A Record Deal is a Loan to Execute Your Project- Not Money to 'Get On'
Periodically we hear how some artists feel they were done wrong by their producer/record company. In an interview with Undeniabletv.net, Hakim Green stresses the fact that artists have to read their contract and understand that a record deal is a loan. "If you're not on your business, you think that money is your money. It's not your money. It was loaned to you so you would execute a project that would then be sold. After you recoup the initial money dedicated to the project, you get a small percentage of the profit after."Green provides examples of some of the things needed to produce a project including things some artists may wrongly think were given as a courtesy: recording fund, artist advance, marketing, promotion, PR, meet and greets, car service, hotel accommodations, airfare, phone calls, etc."Puffy, Jay Z, Dre, 50...they are not here to carry you. They are not here to make you comfortable. They are not here to make you successful. They are here to make projects successful, so they can be successful as individuals. I think a lot of folks that do these deals go into it, and don't take all that into consideration. When reality sets in, we wanna blame Puff. We wanna blame Jay. We wanna blame 50. We wanna blame this one and that one. In all actuality, we should be looking at ourselves in the mirror and blaming ourselves."
Why would a producer or record company ask for some of your publishing?
Some artists may think a producer may be trying to take advantage of them if they ask for some of their song’s publishing rights. Publishing is intellectual property. When you record a song, think of it as two components.
The song- intellectual property: publishing and copyright (where royalties are derived)The thing: the record, CD, download, etc
Green explains, "If a person like Puffy sees something in you and he extends his value, in terms of his relationship- his cosign. If he extends that to you, he is now adding value to your intellectual property or your song that he should be able to recoup. Why should I make you hot, and not be able to recoup the value off of my investment? If I take the time, energy, effort, my brand, my name, and I'm going to extend it over to you, so you can go sell a million albums. I should be able to recoup some of that value off of it. That's why Puff may ask for some of your publishing."
