Roles & Contracts

In this assignment I am going to write record labels and what they do. Records labels are big companies that exploit an artist' music out to the public. Not only do they do that, they own the copyright of the artist' music for a certain period of time. When an artist or musician is about to get signed to a label it is important that the artist and the artist' manager are happy that the contract is fair and reasonable. Some record labels tend to offer musicians rubbish contracts and sometimes the contracts end up in the bin. In order to find a good contract with a good label it is important that you have loads of connections with other people and it's also important to have a good manager who will understand what you want and when you want it. Contracts can give a range of objectives. For instance if a producer signed a contract and the contract involved making a full album for an artist in 4-8 months, the producer will have to be very dedicated that he will not waste time and actually get it done. If the contract involves touring then the musician/producer will have to tour whether he/she likes it or not. This includes touring worldwide. When a musician signs a contract this shows the musician is accepting what is on the contract and will be dedicated to what is required on the contract. But before a musician signs a contract, the musician's manager and the musician must read through the contract first to see if it's a reasonable contract. If both them are satisfied with the contract they will sign it off and accept what is on there and if they are not satisfied they will reject whoever's offer and they will look somewhere else for work.

A fixed term contract is a contract that doesn't last forever. It will have an expiry date on it. When a musician has signed this kind of contract it that he/she will have a number of duties such as touring, making an album, selling merchandise, etc. But when a fixed term contract ends then the artist is no longer works for whoever he/she was working for. However these contracts can be renewed. These kind of contracts will have the duties required, pay, promotion, hours of work, etc including the expiry date. This contract is very different to a freelance contract because a freelance contract allows a musician to work solo and it also gives the musician a limited amount of work to do. This means that when a freelance musician has finished working for whoever he/she does not have any more work to do unless he/she is hired for some other freelance work.

A freelance contract means that you work by yourself and and you do your jobs one at a time. A freelance artist owns their own tax and insurance. A producer, sound engineer or session player are the main freelancers. They are the main freelancers because a producer will make tracks mostly by himself, an experienced sound engineer will mix and master the tracks and a session player will either play piano or guitar for an artist. You hear a session player on the radio or on tv. Producer and sound engineers mainly work in the studio. A freelance artist can work until he/she has no more work to do and probably he/she will be hired for some new work. The good thing about working freelance is that a musician has no one bothering him/her and it allows the musician to focus on what is important and what needs to be completed. However a freelance artist will be under a lot of pressure to get work done because a freelance artist has quite a lot of work to do and freelance work needs to be 100% high standard. This could probably mean that the artist hardly gets a chance to take a break or rest because freelance work never pays off.

These two contracts will have features such as hours of work, pay, job security, independence, etc. Some of these contracts may not satisfy the artist or the artist may not like what's on it. When an artist looks for work it is important that he/she has loads of connections with people and that he/she is serious about being a known artist. Before signing a contract it is important that the artist and whoever is with the artist reads the contract and also looks at the factors e.g. pay, hours of work, etc. Finally if they are both satisfied then the contract will be signed off and the artist will be more than happy to work for whoever he/she is working for.

A distribution contract allows an artist to sell his own CDs at concerts as well with a label, the artist own rights for his/her music that make he/she makes and the artist doesn't get any advances when signing. This contract can really help and artist or freelancer because it gives them copyright protection of his/her music and the artist earns royalties as well. Not every musician has to sign this contract but in my opinion I would sign this contract because I know that my music will be protected and I will earn royalties for the music I make plus I can sell my own CDs if I wanted to. Without this contract a musician will be unable to protect the rights for the music he/she makes. So from my point of view it is important that a musician sings a distribution contract because it can really help with earning rights and royalties for music.

A record deal contract allows a record label to exploit someone's music. They do this by selling CD's, vinyls, digital downloads, etc. When an artist is about to sign a record deal contract it is important that the artist and his/her manager read the contract properly and read what the terms are. They also need to look at the hours of work, pay, promotion, etc. Some record labels tend to offer rubbish deals to the artist (s) and this is not what a artist wants. The artist's manager is the expert at knowing a what a good contract looks like. When an artist is not sure on whether he/she should sign a contract for a record deal, the artist should ask his/her manager for his opinions and points of view on it. The artist must always listen to what his/her manager is saying because the manager is doing his job by keeping the artist's wishes safe and accepting what the artist wants for his/her career. This makes signing a record deal contract much more easier for the artist because he/she is listening and taking into account of what the manager is telling him/her. When the manager and the artist have read the full contract and both of them are happy with what's on it, they will sign the contract and they will accept the terms on there.

The salaries of record producer can vary quite extensively. The reason why this is because producers that are out there now have more than 20 - 30 years experience, they are very good at what they do, they have a good ear for music and they don't waste time when it comes to music. The skills that are needed to become a successful producer are:

A good ear for music
Networking with other people
Budgeting
To be assertive and persuasive
To know the whether a song is going to be a good hit
Plenty of experience
Good grades
Self released material

Record producers work very long hard hours including weekends, so it is important that person who wants to become a successful producer is passionate about what he/she wants to do and is willing to work long hours a good effort.

The A&R department (Artists & Repertoire) in the record label is the department that looks for new, unsigned and talented people. The artist' manager is the person who usually gets in touch with them and they would discuss terms and conditions on why the artist should be signed to the label. Usually some people from the A&R department would go to gigs to find new unsigned and talented people. If an artist finds a god artist/band for their label, the artist's name will be passed onto the manager of the A&R department. From there the department will decisions on whether artist is good or not and then they will come to a final conclusion. When the manager of the A&R department is satisfied that the artist/band is good and talented for their label, the manager of the A&R department will get into touch with the artist' manager and they will discuss terms and conditions on the contract. When the artist and artist' manager read the contract and that both of them are happy with it, they will accept the deal with the record label.

When it comes to live performance the artist or band needs to be well prepared and ready for their gig. Some errors can occur during live performance. For instance there could be some squealing sounds coming from the p.a. systems, the mics are not loud enough, the guitar and bass could be damaged, the mic stands are not an appropriate height for the musician, etc. So when technicians and musicians are doing sound checks before the gig it is essential that they do the sound check properly. This means no rushing and checking that every piece of equipment works like a clock and runs smoothly. It is also important that musicians and bands have pre rehearsals before the gig. This shows that they are taking the gig seriously and they want the gig to go well for their fans and not to disappoint them.

Punctuality and knowing the date of the gig are two very essential things when it comes to performing live. The musician or band needs to know when the date of the gig is and what time it starts at. If they are late to their own gig this slows everything down and it doesn't show any courtesy for the fans. So it is very important that a musician or band knows what date and what time they need to be at for their own gig.

If they do all of this then the gig will be a major success and everyone including the performers will enjoy themselves. This shows you people are here for the music and want to have a good time. All the hard work will have paid off eventually.