SHOULD ARTIST GET PAID WHEN THEIR TUNES ARE RELEASED ON 12"

[dj snipaz]

Hi There
I was wondering if anybody can share my views on this subject.

I have had a release (around 2 years ago) with a major label (still going now)
They have released my tune amongst others on the vinyl & as far as i can see all the major stores have now sold out of the product.
However, I am yet to receive any sort of payment from this.
Now, whenever i try to contact the guy I am ignored & the last I have heard is that he apparently has lost money on the release.
This has not stopped him releasing more though.

This annoys me, especially seeing as we worked so hard on the tune. Thinking that someone else has made money out of our hard work makes me sick to the stomach

Has anyone any similar issues or comforting words to share

The next step is for me to expose & exploit the label so that no other poor f***er's experience this amount of unprofessional behaviour

[deadly_habit]

heh same story for me on vinyl and a few digital releases
acted offended when i asked for sales records and such like a real company or label send quarterly
honestly small claims is the best option otherwise they'll just continue on doing what they do

[dj snipaz]

hmm, interesting idea.

I know this in a controversial subject, but I don't like to be taken advantage of.
I don't like seeing people taken advantage of either so i thought i'd bring it to light.

If a lot of people are being treat like this, maybe we should start a sticky thread about which labels NOT to work with

[macgregor]

that's horrible! I thought it was sorta a 50/50 thing...

[deadly_habit]

honestly if you want to know the numbers hit up the distro

[ResetTheAtari]

If you are putting a lot of tunes out there and getting booked for gigs or DJing try and get an agent. Get them to deal with this kind of shit and make sure you get contracts for all future releases.

[Jak The lad]

Did you sign a contract? If you did, check the terms, some labels do upfront flat fee's, some labels do % based on sales.

If you didn't sign a contract, then i'm sorry, but it's your own fault you didn't receive any money and chasing them up will get you no where.

If you have proof of ownership of the tracks, then you can try and claim, but once you gave the tracks and agreed to a release without a contract, then there's not a lot you can do.

[dj snipaz]

If i'm honest i didnt sign a contract.
I was told that this label doesnt do contracts & that they would ring me to arrange a verbal contract.
4 monthes later, No contract & the release is on the shelves

If i'm honest, the principal is what gets to me the most
Being blatantly ignored by the label head. If he wasn't so ignorant then maybe we could have resolved this in a different way.
The money is no object anymore as it seems that we won't get paid anyway, but the general ignorance is insulting.

[deadly_habit]

honestly the easiest thing you can do that works legally for ownership is send a copy of the composition rendered as audio and the project file including all samples etc used to yourself thru the mail
that way you have a date and proof of ownership
the key it to leave it sealed
do this before you sign any contract

if no signed contract it gets hard and over the years i learned the hard way.
generally if a label or someone won't do a written contract it's sketchy

[dj snipaz]

but it does also mean i can now sell that tune as a digital download on my label
the label has no ownership of the tune as they never signed a contract

then at least i might make something back from it

[madmeesh]

I was told that this label doesnt do contracts & that they would ring me to arrange a verbal contract.

Shitty deal. I'm really sorry this happened to you, but next time protect yourself with a written contract.

[deadly_habit]

but it does also mean i can now sell that tune as a digital download on my label
the label has no ownership of the tune as they never signed a contract

then at least i might make something back from it

yes it does

[GangstaFun]

wow this happened to u in dubstep? this is one of the big reasons i'm not producing drum n' bass atm. this has happened to me by almost every dnb label i've ever worked with, so i feel ur pain snipaz. my advice is now that u've got a name circulating around, get paid upfront for vinyl. it most likely will be the only pay you see from the release. if they don't wana do that, then someone else can sign the tune. p.s. ahh nice even got a smiley to describe this one right here

[dj snipaz]

it actually was a dnb label that turned its hand to dubstep
any guesses anyone?
lol

[pirate exposer]

it actually was a dnb label that turned its hand to dubstep
any guesses anyone?
lol

looool don't tell me...

[soccer mom]

I was told that this label doesnt do contracts & that they would ring me to arrange a verbal contract.

Shitty deal. I'm really sorry this happened to you, but next time protect yourself with a written contract.

Contracts with dubstep labels are a joke. How do you expect to hold the label to a contract when they violate the terms? Who would bother spending that much time and money taking legal action over such a meager profit? It just isn't that realistic.

[HangManDubstep]

same has happened to me

LITTLE RASCAL RECORDS CANNOT BE TRUSTED

fuck it name and shame the stnuc

[soccer mom]

honestly the easiest thing you can do that works legally for ownership is send a copy of the composition rendered as audio and the project file including all samples etc used to yourself thru the mail
that way you have a date and proof of ownership
the key it to leave it sealed
do this before you sign any contract

if no signed contract it gets hard and over the years i learned the hard way.
generally if a label or someone won't do a written contract it's sketchy

This doesn't always hold up in court, at least here in the US, as the US Postal Service doesn't require or check to see if an envelope is sealed before it is mailed.

[deadly_habit]

honestly the easiest thing you can do that works legally for ownership is send a copy of the composition rendered as audio and the project file including all samples etc used to yourself thru the mail
that way you have a date and proof of ownership
the key it to leave it sealed
do this before you sign any contract

if no signed contract it gets hard and over the years i learned the hard way.
generally if a label or someone won't do a written contract it's sketchy

This doesn't always hold up in court, at least here in the US, as the US Postal Service doesn't require or check to see if an envelope is sealed before it is mailed.

true but it's better than nothing and costs like all of 50 cents

[pkay]

Gotta hate shady fucking labels.