Hi all,
my son creates a kind of minimal techno/house tracks and loads them up to soundcloud. We are both unexperienced in the field of publishing music - let alone trying to earn money on it.
He received an offer from a label mojoheadz records (I found their homepage also in the internet). They see some potential in his demos and wrote him that he could get a professional mastering vor USD 55 and they would send a contract - sharing effort and profits in the future 50:50. Now I feel quite irritated and have some questions:
It is somehow strange to not see the real ccontract before paying.
Are 55 bucks a fair price for a pro mastering of a track?
Does anyone know the mentioned label and their business practices?
and
What alternatives are there - just in case?
My questions might be naive - well - yes- concerning this type of business I am/we are really naive.
In general, if ANYONE asks for money up front then walk away!
It’s not too hard to set up your own publishing which, you can then licence out if/when the time is right.
There’s plenty of info on the web, but it’s quite involved and deep, it’s a good idea to at least familiarise yourselves with at least some basic understanding.
It’s worth getting the services of an Entertainment Lawyer to read over ANY contracts prior to signing. It might seem like an annoying expense NOW, but could save you a LOT over time.
It’s so easy to get material out there now that MOST of the ‘services’ a record company has to offer are neither here nor there but, a decent company will be skilled and have many channels to promote the material, which is the REAL power they still hold.
many thanks for your hints and thoghts! This is very helpful.
To add something to my original posting: In the meantime the label has sent a very accurate contract form without asking for any committment or money in advance. They even told us without any hint from our side that it would be a good idea to let a lawyer check the contract in order to avoid any misunderstanding. The contract is btw. also quite clear about their efforts to promote the material on a lot of channels.
We will follow your advice and let everything double check so that we dont tap into any traps.