-so-legitimate folks out there. Consulting with a reputable entertainment attorney is the best thing you can do to protect your daughter.Good luck! Keep us posted! Casey

[booker]

Read the fine print. You really shouldn't have to pay for anything. Casey is right, Find a good entertainment lawyer.

[ddusty]

Yes, I am with Casey and Scott.First thing is the Entertainment Lawyer. They should be able to tell you what the pros and cons of each deal are.In the mean time, I would be snooping around the intergoogle looking for any info on the companies involved.hopefully there are some legitimate deals in there!Good Luck,Rob

[guscave]

As Casey and others have mentioned, do not sign anything until an entertainment lawyer has reviewed it, especially if they are requiring you to part with your money. Unfortunately with ease that folks today can record a song and put it online, there is a growing number of scammers out there taking advantage of the dreams of the "un-informed". It is very rare that a legitimate company will offer a deal off an unsolicited submission (that doesn't mean it can't happen), so be extra careful.

[adad]

don't know if I should update or reply to my own thread...here goes quick summary..the deals on the table want no $$ up front. Willing to produce an album of 12-15 songs. Market, glad hand, even website.They will provide material, to which she can contribute etc...She does not yet have her own material...What they want is piece of an advance or reimbursement in the form of a percentage of any of her sales if there is a cd/albumdeal, We are free from expense if there is no dealsIt seems they want to a tie in as a producer to her album, almost like she is their ticket to a big name label if the label likes her and them.Or if the label likes her not them, they get a piece of her first record(s).They want excluisivity for at least 18 months ( which I think is too long)Lastly they want complete ownership of masters, which I don't quite get, other than it seems to me that if she does well with a song, the owner of the master could re-mix it, sell it to a movie or to karaokee whatever...regardless of her wishes and the record people pay the producer not her for the rights.....Which I have some issues with if she is the reason the song takes off even if she did not write or auther music or lyrics.

[sgs4u]

Quote:don't know if I should update or reply to my own thread...of course you should, how will we know what happens next?Quote:here goes quick summary..the deals on the table want no $$ up front. Willing to produce an album of 12-15 songs. Market, glad hand, even website.I don't know why anyone needs 12-15 songs. Only labels need that after they're READY to go to market with an artistQuote:They will provide material, to which she can contribute etc...She does not yet have her own material...producer's generally want this, when they do entire records, but they also usually have pressure on them, from who they have to answer. Your guy has none yet, except his own reputationQuote:What they want is piece of an advance or reimbursement in the form of a percentage of any of her sales if there is a cd/albumdeal, We are free from expense if there is no dealswell, if he covers costs (find out how much exactly), then he oughtt to expect some kind of return on his investment. I would suggest making it absolutely clear that the producer can only earn from this CD he's proposing. No strings tied to anything except the profits from that one record. Quote:It seems they want to a tie in as a producer to her album, almost like she is their ticket to a big name label if the label likes her and them.this is a very good guess, on your part, but there might be nothing wrong with that. A label doesn't really ever give a crap about anyone else except the artist, they don't usually want the strings attachedQuote:Or if the label likes her not them, they get a piece of her first record(s). A label will look to maximize its profit potential, by making sure the record is as marketable as it can be. But if the label has 12 other young girls waiting in the wings, ready to go, the label deal will be moot anyway, because your daughter's CD will wait in line to be released, and by the time 2 years goes by, whoever signed her(the label exec)to the label in the first place, could easily be fired or have moved on. Whoever replaces that guy, will have his own stable and priorities, as far as who he's focused on releasing.Quote:They want excluisivity for at least 18 months ( which I think is too long)exclusively to what exactly - matters more than just the phrase you written.There is a lot of "hurry up, no wait a minute," in the business of breaking artists. 18 months isn't really that long, but it will be if the situation sucks. Ask your producer if he can suggest some reading material, or some thing to get an idea where he is pointing you. That will tell you a little bit about how informed he actually wants you to be. Quote:Lastly they want complete ownership of masters, which I don't quite get, other than it seems to me that if she does well with a song, the owner of the master could re-mix it, sell it to a movie or to karaokee whatever...regardless of her wishes and the record people pay the producer not her for the rights.....well if they pay to get a record done, it could easily cost 20 - 50 K. They own the masters by virtue of having to pay to get it completed. Unless there is a different agreement in placeQuote:Which I have some issues with if she is the reason the song takes off even if she did not write or author music or lyrics.you could stipulate that they have no right to release anything whatsoever without your consent. I guarantee you a label won't want any unreleased indie CD competing with their own product, a couple of years after they make your daughter a star.welcome to the world of making records tho. It's a great opportunioty you have in front of you. Many of us here are really songwriters, and don't have a lot of experience in matters of production deals for their own children. The advice you get here, will usually have a songwriter's slant to it, which is not neccessarily the right advice for your daughter, the ARTIST.I would suggest reading Confessions of a Record Producer, by Moses Avalon. Even he is a difficult read, because he's very cynical about anyone's motives. Whoever you are dealing with right now as producer/manager, will have some reasons for wanting to do the things the way he is suggesting. Try to understand your own producer's perspective. Ask lots of questions, you'll get a clear vibe. Trust your gut. Especially if there is anything the guy DOESN'T want to talk about. Almost every music business relationship has a shelf life. Including those with labels. This guy may be able to move your daughter up the ladder, but you will all want to be clear about what happens when the partnership needs to be dissolved. Because it will, eventually. The producer is looking out for his best interests, the same as you're looking out for your daughter's. He's not automatically evil, and he likely cares about you and your family.I would make a decision about allowing my kids to work with someone, based on how much I like the producer's parenting style. If he's not at all willing to babysit your daughter, and hold her hand the same way you would... well then, ask yourself what kind of human, do I want teaching my child about the music business. A cigar smoking son of a B behind a big desk, well... A 46 yr old(like me) hipster trying to sound like he's 19, well i'd be suspicious of that too. A 19 yr old trying to get his foot in the door, using your daughter, wellBut you can't judge a book by the cover. You have to figure out if the producer(s) are actually able to juggle both your daughter's goals, and their own goals. I realize my take on how the music world operates - may be very far away from the reality you're facing. There are always mistakes made, how we recover or use the lessons, matters more than the mistakes. If she wants to be in front of people singing, that's a wonderful way to live a life. Making records is not the same business. There isn't as much internal joy in the physical aspect of making and selling records, IMHP. Do I actually know that my advice matters? I can tell you clearly, I have no experience other than what I've read and heard about. What actually matters, is that you create a trusting relationship with someone you think is gonna bust his ass to do a fantastic job. Without a fantastic job, the whole making a CD thing won't matter much. Nobody will pay much attention to a CD that is kind of good, but not great. There are so many millions of unopened boxes of CD's gathering dust in basements. I have some too. Failed experiments. Failures usually teaches a lot more more than success does. Congratulations getting this far. And thanks for bringing your situation for some of us to have a look at.steve

[davewalton]

Quote:don't know if I should update or reply to my own thread...here goes quick summary..the deals on the table want no $$ up front. Willing to produce an album of 12-15 songs. Market, glad hand, even website.They will provide material, to which she can contribute etc...She does not yet have her own material...What they want is piece of an advance or reimbursement in the form of a percentage of any of her sales if there is a cd/albumdeal, We are free from expense if there is no dealsIt seems they want to a tie in as a producer to her album, almost like she is their ticket to a big name label if the label likes her and them.Or if the label likes her not them, they get a piece of her first record(s).They want excluisivity for at least 18 months ( which I think is too long)Lastly they want complete ownership of masters, which I don't quite get, other than it seems to me that if she does well with a song, the owner of the master could re-mix it, sell it to a movie or to karaokee whatever...regardless of her wishes and the record people pay the producer not her for the rights.....Which I have some issues with if she is the reason the song takes off even if she did not write or auther music or lyrics.I think it gets back to the entertainment attorney thing. I'll say upfront that I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of artist deals. I just do film/television instrumentals and that's a different world.In the most basic sense what you DON'T want is someone who says that they'll do whatever they say they're going to do but you have to pay for "demos" or "development" or whatever. From your description it sounds like what I would generally expect. They make the investment and then hope for a return. Exclusivity is part of that. No one would sink a bunch of money into an artist where anyone else could also get a piece of the pie. The time frame doesn't seem unreasonable because it takes a lot of time to make this all happen. In my corner of the world, two to five years isn't unusual or cause for alarm. I don't know about the masters specifically but I don't believe that many, if any, artists own the masters to their albums. Still, these things that you mention are all part of an "agreement", something that an entertainment attorney is well versed in, what's normal, what's not. It's not just the legalise but also the familiarity with the industry in general and how things are done in the legitimate world. Kind of like a tour guide in a foreign city. I think that equally as important as not getting "taken" is to make sure that you don't pass up a good opportunity. The latter could be WAY more expensive and heartbreaking than the former. Promise that you'll contact an entertainment attorney ASAP to help guide you through this so as to avoid either of those last two scenerios. Good luck and congratulations if indeed this pans out in one way or another. Thank you... that'll be 75% of the gross. Dave