Hi and welcome to "Entertainment lawyer" page.. Here some info and advice when it comes to sign a deal ..
No matter what deal you sign a publishing deal or record deal, when it
comes to a lot of money.. Then you need to consider to take professional
help to read the papers that you will sign..
Many bands and music
artist are jumping high, and crying out loud "Yes" when they've offered a
recording contract..or for songwriters it's a publishing deal..
Your first thoughts is that finally the big money come your way..and yet..signing a
publishing deal too quickly is a big mistake made by many music
artists and songwriters....
So, reading the contract is the first option to take, especially the small (letters)..
OK,
SO far so good.. In the UK reading the music contract would be a not so
big problem, but in th US it's an other pair of shoes.. Their the
contracts are legally labelled.. Difficult to read,if your not into the
legal business, then you need legal advice..That's when the entertainment lawyer will bring you the solution.. So you need to find a lawyer /
attorney that is specialized in entertainment and music contracts..
That's the big question.. Will I ask for legal advice before signing a music deal..This could be a record deal, a publishing deal, or any other deal that you need to sign..
In fact It's all depends of how big your deal is or will be.. If its a deal entering a on a
compilation CD, then I suppose you don't need a lawyer..Just read the contract,
and in the worst case you loose a few hundred £ or $ . That's Inconvenient , but not a disaster. The cost for legal advice are high, and the return for compilation cd is low..If your music is copyrighted, then there's no problem..
As an example for a legal advice company.. The Seay Firm LLC a company with several offices in the U.S..
Big music publishing deals with 5 or 6 numbers, then you better find yourself a music lawyer for
advice and to check the contract from back to front..and especially the small bottom letters
Even when the contract is
in plain English, you better don't sign the contract immediately. Taking the
risk not seeing the pitfalls in the contract would be very
inconvenient for you..and could cost you a lot of money..
Return to "Music industry" page!
Thanks for your visit.. Feel free to re-visit to follow the updates on our site..
The webmaster
Paul F
From "Entertainment Lawyer" page back to 'Song Makes Music Business' Home page..