I am being offered a publishing deal...Help me out!!

[ddeez]

its NOT coming not from a major publishing company but from a really well connected person in the game who has investors. This person loves my shit and wants to give me a pub deal...The person asked me what i would be comfortable with for the terms...i said i had to talk to my lawyer first...

BUT I Still want more opinions....I know some people here already have publishing deals...


I have no major label placements, i've just done a bunch of indy work. I currently do not have a manager.

What terms should i ask for?

What type of an advance...and how many songs on the deal...etc any clauses i should ask for???


thanks


let me know

[mintyfreshbeats]

good question!

i do want to say congrats man!!

[chris carter]

This person is not a large publisher and has little or no track record as a publisher.... and you don't have the ability yet to make them a major player in publishing. So the question is, what do YOU want out of the relationship. Generally speaking you want a publisher to plug your stuff. Mostly helping you to place your songs with artists and trying to get you a lot of sync and other licensing. Outside of that, it's really just administration (paperwork). So you have to ask yourself "how good is this person goign to be at placing my songs and getting my licensing deals?" Given your description, I'd call it a massive crapshoot, and less than likely. Therefore, I would STRONGLY recommend testing the waters FIRST. I'd only do one-offs with him first. Give him a couple songs and let him run with them. If he gets you some good action, then give him a couple more and see how he does. If he's consistently getting action for you, THEN you can consider a longer term agreement. In fact, if it were me (and I'm not too shabby on the publishing side) I would make those single song deals non-exclusive finder's fee situations at first. Like, "whatever you get me, I'll cut you a check for XX percent" or whatever. No transfer of copyrights, no control of copyrights, etc. And no advance for you. That's what I'd do first. You could have a clause that says if they get you something that yields an advance or a sync fee (not including royalties) of greater than $1k then it turns into a co-publishing deal if you absolutely have to. There are a bilion ways to do it, I'm just saying make him prove it, and give him incentive to prove it, first... so if it doesn't work out you don't have any baggage.

BTW - a typical publishing deal has a CRAPLOAD of stuff to haggle over. It will likely cost a good chunk of change with an attorney. So that's another reason to do this simple single-song finder's fee thing at first. it's a simple deal that doesn't require a lot. You don't want to spend more money on an attorney than this guy might make you. I've seen plenty of folks make that mistake.

[masta1]

Myspaced you my friend!

[RealSon]

Hi,

I´m in the process of signing a publ. deal myself right now, and I have had several offers for publishing deals on the table before.

Chris Carter already said many good things on this topic.

Of course you should check if the dood who offers you the deal has refferences to show you. Who has he worked for before, in which field is he active, is he experienced in the publishing business, and first and foremost, is he a reliable business partner.

I also suggest you to do single- song deals with the dood first, to see how he works, and also to check if he really backs up what he says that he can do for you.

A lot of people in this business say they are well connected. That doesn´t mean nothing until they proved you that they can place your music on actual albums or even betta singles.

It´s hard to say which would be standart conditions, cause actually I think everything can be negotiated if you do it right.
Of course you don´t wanne give up a huge part of your publishing, at the same time, some people might not work very well for you if you don´t give them a certain amount of your royalties.

Usual publ. deals last 3 years at first, but before you do something like that , I highly suggest you to doublecheck the dood first.

If you can, you should def try to find somebody experienced in publishing and music law to give you advice and help you out negotiating the contract terms. Do not rely on oral promises ...

Hope that helsp you out a lil bit. I don´t have time to write any more right now.

Peace and good luck!

[blayz2002]

Originally Posted by chris carter

This person is not a large publisher and has little or no track record as a publisher.... and you don't have the ability yet to make them a major player in publishing. So the question is, what do YOU want out of the relationship. Generally speaking you want a publisher to plug your stuff. Mostly helping you to place your songs with artists and trying to get you a lot of sync and other licensing. Outside of that, it's really just administration (paperwork). So you have to ask yourself "how good is this person goign to be at placing my songs and getting my licensing deals?" Given your description, I'd call it a massive crapshoot, and less than likely. Therefore, I would STRONGLY recommend testing the waters FIRST. I'd only do one-offs with him first. Give him a couple songs and let him run with them. If he gets you some good action, then give him a couple more and see how he does. If he's consistently getting action for you, THEN you can consider a longer term agreement. In fact, if it were me (and I'm not too shabby on the publishing side) I would make those single song deals non-exclusive finder's fee situations at first. Like, "whatever you get me, I'll cut you a check for XX percent" or whatever. No transfer of copyrights, no control of copyrights, etc. And no advance for you. That's what I'd do first. You could have a clause that says if they get you something that yields an advance or a sync fee (not including royalties) of greater than $1k then it turns into a co-publishing deal if you absolutely have to. There are a bilion ways to do it, I'm just saying make him prove it, and give him incentive to prove it, first... so if it doesn't work out you don't have any baggage.

BTW - a typical publishing deal has a CRAPLOAD of stuff to haggle over. It will likely cost a good chunk of change with an attorney. So that's another reason to do this simple single-song finder's fee thing at first. it's a simple deal that doesn't require a lot. You don't want to spend more money on an attorney than this guy might make you. I've seen plenty of folks make that mistake.

Chris although I am not in this position myself, would just like to say big up to you for sharing your obvious knowledge on this. There are too many peeps who would have just get a good lawyer or some other sarky comment.

Might have to make you a friend too!

[ShaneFontane]

hire a manager for the project....

[filterayok]

you think you could get 10g's out of em?

[MPCSlutz]

One thing I was always wondering about publishing deals maybe you guys can clarify....

I thought since the only thing that is recognized as copywritable is the actual "song" itself and not the instrumental track. So is there publishing value in instrumental tracks? I understand that usually the producer and writers split the publishing so will someone offer you a publishing deal just for beats/instrumental tracks?

[Mike Chav]

Unless they are offering you a major advance, i would be wary of any deal that requires a commitment with song obligations that you must fufill, that has a term of more than one year, or requires you to give up even temporary ownership of your copyrights. ESPECIALLY if they are not a major publisher, even though they will also f**k you. Im with the guy that suggested doing one offs until they prove themselves valuable to you. This is one of the most important decisions you will make in your musical career. Make sure you research it well. PEACE

[ddeez]

thanks a real lot for all the responses! it really helped ...im still talking to my lawyer about the situation...thanks again

[fast-ideas]

There's an old saying in law. Sign in haste - repent at leisure.

A bad deal will haunt you for years if not for ever.

Sign a bad record deal - oh well, at least you've got your publishing. Sign some terrible production deal - well, you've still got your publishing. Sign a bad publishing deal and kiss goodbye to making any serious money.

Your publishing is the biggest musical asset you'll ever own - guard it with your life.

Chris Carter's advice to you was spot on and I'd second his opinion that on the face of it this does not seem like a great deal.

Talk to your lawyer about how much it would cost and how long it would take to sue someone for non payment of royalties. I'm no fan of majors but at least you get paid. Anyone else - it's a role of the dice.

[Justice]

I wish someone would offer me a pub deal!

I got shit loads of full songsc. Last years shit I will let go for dirt cheap!

This years music is more money!

LOL

www.myspace.com/saej