Should Your Band Sign a Record Deal Anymore?
There's never been a better time than now for independent artists to take control of their careers. Because of that, it's trendy these days to portray record labels as lifeless, blood-sucking, faceless corporations whose only intention is to screw over artists for their own personal gain.
Has that happened to musicians in the past?
The bad actors will always stand out and be the ones that make headlines.
However, signing the right record deal with the right terms and at the right stage in your career can open doors for you. The key here is to make sure it's the RIGHT one for your situation.
Over the years, I've helped facilitate 3 record deals for my band Throw The Fight and have released music as both a signed and independent artist.
Our first deal was with an indie label that was part of the Warner Music Group, called Cordless Recordings.
Currently, we are signed to a rock/metal label based in New Jersey called Bullet Tooth.
Everything I'm outlining here is based on my own personal experience and what I would suggest every musician does if you come across the opportunity to sign on the dotted line.
1. Hire an entertainment lawyer to negotiate on your behalf.
If you find yourself staring at a typical record contract, it will be 40+ pages of legalese you probably won't understand.
Guaranteed.
Never sign anything without first having legal representation. The first version of any contract will ALWAYS have the most favorable terms for the label and least favorable terms for the artist. (i.e., version 1 will screw you the hardest).
Expect to budget $1,000+ to have a capable entertainment lawyer negotiate a label deal for you. It's money well-spent upfront, so you don't sign an offer you don't fully understand, and it ends up costing you 10 times that amount in the future.
Your lawyer will look out for your best interests.
2. Try to structure your contract as a licensing deal.
Labels will need a degree of control over your sound recording copyright so that they can sell, promote, and distribute your music. It's going to be in a label's best interest to gain full ownership of your copyrights for as long as possible. They might word it as a "work-for-hire" or a "transfer" of copyright, and some will ask for the life of the copyright - which can last years after the death of the creator.
You don't want that.
Instead, you want to try to structure your deal as a licensing deal. In those scenarios, you would license your masters to the label for a while.
The label recoups during the licensing period (as they should), and when it expires, control of your masters reverts back to you.
At that point, the label will pull your music from stores, and you will be able to put it back up there yourself and start earning on your masters directly.
This is the best-case scenario since you still get all the benefits of the label without having to sign your life away - especially considering very few artists ever recoup on their deals.
Think about who you want to be controlling your music 3, 5, or even 10 years from now.
3. Make sure you do your homework.
If you can, try to message some of the artists on the roster and ask them how they like working with the label.
Is the label holding up to their end of the deal and advancing their careers?
There are a lot of "record labels" out there that merely put your music in digital stores and post it on their social media accounts.
You can do that stuff yourself.
The right label should offer resources beyond the scope of the bare minimum.
What are the benefits of signing to a record label?
You should get funding and a budget for your project.
The main benefit of signing with a label is that they will provide funding in order to advance your career. This could come in the form of tour support, marketing dollars, manufacturing & distribution, recording, and video advances, etc.
Keep in mind that any money they spend is an expense they will recoup. But they should have some skin in the game.
Song placements and pitching
A lot of label deals have some sort of publishing component wrapped into them, which means there will be people actively pitching your music for placements and sync opportunities.
You'll have a team
Larger labels will have an in-house press, marketing, and radio department. Smaller labels might hire those services out to various boutique companies.
But either way, you'll be plugged into the machine, and there will be a team of people behind you advancing your career forward and pitching your music to all the right places and people.
This is how you get signed:
Back in the day, labels would do "developmental deals" all the time where they would throw money at bands to go into the studio to record. If the artist came out with something the label liked, they would be offered a deal. Those days are long gone, and it doesn't work that way anymore. Labels will only show interest if you are out there writing and recording amazing music, building a fanbase, touring independently, getting press, and selling music on your own FIRST.
You need to be out there putting in the work. The more success you can cultivate on your own, the more attractive you will be to labels and others in the industry.
Nobody wants to be the first one to the party, you know?
The more you can build your career without needing the help of a label, the more leverage you will have when it comes time to negotiate an offer.
But by that point, you won't be desperate to sign the first thing put in front of you and might find yourself saying, "pass, not a good fit."
