Investment in Music Group that Major Label?
Question by Music Executive: Investment in Music Group that Major Label?
My independent record company owns recordings of a very popular music group and they have just been picked up by a major label who is throwing in millions in world wide promotion.
Should I sell my rights to the label or should I re-release the music riding the coat tails of the major labels huge investment.
I need to invest about $ 100-K to make about 2 million if I re-release the songs.
Advice?
Best answer:
Answer by #1 bossman
seems to me that they shouldn’t have been able to buy the rights to any new recordings by the group if you already own the rights to their music and have them under contract…..unless your contract with them covered only the body of work that they have under your label and doesn’t include any new works…..at any rate you probably will come out better with a lump sum payout from them by selling the rights to the catalog you already have…..this is such a fickle and trend-based business as you already well know that there’s a 50/50 chance that the label will take a bath in a bad investment as musical tastes change from year to year and month to month…..at least with an up front payout by selling them off you know what you will be getting….if you try to capitalize on a seemingly long term investment you may come out making little to nothing if the major label makes nothing…..
at any rate I wish I could fall into a sweet deal like that….i’ve been in this game for over 20 years and while making a comfortable profit from our own self-produced music, it is such an up and down thing that nothing is garuanteed and I would jump on the chance for a lump sum buyout and use it to develop and promote other groups…..this is definately one business where quantity is better….because you never know what the buying public is going to go for from one year to the next…..and you should have your money coming in from many different groups rather than putting all your money into one group hoping they will benefit from the signing with a major label……if they don’t show immediate profits then they will be relegated to the back catalog and then where will you be?
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