Problem

[tiberius]

Hello there,

I was wondering if anyone has got a good solution to this problem.
I know someone who is an excellent vocalist and he has some good songs.
He'd like to record an album but he has no money.
I have a home studio so could record him and make a great album.
How do I make sure I get paid once the thing is finished and starts selling
on itunes or wherever.
Is it a good idea to have me play on the songs too and have him record
one or two of my songs on the album?

thanks for your time.
cheers

[TonyB]

That's always a tough one.

One route to go is the "points" system where you get a percentage of the sales. Obviously this is risky option, especially if the artist doesn't sell as many songs as you both had hoped. You can do it informally (written agreement) or formally (via publishing the song...you have a share of the copyrights).

In fact, I don't know of any other way to go. Yes, you can participate in the recordings as a session player, but still, you'd be banking on getting a percentage of the sales.

[paul999]

I face this problem too Tiberius. My solution which is not bad but I would love something better is this. Never do a straight royalty deal. The most I ever do is charge 25% of my normal rate. I then have an agreement to get the rest paid back over the course of the next year regardless if there are sales or not. Plus I get royalties for any song writing. The studio get paid with 100% of the profits of the album until the bill is paid or the monthly payment is made which ever is greater. This is much easier to purse legally. If they can't put 25% down they are not good enough with money that you can trust to do a royalty deal with them.

[brandondrury]

It's a tough balance between working with the best talent and making dollars. You MUST have great talent in front of the mic to come out with anything standable. That part is everything!

If you goal is to make money, you need at least 2 different mixes (which you've gotten right) of great talent. If you don't, you will never make any cash. PERIOD.

So my prime motivation would be to get those demonstrations of your work to show your capabilies particularly if you want to make money recording. If you don't care about making money that is another story.

If you already have the good demos of your work, there is no point to making a free album unless you just want to. If you believe in what this guy is doing, there is something to working for free.

However, if you think you are going to get any kick back down the road from this guy, the odds are against you. I hate to say, "It ain't gonna happen", but.......well, it probably ain't gonna happen. Be prepared for it. There just isn't much value in a round thing a year after the fact. Work up front or don't work at all.

Another option is to have this guy work off the debt by doing stuff for you. What stuff? Whatever. This has been a good way for me to have labor that I trade for recording.

Brandon

[whomper]

Originally Posted by tiberius

Hello there,

I was wondering if anyone has got a good solution to this problem.
I know someone who is an excellent vocalist and he has some good songs.
He'd like to record an album but he has no money.
I have a home studio so could record him and make a great album.
How do I make sure I get paid once the thing is finished and starts selling
on itunes or wherever.
Is it a good idea to have me play on the songs too and have him record
one or two of my songs on the album?

thanks for your time.
cheers

run run run !!!!!!!!! far far far away !!!!!!!!!!!
as fast fast fast as you can !!!!!!!!!!

you are not going to make any money unless they pay you up front

if you want to risk it then get a signed contract
and have a clause that an auditor checks the books quarterly
and you get your check within ten days
and that you get paid a percent of the gross not the net

but with itunes or wherever your income will be squat
(do you even know where that whereever is at ???)

do it free for the fun/experience
else GET YOUR MONEY UP FRONT

get all your time and expenses paid for
then get a commission from the GROSS sales to pay you for your artistic and unquantifiable contributions (like making the album great). not sure your songs matter at all.

who says the songs are good?
who cares??
the question is will they SELL ????

there are several billion good singers out there
why is this guy going to make the big money instead of them ?

who is going to underwrite the production, publicity, distribution, etc. ???