RECORD CONTRACTS

I touched a little here and there on record contracts, but for any aspiring artist, it is a subject that can never be covered too much. By now the word "advance" has become common knowledge (hopefully) and the understanding that this money has to be paid back, so don't go spending all of it thinking your rich.

However there are some terms and concepts that if not familiar with, WILL come back to haunt you take all your hard earned money. After all you are in the music business.

There is no shortage of this info on the web, so not knowing this is NOT an excuse!!!!! Here is just one link for some
MUSIC BUSINESS CONTRACT INFO

Somethings to understand:
1. Definition of Cross Collateralization
2. Understand what Reserves are.
3. You know you pay for your CDs packaging right?
4. What is your royalty rate?
5. What are your options?
6. What about escalations?

I am by no means an expert on this subject so a trusted lawyer (is that an oxy-moran?) should be on your team, but these are things you should familiarize yourself with anyway.

THIS IS TRULY UNIQUE

I came across this last night and was blown away. This may not immediately fall into a music business category, however they get much respect for artistic creativity. Im always pushing artists and labels to think "outside the box" in terms of marketing and creating awareness. This is a perfect example!! This is sidewalk art designed to give the impression of 3D depth. You have to see it to believe it.

3D SIDEWALK ART

Hip Hop was founded on creativity, however everyone is promoting in the same manner, and the first ones to complain that no one will give them a chance. Some of you need to take lessons from these artists and truly redefine your approach to marketing.

~SCOTTYJEWLZ~

REMIX the RZA

I just heard of this promotion that KOCH and RZA are doing encouraging fans to submit their own remix to a RZA track. All artists and Labels I consult, I always suggest that they come up with a way to engage the consumer. Think of a way that you can include the fans into your project or promotion. (just giving away free shit doesn't count) The goal, and what I feel is missing from the music business right now, should be to create a connection between artist/company and the consumer. That connection can be nurtured into continuous revenue streams if creative. Consumers are more likely to spend their hard earned money on something they feel they connected with either physically or emotionally. I think this was a great idea by KOCH and RZA. Read below for more details.

THE CONTEST ENDED THE DAY I POSTED THIS...THE POINT STILL REMAINS HOWEVER

(By Hillary Crosley, N.Y.)
Koch Records and Imeem are teaming for a remix contest in support of RZA's "Digi Snacks," which was released June 24 via the independent label.

Fans of RZA, a founding member of Wu-Tang, will be able to create their own versions of his new "Digi Snacks" track, "Drama." The winner will receive $500 cash, and mixes by the winner and top runners-up will be eligible for inclusion on a forthcoming digital release by RZA.

The site provides different downloadable stems for "Drama," including the vocal, horn and drum stems as well as key stem 1, and key stem 2, to sample, chop and create a new remix.

Last year Wu-Tang released "8 Diagrams," which has sold 182,000 copies to-date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

RZA MYSPACE

~SCOTTYJEWLZ~
MYSPACE

KANYES SECRET WEAPON

Once again digging through ALLHIPHOP.com I came across a gem of an interview. The multi talented Ken Lewis. The average consumer probably doesn't know his name but should know his work. Ken Lewis is a producer/mixer/engineer/musician with six Grammy Awards, 45 Gold and Platinum albums, 24 number one albums and singles, and fourteen Grammy nominations to his credits.

In this article he discusses "Sample Re-Creation". When producers like Kanye cant get a sample cleared, they call Ken Lewis to re-create it using all original music but still have that Oldies type feel.

Just read the interview, its alot of really useful info for all you producers out there.

(Excerpt from the interview: By Pete Foreman)
AllHipHop.com: When an artist re-creates a sample, is that just because they can't clear it?

Ken Lewis: Well in some cases, they don't even know where the sample came from. They may have sampled something two years ago and don't have that record anymore. Or they might have found the Mp3 online and sampled it. It's two things you have to clear on a sample and that's the publishing and the master's use. If you can clear the publishing and not the master's use, you can hire me and I can re-create the original master and make it sound exactly like the original. But if you can't clear either of them, then you need to do what I call a "Flip." The goal [in a flip] is to re-create the sound and the feel of the original sample perfectly, but change it up to be a new piece of music. We did that on one of my favorites, "Storm" by Lenny Kravitz. It was originally a sample and they couldn't get it cleared. I basically re-created brand new, all original music, and that's what was on the single. It feels like an old sample, but it's all me.

KEN LEWIS INTERVIEW

~ScottyJewlz~
MySpace

MY LIFE PRODUCTIONS VIDEO REEL

I am a big fan of utilizing visual elements to help enhance any marketing campaign. We produce a variety of projects, all with the emphasis on "creativity" and "uniqueness".
If you are interested in having any original video production (something different than the usual cliche content)hit us up. We have a variety of packages available depending on your budget. The goal should be to get the best possible product that makes you stand out from the rest of the competition.

THIS IS A LITTLE SOMETHING WE PUT TOGETHER




****SCOTTYJELZ****
MyLifeEnt@yahoo.com

TQ TELLS ALL

This is a really interesting series of articles written by TQ. Y'all remember him, R&B singer formerly with Cash Money Records. He has been writing his story to AllHipHop.com and the shit is really interesting. He talks about shady business practices of Baby (like thats a surprise) and the years he spent with them.

Sticking with the theme of this blog, he writes about leaving Cash Money and becoming Independent and the work really involved in going the Indie route. He talks about his distributor not shipping enough units and all the unseen costs with putting a record out on your own.

For all you Independent artists, here is a first hand example of what it really takes to turn a profit.

Good read, check it out....Look for the past series hes written and keep looking out for his entire story on All Hip Hop


TQ - INDEPENDENT ARTIST STORY

(EXCERPT FROM THE ARTICLE)
10,000??? What??? Man them sh*ts was gone in a day! I'm getting calls from everywhere that peeps can't find my record! I couldn’t f**king believe it. My distributor tells me how excited they are that we sold out of all of our units! Man who gives a f**k? Y’all recouped today! I didn't make a dime! They had basically done 20k worth of promo with retailers. Do the math. First week sales, less my cut... They made all their money back.

SKI BEATS MAKING JAY Z DEAD PRESIDENTS

I got this off PMPWorldwide.com. If you havn't noticed yet, Im a big fan of this company and the service they provide. This is SKI BEATS talking about how he made the beat for Jay Z Dead Presidents. He talks about using Tribe Called Quests drums from "Oh My God" remix and the equipment he used. Pretty cool shit...peep the video.




Holla....SCOTTYJEWLZ

MySpace.com/ilovemylife