Music Inc. HiStory
Studio FAQ
Management FAQ
Serious Artist Checklist
"The Problem With Music" by Steve Albini



HiStory

Vince Pileggi is the founder and CEO of Music Inc. and president of the newly formed label, Music Inc. Sounds, which has partnered with Rock Ridge Music and offers distribution through the Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA).

With a deep passion for the music industry, Vince has been working in the music and entertainment industry since he was 13 when he started playing in garage bands. In 1985, at the age of 15, Vince opened an all-ages venue at one of his father’s warehouses in Arizona. He quickly found himself in over his head, and the club folded, but he had gained valuable experience. But Vince got his first real start when a small band from San Francisco asked him to book a few shows. That led to him becoming their manager. And although he lost the band due to their troubles with drugs, Vince found a niche.

While he was plotting his music industry career, Vince worked as a sales rep for an electronics company and used his time and the phones there to try to build a management roster. He was relentless. In 1992, with the help of an investor, Vince opened up a rehearsal studio in Orange County where he became well known among local and national bands. In fact, he opened up in two locations, one of which is still in the Music Inc. compound today. However, Vince walked away due to uneasiness about his investor’s business practices. “I still owned my first location and never included it in the deal,” he notes. “I went back and the bands followed.”

All the while, Vince was learning the ins and outs of management from Laura Engel, manager of Oingo Boingo, who had been the professor of a music business class he attended at UCLA. In 1993, Vince worked as an intern and ended up handling the day-to-day management responsibilities alongside Engel. “My experience with Laura was the inspiration for many of my career choices,” he acknowledges.

In August 1995, Vince signed the most significant deal of his career. Local ska band, Reel Big Fish, regularly practiced at his studio and frequently talked business with him. Using the experience he had gained working with Engel, Vince started advising them and signed a management contract with the band the day after Oingo Boingo played their last show.

"The last show for Boingo was basically the end for me at Engel as she shortly moved on to Kraft, Benjamin and Engel to continue to manage Danny Elfman as a composer, he explains, “and I quickly got busy with Reel Big Fish. It was one band that I knew I could make work. I knew it was make or break. I was on my own and working on commission, and this had to be it.”

Reel Big Fish went on to have a hit single off of their 1997 release, “Turn the Radio Off,” and the record went gold. Ten years later the band is still going strong, still self-sustaining, and recently released a live album in August with the Music Inc. staff filling in the role as the “invisible label.”

Other bands Vince has worked with through his management company include Buchanan, Fiore, Jaded (Tina Yothers), Let’s Go Bowling, Teen Heroes, The Forces of Evil, The Killington’s, US Bombs, Death By Stereo, and others. He recently brought in additional managers Jared Baker, Scott Ramey and Jenny McPhee.

Vince founded Music Inc. (formerly Milano Entertainment Group) when he opened his rehearsal studio in 1992. Located in Orange, Calif., Music Inc. has grown to become a one-stop shop for the music industry, with several different companies operating under the Music Inc. umbrella, including management, a talent agency, rehearsal and recording studios, as well as social networking sites, and a digital media production company, even a retail music/lifestyle store. Vince describes the various divisions:


Music Inc. Recording - "Begun almost 10 years after I'd been in business with the rehearsal studio. A drummer for one of the bands that rehearsed at the studio blocked out time to record his band. I watched the process and quality of his work and asked him if he would be interested in starting a recording studio with me. Five years, 500 bands, and now our third re-model. We now have a legit recording studio that competes with other studios.” www.musicincstudios.com


EVIIVE – “A Web 2.0 social networking site where the real world meets the virtual world in what may be the company’s most ambitious project to date. It's hard to explain in a few short sentences, but if you use Google, eBay, Craig list and listen to music you will find it not only useful but fun. YouSuckIRule.com was the beta test for EVIIVE .” www.eviive.com


Lucky Artist Booking – “The lines of management and agent always are blurred, and it seemed bands were not looking for managers. They were more in need of agents as the majority of band break from the road. In a ever changing landscape in the music industry, I know live performances aren't going away, so with my partner Angie Dunn, Lucky Artist was formed and over the years we have watched so many of our bands grow and develop and just in the short amount of time.”

Clients include: Ballyhoo!, Big D And The Kids Table, Bottom Line, Forever In Fall, Hero Pattern, Kilowatt, National Fire Theory, Righteous Jams, River City High, Rory, Roses Are Red, Self Against City, Sirens Sister, Spiraling, Streetlight Manifesto, Suburban Legends, The Effects, The Flatliners, The Matches, The Secret Handshake, The Transit War, The Vacancies, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Whole Wheat Bread, and Zolof The Rock And Roll Destroyer. www.luckyartistbooking.com


Merch House – “My wife was over being a dental assistant and wanted to work close to me so over the weekend when she quit her job, we decided to start a merchandising company to take care of the needs at first of my bands, which quickly expanded to bands at the studio, and without fail word of mouth got out, and we found ourselves with a thriving business.”


Clients include: The Ataris, Audio Karate, Bad Religion, Berlin, Big Wig, Capitol Records, Coast to Coast Coach, Crystal Cathedral, Days Away, Death by Stereo, Drive Thru Records, EL PUS, Everybody Else, House Of Blues, Hepcat Records, Hidden In Plain View, Home Grown, Hurley, Kara's Flowers, Flogging Molly, Kung Fu Records, Let's Go Bowling, Limbeck, Lit, Melee, No Motiv, Ozma, Paul Frank Industries, Reel Big Fish, Rilo Kiley, Rooney, Saosin, The Distillers, The Matches, Side Cho, The Starting Line, The Strokes, The Vandals, Throwrag, Tsumami Bombs, Zebrahead, Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer. www.merchhouse.com


Merch Sales – “Early on in e-commerce, the company found another niche of setting up web-stores for it own bands and warehousing the product and shipping. Nine years later we are still doing it with not only our bands but many others. Unlike other merch sites, which have deals with bands, we modeled our business as a traditional fulfillment service and everyday are praised as bands are surprised by how much revenue is earned with little to no effort on their part.”

Clients include: Audio Karate, Drist, Fiore, The Forces of Evil, Homegrown, Moment Theory, Power-Vibe, Reel Big Fish, Reverend Blue, Street to Nowhere, Suburban Legends and Thomas Dolby. They are now gearing up to work with CDBaby and Filmbaby to handle merch fulfillment for their clients in 2007. www.merchsales.com


Music Inc. Management – “Being in the manager’s chair, the majority of the inspiration for almost all divisions of Music Inc. had to be DIY over the years when we didn't have the money or others to turn to. The company one person can only handle a few bands. Music Inc. now has four managers and is always looking for new talent.”

Clients included Buchanan, Craig Chaquico, Death By Stereo, Fiore, Ikey Owens (Sublime and Mars Volta), Tina Yothers & Jaded, Let's Go Bowling, Oingo Boingo, Reel Big Fish, Teen Heroes, The Forces of Evil, The Killingtons, and US Bombs. www.musicincmanagement.com


Music Inc. Studios – “Starting out over 15 years ago with the rehearsal studio has had thousands of local and national bands come through the doors for pre-production. This eventually led to building a recording studio in which over the past five years has recorded over 500 bands from simple tracking and overdubbing to full albums.”

Clients include: Duane Peters & The Hunns, Reel Big Fish, Saosin, Something Corporate, Forces Of Evil, Suburban Legends, Throwrag, The Exit, Limbeck, The Dynotones, The Scotchgreens, Big Sandy and His Fly Rite Boys, Hellbound Hayride, Trucker Up, The Irish Brothers, Aces and Eights, The Hellbillys, April 6th, Jackass the Band, The Saddle Tramps, Black Monday, Speedbuggy, Calavera, The Matches, The Cheatin Kind, The Toast, The Forces Of Evil, Streetlight Manifesto, Black Monday, Black Pool Lights, The Vaquetones, The Cheatin Kind, Death By Stereo, Atreyu, Hideki, Home Grown, The Vandals, The Aquabats Travis Barker, Zebrahead, Melee, The Von Steins, The Rattlesnakes, The Killingtons, The City Drive, Teen Heroes, Starpool, Save Ferris, DMF, Light the Fuse, Square, Buchanan, Fairview, F-Minus, US Bomds, Red 5, Campground Effect, Brass Taxx, Avenged Sevenfold, A Static Lullabye, A 18, Astoria, Jamison Parker, Cheswik, East West, Terminal,Four Letter Words, The Lipstick Pickups, Makeout Party, The Stitches, DI,GameFace, Insted, Wank, Longfellow, Joe and the Chicken Heads, 4-Gazm, Mr Mirainga, Fastball, Linley, Litmus Green, Final Conflict, 46 Short, June Makeshift Love Affair ,Mind Driver, Mirken, The Chemistry, The Secret Handshake. www.musicincstudios.com


Off the Chain – “One of the latest additions to Music Inc. is a click and mortar retail location next to Chain Reaction in Anaheim. Each night 200-500 people come to the venue, and at Off the Chain, we sell new and used CDs, DVDs, vinyl, music gear, and band related merch. The store is going into it second month of business and has already been a hit. Our goal is to have every music title still in print. Since starting up we have had in-stores with Senses Fail, Alexisonfire, Moneen, The Hush Sound, Cobra Starship, Spitalfield, Murder By Death, and many more coming up." www.chainmusicsales.com


Ska Summit – “Seeing the lack of support in a genre of music, I decided to bring the ska community together for a huge festival in Las Vegas. Much to my surprise the event was sold out to an audience of 12,000. The phones were ringing the next Monday to make it into a tour but, I wanted to keep it special, and now skasummit.com is a online music community that only focuses on ska bands and their fans.” www.skasummit.com; www.summerofska.com


The Stor - “With so many stores closing and people turning to the web, it was only natural and a matter of time to build an online store, filter items and make it work in connection with users on EVIIVE for easy buy-now links and searches to help fund our ventures.” www.thestor.com


Visual Digital Media – “I brought together some talented people and started shooting content for shows to stream online on EVIIVE.com. We currently have three shows: there will be "In the Studio" live performance footage from Music Inc. Studios and interviews with bands; "Door to Door" follows a traveling salesman and his crew as they sell door-to-door and see the behind the scenes of their travels on the road town by town; and "Punk Work Out," a show where punk kids stretch, lift, crunch, and hold. Each week semi-professional fitness instructors will shape and keep them in shape. I also have 20 more shows in the works, but until I get a few properly rolling and steady crews and extra funds I will have to wait to get started on the others.” www.visualdigitalmedia.com


Web Name and Host – “Make money in your sleep this was my first business attempt as a reseller for another company, and it's working out. I sell domain names and host other peoples web sites, and pass along the saving to my customers.” www.webnameandhost.com

Now with his partnership with Rock Ridge Music, whose founder, Tom Derr, Vince has had close ties with from when Rock Ridge worked on a digital-only release for Reel Big Fish, Vince says he is excited about the new relationship. And about his role in Music Inc. Sounds, Vince quips, “I’m the guy who is going to get stuck with all the new bills.”

How did the formation of Music Inc. Sounds come about?
It seemed natural to form a label. This is my second attempt, but this time around I'm working with great people, and the industry has changed in so many ways you don't have to follow the old business model to be successful.

What happened with your first label?
MEG ran 1999-2000, and I released The Killingtons. After spending $60,000 and all the returns, I swore I would never do it again without the right people behind me.

Why did you partner with Rock Ridge Music?
I've respected Tom Derr for years for his accomplishments and dealings with me on various issues with regards to my band and each time he delivered and kept up with everything. Having dealt with Rock Ridge on a digital only release for Reel Big Fish, many wouldn't expect much, but Rock Ridge treated it as their own, and got it everywhere. Without them I'm not sure if I would've started Music Inc. Sounds and felt confident.

Why so many divisions?
Opportunity. You can call me a business junkie, but Music Inc. at times can be its own island and live and thrive without others' permission. We're DIY because you're constantly ignored and that's why people take up a do it yourself mentality and just like anyone, we and our bands need to survive.

What kind of artists do you want to sign?
Anything that makes sense from a garage band we can develop to established artists who may not have a home to release an album properly on. But being genre specific, I can't nail it down if the music is amazing and I've a chance to work it and I feel we can do it justice and work with the artist, we will put it out.

Do you run each division?
Each business is like a garden, and I have to water everyone each day, but some days I get lots of weeds and have to get dirty. We have 16 people in-house and 12+ people outside the offices.

What division are you still planning to start?
After construction is done on the new tracking and control room at the studio in mid-December, I'm going to start working on The Food Fight Cafeteria www.foodfightcafe.com behind Off the Chain--a record store. Being next door to a venue has its advantages, and I'm betting that the cafe will do great business especially since I plan to stay open until 3 a.m. The only other places open are fast food and Denny's.

In addition I've a few other things in the works, but I've been burning at both of ends of the candle stick, and until I can bring in more people to manage everything else, I'm forced to not do anything else--a strict order from my business manager.

When did Ska Summit start?
Our goal was to put on the biggest ska show we could to help support and re-kick start one of the strongest underground music scenes of all times. For those of you who don't know, ska is a flexible style of music that started in Jamaica in the late 1950's and spread around the world in many different forms. The music is always upbeat and will make you dance. Ska Summit was hosted at the 8th annual Extreme Thing, a musical/extreme games event held in Las Vegas at Desert Breeze Park. In 2003 we teamed up with Extreme Thing and took over the musical portion of the event. In 2002 Extreme Thing hosted Alien Ant Farm and other popular radio/TV bands and drew a crowed of 8,000 people. In 2003 all the bands were ska bands, most of which hardly ever get any radio play, yet the event still drew an even larger crowd of over 10,000 people. Mainstream may have more fans, but the underground scene has the most dedicated fans. Kids from around the world flew or drove in just for this event. Some fans even picked up side jobs just so they could afford the trip. Many companies in the music industries doubted this event would draw more than 3,000 people, but we proved them wrong.

The bands that played were Chris Murray, The Toasters, VooDoo Glow Skulls, The Selecter, Let's Go Bowling, The Skeletones, Rx Bandits, Dan Potthast, Reel Big Fish, Mustard Plug, The Special's Neville Staple, Buck O Nine, Attaboy, Skip, Fishbone, Monique Powell of Save Ferris, Suburban Legends, Over The Line, The Know How, The Debonaires, The Return, Go Jimmy Go, the Ska DaddyZ, The Nuckle Brothers, Starpool, Mobtown, The Forces Of Evil, Dr Octopus, Codename:Rocky, The Toast, Big D and the Kids Table, Monkey, The Fabulous Rudies, and Deadball 38.

What is the history of Summer of Ska?
I wanted to keep the Ska Summit event special and not do a repeat; it was too perfect the weather, the crowd and the bands. Summer of Ska was an SOS signal that the genre still needed to continue to be kept alive and by seeking out bands that would do this three years later in 2006 wasn't as easy as you think. We hope to continue each summer and grow it out of the clubs.

Catch 22, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Big D and the Kids Table, Suburban Legends and Westbound Train were the bands on the first SOS. The tour was 38 cities from Los Angeles to New York, and each market varied from the Blue Bird in Denver, Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco to House of Blues in San Diego. The tour was booked by Jeremy Holgerson at The Agency Group and Kevin Gunther from Lucky Artist Booking.

What makes a good manager?
Someone who believes in a band and always does their best beyond when times are good; a manager who has the respect of the artist in order to choose the right moves along the way and keep the integrity and spirit of the project in check at all times. I could go on, but everyone has their own style, and the above, at the end of the day, is what should be important.

First concert attended
The Alarm and TSOL at Irvine Meadows, now the Verizon Wireless, in Irvine, Calif., 1984; I'd gone to other shows, but you just can't count going to a show with your parents.

First concert worked
Oingo Boingo in 1993 at Universal Amphitheater as an assistant to the band's manager. I worked other shows, but this was my first real production experience even though I'd been around live music venues at a young age. I did the guest list VIP parking list, lyrics for tele-prompters and getting correct gum for the production manager escorting VIPs backstage and driving drunk people home. It was so much fun.

First industry job
Pro-Tec where I was an international sales rep that sold instrument cases and gig bags. I credit my knowledge of instruments and brands from working there as I had to learn about all the various instruments and how to wrap them.

Career highlights
Presenting Reel Big Fish their gold record -- it was one of the first significant achievements for a sometimes-thankless job.

Career disappointment
When a band I managed fired me claiming I procured employment in order to get out of their deal and not pay me the 5,000. I deferred payment in order to keep them alive, but to be honest, when this happened it crushed me as a manager, and everything I'm now doing is my rebound. You always hear about how the industry takes advantage of the artist but no one seems to talk about how much the artist takes advantage of the industry.

Greatest challenge
Juggling numerous roles within the industry and sustaining has always been the greatest challenge for me. I call it pulling money out of thin air.

Best business decision
Keeping it all under one roof has worked to my advantage in so many ways. It afforded me the ability to put myself into various circles I would have never been a part of if I only played one role.

Best advice you received
"Think big be big think small be small" has always rung true for me and even though some of my other ventures are in their infancy, it fuels me to at all times think of the maximum potential -- sometimes to a fault.

Best advice to offer
Fake it until you make it. I often look back on certain scenarios and think I had no idea but somehow pulled it off, and it's funny at times to watch the new school come up and know they are simply just rolling with the same punches.

Most memorable industry experience
Not going to lie: my first big check from the music industry. Even now I'm excited to get paid to do something I love no matter how bad it is. It will always be better for me vs. swinging a hammer.

Favorite team/athlete
The California Angles, but it's more of a hometown thing. Tiger Woods, once again, another hometown thing, and I'm truly inspired by his drive. Beyond that, I really don't care for sports as I'm drawn more to creativity as a spectator.

Favorite restaurant
It used to be Nirvana for its Indian cuisine in Manhattan until they closed. Currently it’s Villa Nova in Newport Beach -- my alternative to Denny's for those late night dinner meetings.

Favorite hotel
Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Actually any hotel in Vegas where else can you go and actually never leave the hotel and feel exhausted and do so much.

What friends would be surprised to learn about you
That I've never actually been in jail. It has always been a running joke with me because people always ask what's up, and I casually say "I was in jail, but I'm getting my shit together." It really catches people off guard. People really don't care when I tell them about projects, so until I know I'm having a real conversation, I save my breath.

Industry pet peeve
Where should I start? Honestly the lack of sincerity overall and tunnel vision. It's hard to answer all emails, but my diligence of returning them all has been one of my greatest tools. Fans get into the business so I have countless relationships with people in key positions simply because I answered their emails, questions and requests, while in the beginning, I reached out to others in the industry who were established and rarely got a courtesy reply.

Office paraphernalia
27" flat screen monitor and my Sony Vaio are basically my world these days. Everything else in the office just collects dust.

If I wasn't doing this, I would be...
...in all honesty I'm doing exactly what I would be doing just at a different level than once imagined. I anticipate with the assistance of the numerous talent people around me to do even more and not just in the entertainment industry.

Industry mentor
Laura Engel is whom I got my first real start as a manager from. She basically is the one I could credit with giving me the knowledge and structure to understand the entertainment industry. In addition many others in various roles have been an inspiration, and I learn from everyone good or bad.

Vince can be reached by e-mail: vince@musicinc.org

— By Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen for CelebrityAccess.com

 

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Studio FAQ

Q: How do I get to Music Inc Studios

A: Depends on where you're coming from...

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Location: We are located at 745 West Katella Avenue in Orange, California. (behind The Cherry Pit (Bar)! We are the white industrial building in back.) From the 57 Fwy - Exit Katella go East past Batavia and turn left into Cherry Pit parking lot. From the 22 Fwy - East to Glassell exit go north turn left on Katella pass RR tracks and turn right into Cherry Pit parking lot. From the 55 Fwy - North to Katella exit go west pass RR tracks and turn right into Cherry Pit parking lot. From the 91 Fwy - East to Glassell exit go south and turn right on Katella pass RR tracks and turn right into Cherry Pit parking lot. From the 5 Fwy - Exit Katella go east pass 57 fwy & Batavia and turn left into Cherry Pit parking lot.

	Off The Chain is located at 1658 W. Lincoln Ave in Anaheim, East of Euclid. For directions coming North, South, East or West scroll down or click here.
	Directions to Off The Chain heading: North   5 Fwy. Exit Lincoln, Turn Left, 2 1/2 Blocks on Left South   5 Fwy. Exit Lincoln, Turn Right 1/2 Block on Left East   91 Fwy. Exit Euclid, turn Right, go 1 1/2 Mile to Lincoln turn Left, 1/2 Block on Right West   91 Fwy. Exit Euclid, Turn Left, go 1 1/2 Mile to Lincoln turn Left, 1/2 Block on Right

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Q: If I book a room and don't use it do I still have to pay?

A: Yes, you must give us 24hrs notice to cancel a booking. There are no exceptions.

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Management FAQ

Q:Why Have Management?

A: Good management for a band is a must! A manager makes contacts in the music industry, and can get your foot in the door. A manager can do everything from being a personal assistant, to create your press kits and send them out, to book your gigs or locate a booking agent to do so, to helping you contain costs, to copyrighting songs, to advise you on contracts, to keeping your career moving in the right direction. Typically managers make a small percent of your earnings and depends on the type of contract you have with them, most take 15 to 20% of your gross earnings.

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Q: What is the difference between managers and agents?

A: In the music industry agents take care of booking, they do not negotiate contracts, etc. They only book the band. Managers are much more involved in the clients lives than anyone. Managers sometimes do booking but for the most part they don't. A manager will make contacts in the music industry for you, they will answer your questions, be there for you as a support mechanism and sometimes a well grounded kick in the pants when you need it :) They are often involved with contract negotiations, trademark and copyright procedures, they advise you on business issues concerning your career. They may shop your demo to record labels, publishers etc., work with publicity and promotion, and help shape your image to get the attention of the industry. Your manager is probably your closest companion in your music career and they need to be someone you trust implicitly. If you meet with a manager and feel you don't trust them then don't sign with them. Good managers care about your career as much as theirs because if you are using a small management agency your success is their success. In other words you don't get paid neither do they so they have to work hard to make things happen for your group.

Agents on the other hand also don't get paid if they don't find work for you, but they are more choosy and for indie artists it is very difficult if not almost impossible for you to find an agent willing to take you on. This is why some managers do end up taking care of booking for their artists or the artists themselves do it.

In some states it is illegal for managers to book because of a "double whammy" effect that some managers have done that make the other good managers out there look bad. They not only collected a percentage of the performance via their contract with the band but also got paid the agent fee as well. This is unethical and in California, New York, and Florida they have passed laws to cover this.

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Q: What is ASCAP or BMI?

A: They are services that collect royalties for songwriters. They are actually called Performing Rights Associations.

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Q: Should I really hire a lawyer?

A: Yes. Once a contract is offered to you, please get your management, lawyer, or someone who understands contract laws and music and entertainment laws to review the contract. Often times the wording is confusing and you may miss something vitally important to you. Take the extra expense of a trained professional to review it, it could save you headaches and loss of money and possibly rights to your music. Many lawyers out there will work on a contingency fee so "starving artist" is no excuse. Quite possibly you could be a starving artist without their help! ASCAP and BMI and other performing arts organizations can help you locate a lawyer for your specific needs.

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A: Ok, most people assume if you have one hit song you are rich for life...this sadly is not the case. It will take alot more than one hit song to make you rich, and will take usually more than a few million albums to make you "set for life" so don't go into this industry assuming as soon as you get a recording contract, even on a major record label, that you will suddenly be rich.

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A: Contact the Harry Fox Agency in New York. Once a song has been recorded and released, anyone is free to record it as long as the statutory royalty of 7.1 cents per song is paid to the writer/publisher. HFA will issue the license to you, collect your payment, and distribute your payment to the proper writer/publisher. It is very easy. Harry Fox Agency is at 212-370-5330. You can process the license online through through the National Music Publishers Association.

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Q: What is recoupment?

A: It is an amount of money the record company (or publisher) "fronts you" to record your album or tour on. This money is NOT yours to do with what you please, you have to pay it back, it is like a loan to get you started. ALL record companies use recoupment clauses in their contracts. If they give you $50,000 to record an album and you only use $25,000 the other $25,000 does not automatically belong to you so do not spend it on frivolous things.

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A: Yes, even though we may not have time to represent you we may be able pass it along to other people in the industry. Please understand that we can't respond to every correspondence or demo that is sent to us.

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Serious Artist's Checklist

So you've played every dive from here to Tijuana; you've written the greatest songs since The Beatles; you sound just like Nirvana meets Weezer; and your stage act is like "Richard Simmons on crack." What now? Below you'll find a checklist of main points that you'll need to work through to make sure you're ready for the next stage of the game. So before you call me, or any other source of quality management, you'll need to have this stuff in order. At the bottom of the page you'll find a list of books that you're going to want to read through to be knowledgeable about the career you have chosen. In regards to the checklist, go ahead and substitute the word "performer" anywhere you find the word "band" below if you are a solo artist rather than a band.

Does the band have a written agreement among its members?

This includes the nature of the business (i.e. sole proprietorship or partnership) and how the money you could make will be divided among its members. Check out The Partnership Book for more on this one.

Does the band have a registered service mark?

You don't want to put out an album with the same name as another band who has the service mark registered. For example, if your band is called Damn Yankees, you put an album, sell merchandise, or perform under that name, you're probably going to get sued. Either that or you will encounter the wrath of Ted Nugent. You want to avoid this. So you want to make sure your band's name is its own and no one else's. This is why Hollywood's The Roundabouts switched names to Kara's Flowers (now Maroon 5) and San Diego's Blink changed names to Blink 182. Register a proper application with the Commissioner of Patents in Washington, D.C. At the same time you should file for state service protection or its equivalent, if available. Also, you need to determine who will own the name when the band no longer exists. Make sure that this in the written agreement.

Does the band have a DBA?

DBA is short for "doing business as." This is for public notice of your proposed business affairs. It's a necessity for any business owner. Head on down to your local County License Division. The DBA will cost you ~$30-$100 but is 100% necessary. Fill out the paperwork and they'll mail you a copy of the DBA. While you are there, fill out the forms for a Seller's License. It won't cost you any money and you'll need it to legally sell merchandise in your state.

Does the band have a Business License Tax Certificate?

Apply for it at your city's Business License Division. If you don't know where that is, call your city hall and they'll lead you to it. This one is not going to be cheap. It can be several hundred dollars. But like the DBA, you're going to need it.Does the band have a Federal Tax Identification Number?

Apply for one with the Franchise Tax Board in your state. It's like a Social Security Number for the band, for taxation purposes. If a band is making more than $400 per year, it must file taxes. So says the law, so you better hop to it. From this point on, the band must keep proper financial records including receipts for expenses in anyway relating to the band.

Does the band have a bank account in the band's name?

Very important. Get on it. You could do this before getting the Federal Tax Identification Number, but the bank is going to ask you for one. So if you do this step first, you'll have to make an extra trip back to the bank once you get the Federal Tax ID, so I say get the Federal Tax ID first.Has the band recorded a demo?

These don't need to be too fancy and you don't have to spend a lot of money to make it. The people listening to these aren't expecting an album to put up for sale at Best Buy or The Warehouse. They are used to reading between the lines and finding diamonds in the rough. Basically spend a few hundred bucks and make it the best you can. Put your best song first, your second-best song second, and so on. Industry standard for demo length is 3-5 songs. If they don't like the first two songs, they'll never hear the last three; but if they really like what they hear, they'll want to hear more. Another thing to consider is the media your band will use: CD or cassette? If you can afford the resources to make some demo CD's, go for it. These are definitely preferred. If you can't (CD's can be quite expensive), go with the cassette option. The artwork doesn't need to be amazing but make sure there is a contact name and phone number on either the j-card or the tape itself.Has the band registered their songs with the Library of Congress?

There are multiple ways of doing this. Check on the Internet for more information. You can call them and request a packet. You must have an agreement between band members at this point in regards to writer royalty percentages. That was #1 on the checklist above. Copyright For Sound Recordings is a good source on this subject.

Does the band have a press kit? This would include the demo, a written biography of the band, clips of good press about the band, and a couple of black and white glossy promotional photos (8X10 or 5X7). Keep the bio short (just about one page should do). Include the story behind the band. Make the story interesting to those reading it. You may think it's interesting, but ask yourself, "Will the person I send this to, think it is as great as I do?" For the photos, if you can't afford two, make sure you send at least one. They want a visual representation of the band. And if you can't afford glossy, you'll live using matte.Does the band understand what to expect? The article below has examples of what can be a very bad situation, not every deal is the same and not everyone in the industry follows the same practice, the point of this story is to show the dark side of the business and the reality of how money is spent and repaid. The language of the article is strong, but it has a strong message bands need to read. At least I KNOW what the details of publishing are, if a manager doesn't know that then don't sign with them either! Otherwise its a nice warning to bands to not sign the first time something is offered to them, particularly a "memo".

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"The Problem With Music"
By Steve Albini

Whenever I talk to a band who are about to sign with a major label, I always end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit. I imagine these people, some of them good friends, some of them barely acquaintances, at one end of this trench. I also imagine a faceless industry lackey at the other end holding a fountain pen and a contract waiting to be signed.

Nobody can see what's printed on the contract. It's too far away, and besides, the shit stench is making everybody's eyes water. The lackey shouts to everybody that the first one to swim the trench gets to sign the contract. Everybody dives in the trench and they struggle furiously to get to the other end. Two people arrive simultaneously and begin wrestling furiously, clawing each other and dunking each other under the shit. Eventually, one of them capitulates, and there's only one contestant left. He reaches for the pen, but the Lackey says "Actually, I think you need a little more development. Swim again, please. Backstroke. And he does of course.

I. A&R Scouts

Every major label involved in the hunt for new bands now has on staff a high-profile point man, an "A&R" rep who can present a comfortable face to any prospective band. The initials stand for "Artist and Repertoire." because historically, the A&R staff would select artists to record music that they had also selected, out of an available pool of each. This is still the case, though not openly. These guys are universally young [about the same age as the bands being wooed], and nowadays they always have some obvious underground rock credibility flag they can wave. Lyle Preslar, former guitarist for Minor Threat, is one of them. Terry Tolkin, former NY independent booking agent and assistant manager at Touch and Go is one of them. Al Smith, former soundman at CBGB is one of them. Mike Gitter, former editor of XXX fanzine and contributor to Rip, Kerrang and other lowbrow rags is one of them. Many of the annoying turds who used to staff college radio stations are in their ranks as well.There are several reasons A&R scouts are always young. The explanation usually copped-to is that the scout will be "hip to the current musical "scene." A more important reason is that the bands will intuitively trust someone they think is a peer, and who speaks fondly of the same formative rock and roll experiences.

The A&R person is the first person to make contact with the band, and as such is the first person to promise them the moon. Who better to promise them the moon than an idealistic young turk who expects to be calling the shots in a few years, and who has had no previous experience with a big record company. Hell, he's as naive as the band he's duping. When he tells them no one will interfere in their creative process, he probably even believes it.When he sits down with the band for the first time, over a plate of angel hair pasta, he can tell them with all sincerity that when they sign with company X, they're really signing with him and he's on their side. Remember that great gig I saw you at in '85? Didn't we have a blast.By now all rock bands are wise enough to be suspicious of music industry scum. There is a pervasive caricature in popular culture of a portly, middle aged ex-hipster talking a mile-a-minute, using outdated jargon and calling everybody "baby." After meeting "their" A&R guy, the band will say to themselves and everyone else, "He's not like a record company guy at all! He's like one of us." And they will be right. That's one of the reasons he was hired.

These A&R guys are not allowed to write contracts. What they do is present the band with a letter of intent, or "deal memo," which loosely states some terms, and affirms that the band will sign with the label once a contract has been agreed on.

The spookiest thing about this harmless sounding little memo, is that it is, for all legal purposes, a binding document. That is, once the band signs it, they are under obligation to conclude a deal with the label. If the label presents them with a contract that the band don't want to sign, all the label has to do is wait. There are a hundred other bands willing to sign the exact same contract, so the label is in a position of strength.These letters never have any terms of expiration, so the band remain bound by the deal memo until a contract is signed, no matter how long that takes. The band cannot sign to another label even put out its own material unless they are released from their agreement, which never happens. Make no mistake about it: once a band has signed a letter of intent, they will either eventually sign a contract that suits the label or they will be destroyed.

One of my favorite bands was held hostage for the better part of two years by a slick young "He's not like a label guy at all," A&R rep, on the basis of such a deal memo. He had failed to come through on any of his promises [something he did with similar effect to another well-known band], and so the band wanted out. Another label expressed interest, but when the A&R man was asked to release the band, he said he would need money or points, or possibly both, before he would consider it.

The new label was afraid the price would be too dear, and they said no thanks. On the cusp of making their signature album, an excellent band, humiliated, broke up from the stress and the many months of inactivity.

II. There's This Band

There's this band. They're pretty ordinary, but they're also pretty good, so they've attracted some attention. They're signed to a moderate-sized "independent" label owned by a distribution company, and they have another two albums owed to the label.

They're a little ambitious. They'd like to get signed by a major label so they can have some security you know, get some good equipment, tour in a proper tour bus-nothing fancy, just a little reward for all the hard work.To that end, they got a manager. He knows some of the label guys, and he can shop their next project to all the right people. He takes his cut, sure, but it's only 15%, and if he can get them signed then it's money well spent. Anyways, it doesn't cost them anything if it doesn't work. 15% of nothing isn't much!

One day an A R scout calls them, says he's been following them for a while now, and when their manager mentioned them to him, it just "clicked." Would they like to meet with him about the possibility of working out a deal with his label? Wow. Big Break time.

They meet the guy, and y'know what-he's not what they expected from a label guy. He's young and dresses pretty much like the band does. He knows all their favorite bands. He's like one of them. He tells them he wants to go to bat for them, to try to get them everything they want. He says anything is possible with the right attitude. They conclude the evening by taking home a copy of a deal memo they wrote out and signed on the spot.The A R guy was full of great ideas, even talked about using a name producer. Butch Vig is out of the question-he wants 100 g's and three points, but they can get Don Fleming for $30,000 plus three points. Even that's a little steep, so maybe they'll go with that guy who used to be in David Letterman's band. He only wants three points. Or they can have just anybody record it (like Warton Tiers, maybe-cost you 5 or 7 grand) and have Andy Wallace remix it for 4 grand a track plus 2 points. It was a lot to think about.

Well, they like this guy and they trust him. Besides, they already signed the deal memo. He must have been serious about wanting them to sign. They break the news to their current label, and the label manager says he wants them to succeed, so they have his blessing. He will need to be compensated, of course, for the remaining albums left on their contract, but he'll work it out with the label himself. Sub Pop made millions from selling off Nirvana, and Twin Tone hasn't done bad either: 50 grand for the Babes In Toyland and 60 grand for the Poster Children-without having to sell a single additional record. It'll be something modest. The new label doesn't mind, so long as it's recoupable out of royalties (meaning the band pays the label back for "buying" them).

Well, they get the final contract, and it's not quite what they expected. They figure it's better to be safe than sorry and they turn it over to a lawyer-one who says he's experienced in entertainment law and he hammers out a few bugs. They're still not sure about it, but the lawyer says he's seen a lot of contracts, and theirs is pretty good. There'll be great royalty:

13% (less a 1O% packaging deduction). Wasn't it Buffalo Tom that were only getting 12% less 10%, too? Whatever.

The old label only wants 50 grand, an no points. Hell, Sub Pop got 3 points when they let Nirvana go. They're signed for four years, with options on each year, for a total of over a million dollars! That's a lot of money in any man's English. The first year's advance alone is $250,000. Just think about it, a quarter million, just for being in a rock band!

Their manager thinks it's a great deal, especially the large advance. Besides, he knows a publishing company that will take the band on if they get signed, and even give them an advance of grand, so they'll be making that money too. The manager says publishing is pretty mysterious, and nobody really knows where all the money comes from, but the lawyer can look that contract over too. Hell, it's free money.

Their booking agent is excited about the band signing to a major. He says they can maybe average $1,000 or $2,000 a night from now on. That's enough to justify a five week tour, and with tour support, they can use a proper crew, buy some good equipment and even get a tour bus! Buses are pretty expensive, but if you figure in the price of a hotel room for everybody In the band and crew, they're actually about the same cost. Some bands, like Therapy? and Sloan and Stereolab) use buses on their tours even when they're getting paid only a couple hundred bucks a night, and this tour should earn at least a grand or two every night. It'll be worth it. The band will be more comfortable and will play better.The agent says a band on a major label can get a merchandising company to pay them an advance on T-shirt sales! Ridiculous! There s a gold mine here! The lawyer should look over the merchandising contract, just to be safe.

They get drunk at the signing party. Polaroids are taken and everybody looks thrilled. The label picked them up in a limo.They decided to go with the producer who used to be in Letterman's band. He had these technicians come in and tune the drums for them and tweak their amps and guitars. He had a guy bring in a slew of expensive old "vintage" microphones. Boy, were they "warm." He even had a guy come in and check the phase of all the equipment in the control room! Boy, was he professional. He used a bunch of equipment on them and by the end of it, they all agreed that it sounded very "punchy," yet "warm."All that hard work paid off. With the help of a video, the album went like hotcakes! They sold a quarter million copies!Here is the math that will explain just how fucked they are:

These figures are representative of amounts that appear in record contracts daily. There's no need to skew the figures to make the scenario look bad, since real-life examples more than abound. income is starred, expenses are not.