I was a conventional lawyer until the early 1990s when I made some friends in music and was asked to look over their contracts.  Today I get approached by a lot of people who are interested in getting into this side of the business.  My advice is always to concentrate on qualifying as a general lawyer first, then deciding whether entertainment law is for you.  Music law is mostly about intellectual copyright, contracts and negotiation.  A good way to start is by getting work experience in the business affairs department at a record company.

 

 

The main issue facing bands today is the lack of funding for new artists.  Major labels have become extremely cautious and are unwilling to invest in unproven talent, so artists have to do it themselves and develop to a certain level before anyone will take notice.  This kind of DIY activity can be hard to fund, so bands and labels have to bear a lot of the costs themselves and have to be quite ingenious in their marketing and promotion.  This means getting the fans to invest in bands, or using family support, grants and funding schemes.  It’s a great way to work because the artist gets to keep total creative control.

 

The most important thing for new bands to realise is that they are a business.  They should think about their long-term career rather than the short-term allure of a major label deal.  This is often seen as the Holy Grail but it is not always the right thing to do.  Remember that 90% of artists who sign to a major label never get make a second album.

 

 

The relationship between band members is generally defined as a partnership.  This is important because partners are equally entitled to any profits, and equally responsible for any losses.  I advise any band that we represent to seriously consider having a written partnership agreement that applies to all members and formalises their arrangement.  This would deal with what happens if someone leaves and would define who owns the band name, the web site, the equipment and other assets.

 

 

The traditional management agreement gives the manager 20% gross commission on everything but income from live music, where they get 20% of net income.  [This is an important point, because gigs and tours can generate thousands of pounds in ticket receipts but they also incur huge expenses.  You should never allow a manager to commission gross income on gigs, as you could face a serious bill even when you make a loss on tour.]

 

You don’t necessarily need to have written agreement with your manager and many will work on a handshake deal.  The relationship is based entirely on trust, and it is actually more in the manager’s interest to have a written agreement.  On a handshake deal the band can terminate the arrangement whenever they want, but under a written agreement there are fixed terms that protect the manager if the artist isn’t happy and wants to end the relationship.

 

 

I think that the importance of physical CD sales will continue to diminish and that the business will be based more on live shows.  The DIY side of things will keep growing, and people will be able to set up their own businesses and make a living with a relatively low amount of sales.  The power balance will continue to shift away from corporate business into hands of creative people, and as long as they are properly advised and funded they should be able to dictate to some extent way things will evolve.

 

It’s a minefield out there and you need to be very careful in choosing who you work with, particularly when you put your music online.  There are three ways to do this.  1) Sell your music yourself on your own web site; 2) make a deal directly with the digital music stores; or 3) use an aggregator – the middle men who sell your music on to the big digital music stores and take a percentage for the service.

 

 

Never sign anything without getting advice from an independent qualified music lawyer.