Artist Contracts

When leaning how to start and run an independent record label, you are going to come across the business side and contracts. In your artist contracts with your artist, the main thing to consider is what you are going to commit to do for them. Also, you want to define what you want them to give in return. For example, you may be able to offer a commitment as to how many singles or albums you will release and when. You may also want to explain how much you can spend on recording and promoting their records. Lastly, you define what sort of royalty, which is the percentage of the sales or the profits,  you will pay them.

While exploring how to start a record label and write contract you will discover that in return you may want the artist to commit to recording exclusively for your company for a certain period and producing an agreed amount of material – amount to produce. Also they need to assign you the rights to their recordings and do an agreed amount of promotional work.

The absolute basics of a simple agreement would set out how profits are going to be split between artist and record company. Or you can split them equally between business partners or the members of a band. For example, you could agree to recoup all the money spent on the recording and split any profits after that equally. This will all be learned throughtout the process of how to start an independent label.

At least coming to a simple arrangement like this and making a written record of it will put into place a contract, so that every body knows where they stand on this basic point.With more complex agreements, you will probably require an artist contract to make it enforceable. You should also advise your artist to take their own independent legal advice on the artist contract . Some music industry professionals would recommend you use a specialist media or entertainment lawyer to draw this up for you but others would agree that you could do this on your own with proper guidance. Learning how to start and run an indpendent label doesn’t have to be an impossible feat and learning about contracts doesn’t have to be either!

If my title is not cynical, what can I possibly mean when funds are being cut to non-profits, when people look twice at the cost of theater tickets and stay home to watch broadcast television, when even masterpieces fail to bring in money for Christies? All luxury or nonessential purchases like books and art will be scaled back. Strapped corporations and executives are dumping their vanity collections onto the prestige auction houses who are seeing prices and attendance fall precipitously. Many small art-related businesses will fail, including bookstores, small theater companies, galleries, even museums. Surely this is a time for a great wailing to arise in the land of the creatives, who have already pinned their last hopes on a new W.P.A program that will surely be announced soon.

So why in Picasso’s name would this be a good time to be an artist or writer? Letâ??s start with Bush or should I say Bush-hating. Artists and writers have been a disproportionate amount of effort â??fighting the man.â? The stance, however justified, made it easy to structure plots and feel good about poorly realized efforts because the artist was focused on the urgent need to topple the evil regime. How much subtlety was required?

With a new dynamic Democratic administration firmly gripping power in Washington, there is no longer a need to waste any more effort haranguing the public about the war in Iraq, and his other unpopular positions. Soon â??hisâ? mistakes will be â??ourâ? mistakes as Democrats innovate and/or borrow from the previous administration and we will only have our own to blame. Only the farthest left of us (like the ones already unhappy with Obamaâ??s practicality) will continue to use artistic outrage as their main source for inspiration.

 I am hoping the whole concept of â??artist as politicianâ? phase will come to an end. Sure, we can still support our causes of global warming, corporatism, land mines, and nuclear disarmament if we like, but adults in Washington will be doing their best to represent the constituencies that have promoted these causes. We no longer will have to shout at them, though there is no guarantee that we will like their solutions or pace. Nevertheless, artists will find the protest stance somewhat emptier, somewhat less compelling and, hopefully will be moving on to new, less knee-jerk, less repetitive, less strident content.

Back to the issue of business failures in the art community. Itâ??s not that I think the art world is too fat and will benefit from a crash diet, but itâ??s worth thinking about who the market for art has been and who it might become. Art has been, in a sense, also feeding at the trough of the high finance world. How many people can afford a painting over say $10,000 (and Iâ??m stretching here). Clearly the middle class doesnâ??t buy much original art. Why not? Because the content (often incomprehensible but supported by museums and academics) is largely non-compelling to average people.

In the literary world, where the readership is shrinking, agents and publishers are running scared. They want another J. K. Rowling phenomenon but arenâ??t sure where and how to find it. Meanwhile a tsunami of self publishers and bloggers are going around the publishing world for their reading. Both the sellers and makers of art need to accept this challenge. If they have something to say, how should they say it and where? New forms, hybrids and experiments are springing up and the world of criticism (e.g. The New York Times Book Review) are holding up their noses in hopes that the riff-raff will all go away soon and everyone will return to network television, Broadway shows and industry-picked â??geniusesâ? in the print world. Thatâ??s not going to happen. People are entertaining themselves in new ways, from YouTube, to bloggers, to game designers, to â??low-browâ? art that embraces illustrators, graffiti artists and tattooists as â??realâ? artists. Some see this as a devastating collapse of â??highâ? culture, I see it as evidence that in many ways the arts have not been doing their job.

 Music might be an exception as well as an example. While mainstream media continues to site declining CD sales something weâ??re supposed to fret about, an explosion of interest in music is happening all over the world. The internet is allowing us to create our own custom radio stations (e.g. Pandora), iTunes is making it easier to buy exactly what we want, and portable music devices have freed us from Big Radio and Big Music companies. This is partly because, unlike say painting or the literary novel (the bad ones not the good ones), the general public has never given up its love of music and never will. So music will lead the way. Will there be fewer superstar groups but more people creating the music they love? I hope so. Will it be difficult to find the new geniuses if they are not picked out of the crowd and promoted by Big Music? Maybe, maybe not. Most likely the internet will evolve forms of self criticism which will allow more diverse music to survive as the cost of getting that music to the public continues to decline. Overall will less money go to music because people are used to getting it free? Maybe. Inevitably good stuff costs money, think organic produce. People pay more everyday for both the label and the confidence in its quality and taste, even if they canâ??t prove it or taste it.

People will pay to be entertained. Collecting original art on a small scale could conceivably be something people do again once their more confident of their taste. How many people worry about their taste in music needing outside experts to tell them whether or not itâ??s good? I know what I like is the rule. In fact, for millions, if its popular itâ??s already time to dig deeper and find the creatives (the new new) that have already been there and done that and are now doing something altogether new.

 So we might be on the edge of a burst in creativity. Iâ??ll make my final point be referencing an economically difficult but extremely creative period another country experienced: The Weimar Republic. This from Wikipedia:

â??The 1920s saw a massive cultural revival in Germany. It was, arguably, the most innovative period of cultural change in Germany. Innovative street theatre brought plays to the public, the cabaret scene became very popular. Women were americanised, wearing makeup, short hair, smoking and breaking out of tradition. Music was created with a practical purpose, such as Schoenberg’s ‘atonality’ and there was a new type of architecture taught at ‘Bauhaus’ schools. Art reflected the new ideas of the time with artists such as Grosz being fined for defaming the military and for blasphemy.â?

Thereâ??s plenty of opportunity out there, folks, stop whining and get busy!

Imagine that you work with a high salary while meeting celebrities and other famous people, make others look presentable and get paid by doing something you are passionate on? These are just some of the benefits of a makeup artist! If you have the talent for making other people look good and you have a good eye and good hands when it comes to makeup, then you may consider becoming a good makeup artist.

Work Options

Once you get a chance to enter into the business, you can have a chance to succeed being a makeup artist in salons and spas – to someone who does the makeup of movie and television stars! In the entertainment scene, you can have a job as a makeup artist for modeling agencies, print ad agencies, magazines, television commercials, music videos, runway shows, weddings, photo shoots and theater. Of these many choices, witness that there is an entire world of known people who are on the look out for makeup artists to groom them – or bad, if needed, which is true in the case of costume makeup or special effects makeup.

Make a Research and Sell Yourself

Now you know what career awaits you, here are the steps that you need to note on how to be a makeup artist. First, see if there’s any competition in your place. Are there already a lot of makeup artists? Is there a wedding coordinator, a film outfit or an advertising company that you can work for? For the next step, see if the salary is just right for the number of clients that you can possibly get while working as a makeup artist. Now, there are two paths to go when looking for employment as a makeup artist. If your current contacts can refer you to people they know, you can get a career as a freelance makeup artist. Another thing that you need to remember when you choose to work as a freelance makeup artist is that you need to continuously market yourself and work doubly hard to build a regular clientele. On the other hand, if you want to have the stability of getting a regular paycheck, you can work for employment agencies, like wedding services, salons, and movie outfit establishments.

Don’t Stop from Learning

When you are already working as a makeup artist, keep yourself up-to-date with the latest trends in beauty and fashion. Make sure to avail of nature friendly cosmetic products, since this is what some of your clients may be looking for. Constantly keeping your clients happy, improving your skills and loving your job are the steps to succeed as a makeup artist.

There are musicians who are more than comfortable remaining anonymous. You know, happy to hide behind their guitars or keyboards and be sidemen to the stars of today or tomorrow. Then there are those that have grandiose aspirations of stardom, adoration and limelight. And then there are those who have a driving desire and need to say something original artistically, to express themselves and to communicate that expression to an audience, be it a small niche market or wider demographic.

Those falling into the first category can make a living, albeit fairly modest as a general rule. Those falling into the second category often live in a little bit of a dream world and, depending on their tenacity and ’smart’ skills, usually end up disappointed because the focus is set on the destination rather than the journey. The third category usually reaps the rewards of the second category gaining all the success and limelight, but as a result of focusing on their art rather than the shallow and flighty end of the musician’s world. These are usually the most fascinating people too, because they generally have a little mystery about them and because they actually possess what most entertainers really want; sincere and dedicated talent!

But there are also those that are in the early stages of artistic development who are still learning their craft, and open to influences. Possibly they will become great artists in the future, possibly not. It will be a question of choices and consequences, and doors opened and opportunities taken advantage of – or not. Life certainly will take you places.

But for those that do have aspirations of artistry and expression, then I firmly believe you must have qualities that others do not have. As an artist I believe one must stand out from the herd in order to be heard. It is so easy to make a record these days. One no longer needs to have the luxury of a recording contract in order to stand on a pedestal and say “I am an artist – buy my record!” With home studios costing one 16th of the price they did ten years ago and with software programs that do it all, you can churn out albums by the dozen if you put your mind to it. And many do.

However, just because you can, why would you? – is my question. Just for fun? OK, valid I suppose. But Isn’t it better to spend that time and energy searching relentlessly for something unique and different? God knows record companies are releasing enough mediocrity by the hour. Even signed artists are now under the impression they have something to offer. Maybe they have, but for the most part I don’t think so (as public reaction and their CD sales will attest!)

Perhaps I am being extremely unfair, but I think too many artists do not realize that they have a responsibility to say something profoundly unique, certainly if they expect any kind of career longevity. We live in a world where musicians spend their lives emulating their heroes; singers spend their lives emulating Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra and so on. Rock guitarists spend their lives emulating Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Paige, Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen. Jazz guitarists are proud emulators of Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Wes Montgomery. Saxophone players worship Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Michael Brecker. And so on…

Before I go on I have to say that emulating heroes is absolutely imperative in your formative years as musicians. You simply MUST listen to the greats, past and present. One has to have a strong grounding and musical knowledge and one simply cannot get there without listening. However, way too many ‘artists’ cannot get passed this stage. They need to have peer approval, have to know that other respected musicians around them recognize them and applaud their abilities. Often all this takes place subconsciously.

This ‘peer approval’ is a stage of development that is also important. Every musician goes through it at some point. It is absolutely natural, but I firmly believe that to become a great artist, you have to move beyond that stage and look inward. I always liken it those wedding band singers, who despite having an honorable and justifiable (and in some cases envious) career, they are all too often ‘performing monkeys’. They are often fine vocalists but at the end of the day they are seeking approval and applause and not communicating or expressing anything artistic. They certainly know how to entertain but do they know how to intrigue? It’s a huge gap. Nothing remotely subtle about it as far as I am concerned.

The real communicating artists seek unique expression. They are not interested anymore in sounding like their heroes. They have moved past that, now searching constantly, developing and refining their own unique voice. Look at any of the true giants of yesterday and today. Yes you can hear their references, but they also have their own strong identity. At some point during their development something bigger than them took over. The chances are they knew it at the time and took advantage of it and made an extra effort to really hone that uniqueness.

Finding that unique inner voice might not be as easy for some. I think it starts by recognizing your technical weaknesses. It is often those weaknesses that ultimately end up becoming your artistic strengths. Let’s face it, if you were able to play the guitar technically perfect, at all speeds, meticulously so every note that came out was totally clean and audible, would this be ultimately interesting to an audience? Yes it might be very clever and impressive, but for how long could you listen to an album where every phrase felt like you were having your teeth drilled!!?

Wes Montgomery played with his thumb because he didn’t want to wake the neighbors, ultimately enabling him to become the greatest and most influential jazz guitarist of all time. BB King has about three licks in his entire blues repertoire. Does anyone NOT know BB King when they hear him? Thelonius Monk refused to conform to traditional piano techniques and musical ideas. He simply HAD to play music the way he heard it in his head. He made such a bold musical statement during his time that he is now emulated the world over and revered by the greatest musicians living today.

Technical shortcomings can be the very essence of your unique artistry. Now, should those shortcomings get in the way of what you need to say musically then those weaknesses might need to be turned around so they don’t restrict what you hear in your head.

Remember that the true artist simply communicates from within. All other extraneous thoughts, influences and distractions need to fall by the wayside. The minute a lick or a phrase that your hero played or sung (and made famous) ends up on your record – watch out! You might be in trouble. Absolutely steal from your heroes, but just remember that real artistry is about what YOU have to say, not what your heroes have already said before, and have possibly said better.

Push yourself to the max and search for that truly unique quality within. After all, that next great talent we are all so desperately waiting for might just be you!

5 Work at Home Solutions for Working Musicians

As creators and artists of original music, we all would like nothing more than to have our tunes blasting out all over the airwaves bringing in a constant revenue stream of ongoing residual income. Some people figure that out and more power to them. I for one have not and that is not the purpose of this article. I will say good luck to you in your pursuit of that dream if you are still running it down.

The objective here is to discuss 5 solutions working (or non working for that matter) musicians can use or apply to bring in extra income.

These are not get rich quick or easy Internet money programs. They are 5 solid solutions to realistically making extra money to compliment your true passion, playing music. Some of these you may have considered and some sites you may not be familiar with. The Internet has changed everything and it is always changing. There are always opportunities out there. You just need to be careful not to get involved in the wrong ones or involved in too many. The Internet really can be a tangled web if you let it snare you.

One of the best things you can do is to find a business mentor; someone who is successful in the endeavor you are pursuing. Surrounding yourself with successful people will help you overcome obstacles everyone faces when pursuing a venture. You also need a healthy positive attitude and a confidence in yourself. When you develop these, you become inspired to do great things.

With that said here are 5 Solutions:

Solution #1: Royalty Free Music Factory

Royalty Free Music Factory is a website that pays you, the musician, a commission on the sales of your soundtracks. The founder of the site, Mike Rowntree, is a musician and sound engineer who came to realized that there is a huge international market for music tracks you hear on radio, television, and internet sites. Producers of advertisements and programs in these media want to avoid paying ongoing royalties which is how this market niche developed. You upload your 15, 30, and 60 second MP3 tracks along with your full length version(counts as one track) and they are reviewed within 2 business days. Upon acceptance, they are listed on the site for sale. They pay you a 35% commission on each track sold. Visit them at: http://www.royaltyfreemusicfactory.com/

Solution #2: Digitally Delivered Products

Digitally delivered products are all over the Internet and music instruction is certainly no exception. The biggest retailer of such products is Clickbank. Products range from simple ebooks, to full blown membership sites like http://www.musicmasterpro.com/ with online video instruction. To get started on a shoestring, you will need a PDF writing program and a free Clickbank account. The most popular PDF software is Adobe Acrobat, but you can probably find a free shareware program that will do what you need. Accompany that PDF with MP3 files and not only can you charge more, but you’ll probably sell more. I purchased Alex Sampson’s http://www.bassguitarsecrets.com/ and thoroughly enjoyed what parts I’ve gone through. Alex charges $49.95 for that product and I feel like he over delivered.

Solution #3: Become An Affiliate.

With your Clickbank account, you can also become an affiliate for other marketers and make a commission on your sales. For example, MusicMasterPro pays 70% commission on membership sales. With your free Clickbank account you will need what is called a “Hoplink” to the affiliate you are promoting. The hoplink is a combination of your unique Clickbank ID and the affiliate you are promoting’s ID. Clickbank pays you directly for your commissions.

Another huge Affiliate website is Commission Junction.http://www.cj.com/ You can find other complimentary products to sell and receive a commission if a sales is made through your link.

Solution #4: DVD Production & Sales

An old friend of mine, (Tony who happens to be the Godfather of my daughter), makes great extra money doing this. He is a full-time drummer on Bourbon Street here in New Orleans and makes DVDs and sells them in the clubs he works in. To do this however, you will need to make a deal with the club owner and split the proceeds. They certainly don’t want you taking money out of their clientele’s pockets, but if you make an arrangement you can both profit from DVD sales.

Back in the day we would pay a sound studio $50/hr, practice to perfection not to screw up in the studio, and then send the thing off to a place called Disc Masters or something like that to make the CD. I guess people still do that, but with all the technology out there you can do this yourself. Like I said in the beginning, we’re talking about making extra money – not being a rock star!

Aside from the camera, you will need video editing software like http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ and a CD/DVD label maker. Instead of using the camera audio, Tony has some really small, really inexpensive handheld recording device he uses to record the band live. It’s quick and easy and he can pop out DVD in not time. Of course, it does help to have an outgoing singer/frontman to push the product!

Solution #5: The $9 Solution

Chad Rissenan, The Marketing Cowboy, has a $9 Solution to making money online and work at home business. Chad is a guitarist and singer with the North County Band. http://www.northcountyband.com/

Chad’s $9 Solution teaches you everything you need to know about Internet marketing and how to develop a successful work at home business. With the $9 Solution, Chad has an audio file and guides you through the whole process of how to build a successful business right from your computer, without ever having to sell products. It also comes with a 10 Day Marketing Success Guide that has income producing activities that ensure your success.

www.ninedollarsolution.net

As a musician and small business owner, I sincerely hope you find some of these solutions helpful in your quest to play music and make more money at the same time. Whatever you do, do something! Stay positive, focused, open-minded and visualize your success.

Ali Lyles is the hottest musical artist that is taking his music by storm.

Who is Ali Lyles?

Ali Lyles, a.k.a “All The Greatest” whom is named after the great boxing champion known for his bold, cocky, and entertaining style of rap.

Ali Lyles is known for his ability to dance around tracks, as Muhammad Ali would dance around the ring that branded him the nickname, the young prodigy from Black Hollywood also known as the north side of Queens, NY.

Ali Lyles was born with a gift to rap and entertain from an early age. He started somewhat of a cult following in the city of the rap circuit, and was influenced by such hip hop icons such as; Biggie Smalls, Big Daddy Kane and Nas that helped hone his skills as an accomplished lyricist and writer with stories of him taking out M.C.’s in the street battles at the age of 16 and have been made a legend of The official legendary arenas such as; Nuyorican Cafe’, Downtime, The Pyramid, The Remote Lounge, Don Hills, TNY, S.O.B.’s, and many more.

After several victories against his rival opponents at various showcases in New York, he decided to take his skills to the booth in the studio to record his first solo project called, “Game Time”.

Although, the project was a success and he would soon follow that up with his Sophomore Project, called “The Ali Lyles Experience” and the CD became an underground classic that sold over 7,000 copies.

This feat took notice from the legendary producer Marly Marl, who aired his first demo on the popular radio show; future flavors on Power 105.1 fm and he also landed a slot on two volumes of The “What’s Really Hood DVD”, and he has worked with legendary and up and coming DJ’s and producers such as Jigstrumental, Jimi Kendrixx and Sev Beats just to name a few and he prides his self on the fact that he has not only studied the rap game, but the music business as well.

As an artist and entrepreneur from Black Hollywood such as other artists like Run DMC, LL Cool J, Russell Simmons, and Jah Rule.

Ali Lyles is set to be the next big thing coming straight out of Queens, New York which is a breeding ground for the world’s best rappers as history has already shown.

As the co-founder of Supreme Regime Entertainment, he felt the need to channel all his focus on putting out classic music and managing his own label. He realized early on that the key to success in this business is to dictate your own future.

He then strayed away from The Cliche’ artists recording deals that held a lot of fellow artists from achieving success and his new self entitled CD is stirring up a major buzz and is perfect timing for the list of projects he has lined up for something unique and innovative and the CD is getting rave reviews.

However, Hip Hop uncenscored took notice of Ali Lyles and has booked a slot for him to open up for Rich Boy and MIMS in Miami’s South Beach for Memorial Day that he has while launching a new music movement & targeting the fans that have been calling for a change to hip hop and the need for taking his music back to its essence and creating timeless songs and not gimmicks that will deter the longevity of the artist and the music.

Ali Lyles is currently putting together his EP, which is set to be released this summer, and his smash hit “Dollars” will be headlining the release on his interactive CD/DVD as well and the goal is to again, market the DJ’s, Clubs, Radio, and Internet which have proven successful in the past.

Sky is the limit for Ali Lyles and his future and his success in the music business is destined.

So there’s no telling what’s next for Ali Lyles and taking his music by storm.

Interested in Ali Lyles Music, CD’s, DVD’s, and other material.

Visit the website at: www.supremeregimeentertainment.com

Supreme Regime Entertainment/Ali Lyles