He created the first-of-its-kind editing plug-in BriefCatch. And thats, you know, damaging conclusion from many perspectives. Uploaded for archival purposes. (In response, the label played down the conflict:We pride ourselves on our industry-leading track record of putting songwriters first and helping them to achieve their creative and commercial goals. Practical in the sense that its tracking reality while still hopefully remaining faithful to the original. Mike Whelan [00:10:12] Hey, everybody, Im Mike Whelen. I wrote a book. So the tool, the tool were looking at brief catch, you know, there you go. Why is a shift to plain language important? Exclusive Recording Agreement THE ISLAND DEF JAM MUSIC GROUP,A DIVISION OF UMG RECORDINGS, INC. 1755 BROADWAY NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10019 Dated as of March 10, 2013 Kanye West c/o Carroll, Guido & Groffman, LLP 1790 Broadway, 20 th Floor Suite 800 New York, NY 10019 Attention: Michael Guido, Esq. This is what were going after. But we at Law Insider put them all together in PDF, will make sure that you have a link to it. What am I looking at here? Music won't offerservices or provide A&R or label services related to more than two rejected artists. Its all digital. "We get used to these things and then sometimes, theres a wakeup call, says one artist. There was about 100 pages of documents that he probably should not have posted on Twitter, but he did anyway. After delivering his proof, Yeezy tweeted, "90% of the record contracts on the planet are still on a royalty A standard record deal is a trap to NEVER have you recoup, and theres all these hidden costs like the 'distribution fees' many labels put in their contracts to make even more money off our work without even trying.". The language looks like something you might find, you know, 50, 100 years ago. Just minutes prior, he had finished tweeting out the entirety of his Universal contract, one page at a time for a total of more than 100 tweets. They will help you draft better contracts faster. Contribute to NetOpWibby/kanye-west-contracts development by creating an account on GitHub. Normally, its sort of reversed. Wests contract could even be considered favorable among superstar contracts, with Universal heavily investing in Wests works, entertainment attorney Christiane Kinney says. 1980 At 3, Kanye moves to Chicago with his mother following his parents' divorce. THE HOST:Mike Whelan is the author of Lawyer Forward: Finding Your Place in the Future of Law and host of the Lawyer Forward community. I didnt know this was the thing, but apparently its a Twitter meme. Kanye West has been slapped with a lawsuit by music publisher EMI after attempting to get out of his publishing deal by claiming the contract equates to slavery.. These are the documents that were talking about. As far as the actual deal goes, Kanyes isnt particularly bad: Music lawyerswho spoke with Rolling Stone call Wests deal standard for an artist at his level. Every audio file, every asset, every deal stored WITH the money. On Wednesday afternoon, Kanye West publicly posted what he purported to be his Universal Music Group recording contracts, sharing them page by page via Twitter. Come join me. Kanye West signed singer-songwriter Teyana Taylor to his record label, G.O.O.D Music, in 2012 while she was in the midst of production on his album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . In 2011, Kanye and Jay-Z joined forces musically and created theirWatch the Thronejoint album. One strange structure commonly found in the record industry is the way profits are divided. You need to have some consistency, trying to keep that in there while still, again, capturing the the legal the truly contract law based elements of the original, the proviso, the, you know, the preemption, the classic for the avoidance of doubt and so forth, trying to trying to preserve all that, but not going so far as to worry about sentence length just for the sake of sentence length. Ross Guberman [00:15:01] Yeah, Kanye could read this. mrbonesHOK Mike Whelan [00:01:11] Yeah, Im doing the fancy background with the product placement. Histhird contract period consisted of15 percent of the royalty base with respect to master recordings during third contract period,15 percent of sales of an album in excess of 500,000 units and16 percent of sales of an album in excess of 1 million units. He shared the dramatic, rant-fueled background and then took Kanyes request seriously. Youre going to sign the amendment. Lawyers. Right. The partnership was a nightmare for both Negrito and the label, he says. Absolutely. And we have to be very careful, of course, you know, translating things like provisos like provided, however, that in dealing with Shell and the like. The deal was huge, man, they give you money to live off of. Is this incorporated in in any way? Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Roc-A-Fella is obligated to pay such producers a higher fixed amount (the "higher amount") for the applicable project, Grantor's royalty account and the production budget for the applicable recording project will be charged with a recording cost item equal to the higher amount in lieu of the amounts set forth in the preceding sentence. I will never work for a major record label again, Anokute says. We can walk you through that process and get you on the show to tear down another contract. What is this document? UMG is the parent company of Def Jam and West's G.O.O.D. Why are artists paying a 20 percent distribution fee off the top?, Related So the blue, you know, the blue, the kinds of things briefcase picks up as well. They dont want they dont want whats on the right to somehow control. Kanye West has been active on Twitter once again. 1-year deal. And so were going to go through parts of this. Thats why we brought contract language expert Ross Guberman onto the Contract Teardown show. Ross Guberman [00:20:11] Yeah, I think part of that is really bracketing off, just as you are saying, words and phrases that a lawyer knows have substantive value. (In response, the label played down the conflict: Theres no more independent plants, no more putting all these CDs in a truck and shipping them from store to store across the country, Chris Anokute, founder of entertainment company Young Forever Inc. and a former A&R executive for labels including Capitol and Island Def Jam, tells, Anokute manages several clients including Curtis Waters, who recently, While Anokute points the barrel primarily at the labels dishing out deals arguing that these deals perpetuate the very inequalities for black artists that the, If you have a kid who knows nothing about law and sees all this money, these contracts are 60 pages long, who the fuck is reading that? Anokute says. T, hey dont give you updates, and in 25 years, Ive never checked about recoupments, Negrito says. W aiting for a Kanye West album can be an excruciating, interminable experience. So I apologize to both of you D.C. people watching. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time Kanye West leaked his recording contracts on Twitter. Theyre paying for all of the promotion of music videos and concerts because its coming out off the top. Whats the best way to get in touch with you to learn these skills? The contracts show Kanye received a $2.3 million advance in 2005 for his album, Late Registration, with an additional $1.2 million as a recording budget.For . We took the full. Music, is no. Ye went from $6.6 billion to maybe $400 million. Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer. And of course, this became a big story, in part because he totally undermined Taylor Swift some number of years ago about get wanting to get her masters back and saying, look, you just got to play the deal in this case. Artists like Kanye feel that they are being cheated. West made about a 100 posts and shared screenshots of pages from his recording contract. The dates of the files range from 2005 to 2014. Welcome to Law Insiders Contract Teardown Show, where we bring smart friends like Ross Guberman over here to break down some contracts. Kanye West gave the world a rare glimpse into the music industry 's labyrinth of recording contracts last week when he tweeted out his own paperwork with Universal Music Group and then. I mean, shoot, producers can take $15,000 to $20,000 a piece on each track. One way to begin is by bracketing off phrases or words that you know have a substantive value. The rapper and his team signed an agreement on January 5 with the venue for a 25-day rental totaling $125,000, expenses of $20,000, and four new office chairs for $813, the lawsuit says. The plain-language portion may influence what is interpreted on the left. Mike Whelan [00:24:07] That is perfect. Music label, has the right to take the rejected artist to a third party label. Kanye West signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, which was under Island Def Jam Music Group, whose parent company is Universal Music Group, on April 13, 2005. The Record Industry Spencer Cornelia 486K subscribers Subscribe 98K views 2 years ago Kanye West recently posted his record contracts on Twitter and it's clearly become a. Ross Guberman [00:02:46] Its you know, its a great vehicle to take this whole plan, English idea and see if we can, you know, apply it literally seriously or both, because although you say you had an emotional breakdown, hes hardly the first part of your client to object to contract language. Many young artists dont realize how recoupment works, in which a label fronts the money for artists advances and expenses like recording and marketing, to be paid back to the label through royalties later. The defined terms, look, the defined terms are this is conventional, we dont want to completely revolutionize everything theyre necessary because of this intersecting set of agreements. Kanye also has a right to have a digital store, in which he can sell his album and the deluxe version on a website, but the deluxe is only exclusive to him for 90 days. They have before and after sections. And according to the general counsel, its worked wonders. Ive got blues and Ive got reds. We didnt spend our advance on cars or jewelry, we bought a house. Royalty portals need to show (and do not now) Every song you delivered, Every store you are in, How many streams per song Income per song. Push this button right here that will allow you to join Law Insider at a premium subscription. This is Kanyes contracts. It's unclear if it actually will. And Im going to share a few images. call Wests deal standard for an artist at his level. We were lucky because we were careful. After that point, UMG can distribute the albums on their own. They are for your entire business. The rapper initially sued the . In September 2020, "Kanye West Record Deal" started trending. He got into a major accident that put him in a three-week coma, and Interscope dropped him not long after. And they dont completely replace the jargon that lawyers need to include. 22% royalty rate for Kanye (and 78% for the record label). One hundredpercent of video costs of any video production costs in excess of $300,000 per video isrecoupable from audio-only record royalties. He ended the spree with, 'Whew that was a lot guys," and then tweeted a video of himself peeing on a Grammy award. Mike Whelan [00:00:53] Hey, everybody. The contract indicates that these figures would increase with each release, and Kanye West and his company would receive 20 percent of each minimum after notifying the label that the. And for Kanye and for all these performers, they were really giving money based on albums, unlike CD sales, which is not a thing anymore. Equity & Blanket Licenses are the majority of future new income. Money and Music must stay together. Ideally, he says, artists should have legal representation working in their best interest to point out red-flag clauses: While an artist should be wary of what theyre signing rather than looking solely at the immediate paycheck, young and starry-eyed artists whove never seen so much money may not understand that yet. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. Not every artist has time to read the, Amy Noonan, who records as Qveen Herby and was formerly half of 2010s pop duo. West also made his feelings towards the label clear in 2020, when he tweeted images of his record contract, noting he felt he was treated unfairly. After agreeing to the amount spent on the film, they took $1 million from Kanyes sixth album backend and then $500,000 from his seventh album's recording fund. his own paperwork with Universal Music Group and then, far as the actual deal goes, Kanyes isnt particularly bad: Music lawyerswho spoke with. But if Kanye West 's statements last year about slavery being a choice were out of bounds, he's taking more of a Prince-like tactic in his ongoing efforts to extract himself from his record. Rap superstar Kanye West is leading a revolt against . Nirvana Vinyl Records. Island Def Jam can also recoup 100 percent profit ofCruel Summer/Hawaii costs. But, Ross, if people want to get in touch with you and get a sense of how to differentiate, I mean, this seems to be the hard skill is differentiating between this is a legally significant and archaic, but its significant. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with the Island Def Jam Music Group in 2011. And then on the contract lingo, contract language side, we approach it differently. Now, with a click of a finger, your music goes wide to 7 billion people if you want it to. Ross Guberman [00:03:18] And so Im the president of legal writing prose, so Ive been doing workshops and consulting on all different aspects of lawyer writing and judicial writing for a couple of decades now. See's Kanye West's Record Contract Tweets, revealing the intricate details of his record label contract. Until then, Ross, I appreciate you being here. Pearl Jam Vinyl Records. But there is some movement, especially in the tech industry, also consumer facing company, some movement, and then a little bit, too, in the more staid commercial world. The equity is the Artists. But they were reluctant to strike a deal with the young producer/rapper. Kanye West Tweets About His '10' Recording Contracts: 'I Need Every Lawyer in the World to Look at These' In his latest string of tweets about his recording deals Wednesday (Sept. 16),. Kanye West's history of inflammatory statements were met with consquences this week. So, Ross, were going to tear down the contracts that Kanye shared. It shows this sort of left to right set up on this exclusion of liability document. Mike Whelan [00:14:30] So then talk to me about this after Im looking at the after version of the profit sharing agreement. Having the original text on the left side, then adding a shortened version on the right helps. And then if theres some kind of a difference between that amount and the recording costs. Theyre taking risks and investing in acts, Kinney says. Kanye West's first record label he signed with was a pretty major institution. So thats, you know, the kind of thing you see in a lot of consumer facing agreements these days, especially with what these tech companies that are under the gun. Rosss balanced language approach will help you meet your clients demands for both clarity and effectiveness. However, Gruberman says this is still a good way to use plain language for understandability. Twitter users, who were waiting to get their hands on the documents after much suspense, were completely underwhelmed. He was given a $6 million advance for his seventh album with $3 million designated to recording costs. Facebook did something a little bit different, but along the same lines to, you know, to keep the language the lawyers want on the left and then on the right either introduced the topic or the issue that the provision covers or in some cases actually rewrite it in plain English, as you know, were discussing. Miguel Candela / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images file So you pay to see your money!!! Leave. If you push this button, youre going to save big. Although, there is a concern here. Whats the language that stands out to you as particularly harmful to the understanding of the parties, which is really what a contract is supposed to do, right? Music record label. The recording fund amounts for Yeezy's third through seventh albums were listed as follows:third album: minimum recording fund $300,000, maxing recording fund $650,000;fourth album: minimum recording fund $325,000, maxing recording fund $700,000;fifth album: minimum recording fund $400,000, maxing recording fund $850,000;sixth album: minimum recording fund $425,000, maxing recording fund $900,000;seventh album: minimum recording fund $450,000, maxing recording fund $950,000. Advances are loans with 75% interest rates (or worse). . Gruberman states that it is possible to use plain English while keeping meaningful industry and legal terms intact. Its sort of a it, Ross Guberman [00:17:40] hasnt been taken. How that how how that would play out. I hope youre enjoying this episode of the contract tear down show. Kanye West Posts Over 100 Pages of His Record Label Contracts, Tweet by Tweet Tyler Sharp Published: September 16, 2020 David Crotty / Patrick McMullan, Getty Images Kanye West made. Its its unfortunately the the words and phrases that are operative to. So so as I play this in the background, tell me about some of the phrases that youre seeing in this that are just driving you nuts. And the reason that it applies to us is this awesome tweet that all the lawyers got excited about, where he says the first thing that changes about record deals is actually lawyers. Portals. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. So if Im a lawyer and Im negotiating with another side and youre very practical about these things, like although the plain language movement is nice, in theory, youve got to negotiate with somebody else who might like that archaic language. Yeezy, West's sneaker and apparel business with Adidas AG and Gap Inc., is valued at $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion by UBS Group AG, according to a private document reviewed by Bloomberg. It seems that the artists themselves are paying for the production and promotion of their work since their cut goes towards expenses, but the labels cut does not. So heres an amendment. LA Man Charged With Hate Crimes Threatened Classmate: I Want You Dead, Jew As artists, we know its something thats been happening, but we get used to a lot of things, like voting numbers or police brutality. Search the history of over 797 billion However, they were only thumbnails that could barely been seen by the naked eye, even when enlarged. So the rest, you know, if its not a one of those categories, its either an industry term of art or just normal English talking about finance or recording. You need a business manager to read how you did? You dont want to change reasonable efforts where you dont necessarily want to rewrite the word severable. Should the labels be able to make a profit off of this? Ross Guberman [00:05:55] Yeah, I mean, its obviously a common plea, not just from Kanye West, but from all sorts of, you know, business executives to theres been sort of push and pull over the decades that people have been complaining about contract language for longer than either of us has been alive, of course. Some examples would be words such as materiality, reasonable efforts, and severable. If we were to legit tear down, wed be here till 2021, assuming we all live that long. When your term ends, download it all. Logic tweeted that Def Jam refused to pay for a remix of his recent song Perfect that would feature Lil Wayne. In the contract Kanye shared, a lot of the language used to describe this relationship is obviously archaic and can be simplified. (Rex Features) Kanye West tweeted dozens of pages from his recording contract with Universal Music Group yesterday (Wednesday 16 September . In the process of that latter Twitter. His. Thank you, Ross. Within the deal, Kanye was obligated to release six albums, inaddition tohis initial effort, TheCollege Dropout(2004), within a 12-month span. Theyre there of the, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, if any. Language expert Ross Guberman onto the contract Teardown show bring smart friends like Ross Guberman [ 00:17:40 hasnt... This was the thing, but apparently its a Twitter meme is by bracketing phrases. In September 2020, & quot ; started trending the language used to these things and then took request! Onto the contract Kanye shared, a lot of the profit sharing.. He says, Negrito says file, every asset, every deal stored with the island Jam! Off phrases or words that you know, blah, blah, blah, blah if! Label contract 2021, assuming we all live that long rewrite the word severable Group 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..., 100 years ago record deal & quot ; Kanye West leaked his contracts! Statements were met with consquences this week 's Kanye West leaked his recording contract with Universal heavily investing acts! Negrito and the label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with the young producer/rapper to recording costs welcome Law... This relationship is obviously archaic and can be an excruciating, interminable experience you... Legit tear down show here that will allow you to join Law Insider at a premium subscription commonly! To somehow control the recording costs there was about 100 pages of documents that he probably should not posted. Have a link to it a piece on each track his recording contract Thronejoint.. Yeah, Kanye moves to Chicago with his mother following his parents & x27! Tweets, revealing the intricate details of his recent song Perfect that would feature Lil Wayne he.! Is still a good way to begin is by bracketing off phrases or words that you have a substantive.. Is leading a revolt against to live off of this the tool, the,... Legal terms intact original text on the left side, then adding a shortened version on the right helps would... A Kanye West has been active on Twitter, but apparently its a meme... Artist to a third party label jargon that lawyers need to include to a. 100 percent profit ofCruel Summer/Hawaii costs page as it appears now for use as a trusted in... About a 100 posts and shared screenshots of pages from his recording contracts on Twitter there of the range... Button right here that will allow you to join Law Insider at a premium subscription &!, he says at 3, Kanye and Jay-Z joined forces musically and theirWatch. Used to describe this relationship is obviously archaic and can be an excruciating, interminable experience party label Wednesday. He got into a major record label he signed with was a nightmare for Negrito. To tear down the contracts that Kanye shared, a lot of the language used to describe this is... Or jewelry, we bought a house this exclusion of liability document rate. Million designated to recording costs for both Negrito and the label, the! Wakeup call, says one artist contribute to NetOpWibby/kanye-west-contracts development by creating an on. Can walk you through that process and get you on the left off the top wide to billion. Suspense, were going to tear down show major accident that put him in a three-week coma, and 25! Change reasonable efforts, and severable after much suspense, were completely underwhelmed wakeup,... At Law Insider at a premium subscription royalty rate for Kanye ( and 78 % the! Is obviously archaic and can be simplified, the tool, the tool were looking at brief catch, know! Mike Whelan [ 00:01:11 ] Yeah, Kanye moves to Chicago with his mother following his &... The thing, but apparently its a Twitter meme were reluctant to strike a deal with the.. You need a business manager to read how you did jewelry, we a! 22 % royalty rate for Kanye ( and 78 % for the record )... People watching the product placement, he says, damaging conclusion from perspectives. Make a profit off of this, every asset, every deal stored with the island Def Jam and &! Plain English while keeping meaningful industry and legal terms intact Twitter, but apparently its a Twitter.! The best way to begin is by bracketing off phrases or words that you have link. Industry is the way profits are divided third party label distribute the albums their! Shared the dramatic, rant-fueled background and then sometimes, theres a wakeup call, says one artist $ billion! Has the right to somehow control what is interpreted on the right to somehow.. Their hands on the right to somehow control 300,000 per video isrecoupable from audio-only record royalties that,. [ 00:17:40 ] hasnt been taken reluctant to strike a deal with the young producer/rapper three-week,! Right helps to right set up on this exclusion of liability document intricate details of his record label.! In touch with you to learn these skills and created theirWatch the Thronejoint album found in sense! Shared screenshots of pages from his recording contract excruciating, interminable experience 100 Greatest TV Shows of Time. ; s history of inflammatory statements were met with consquences this week!!!!!!!. Bracketing off phrases or words that you have a substantive value Wednesday 16 September again, says! Group in 2011 standard for an artist at his level Hey, everybody Im! Is by bracketing off phrases or words that you have a substantive value Negrito says its tracking while!, Hey dont give you money to live off of this for seventh! Perfect that would feature Lil Wayne way to use plain English while keeping meaningful industry and legal intact! The way profits are divided any video production costs in excess of $ 300,000 per video isrecoupable from audio-only royalties... Blanket Licenses are the majority of future new income about this after Im looking at brief catch, know... This week by creating an account on GitHub Guberman [ 00:15:01 ],! Use as a trusted citation in the future Licenses are the majority of future new income never... Adding a shortened version on the left side, then adding a shortened version the... Off phrases or words that you know, damaging conclusion from many.! Ive never checked about recoupments, Negrito says standard for an artist at level. Via Getty Images file so you pay to see your money!!!!!!!... 6 million advance for his seventh album with $ 3 million designated to recording costs recording costs that are to. New income Wests contract could even be considered favorable among superstar contracts, with a click of a between. In the record label again, Anokute says Gruberman says this is still good! Words such as materiality, reasonable efforts where you dont necessarily want to rewrite the word severable could even considered. All of the language used to these things and then on the show to tear down another contract,. Artist at his level from many perspectives lawyers need to include change reasonable efforts where you dont want they completely. & # x27 ; divorce right helps a it, Ross, were going to tear down.! Right to somehow control not have posted on Twitter once again costs in excess of $ 300,000 video! Here to break down some contracts ye went from $ 6.6 billion to maybe $ 400 million brief catch you... ( and 78 % for the record industry is the way profits are divided with money! Can walk you through that process and get you on the show tear... And Interscope dropped him not long after money to live off of.! Why we brought contract language side, we approach it differently a revolt against have posted on Twitter, apparently... To NetOpWibby/kanye-west-contracts development by creating an account on GitHub of documents that he probably should not have on! Live off of this has the right to take the rejected artist to a third party.... Twitter users, who were waiting to get their hands on the right to take the rejected to! With 75 % interest rates ( or worse ) 2011, Kanye and Jay-Z joined forces musically and created the... This episode of the files range from 2005 to 2014 word severable i will never work for a of. Everybody, Im mike Whelen of the language looks like something you might find you! The contract tear down another contract an artist at his level people watching label again, Anokute.... For use as a trusted citation in the sense that its tracking while... But apparently its a Twitter meme Im looking at brief catch, you know, damaging conclusion from perspectives... Every audio file, every asset, every asset, every deal stored the. Heavily investing in Wests works, entertainment attorney Christiane Kinney says and shared screenshots of pages from his recording.! Related to more than two rejected artists Kanye shared, a lot of the, know! Logic tweeted that Def Jam and West & # x27 ; divorce theyre paying for all the! Superstar contracts, with Universal heavily investing in acts, Kinney says and concerts because its coming out off top! Everybody, Im doing the fancy background with the product placement Kanye and Jay-Z joined forces musically and created the... The sense that its tracking reality while still hopefully remaining faithful to the general counsel, its worked wonders on... A shortened version on the right to somehow control exclusion of liability document in contract. Join Law Insider put them all together in PDF, will make that. Met with consquences this week ( Wednesday 16 September possible to use plain for... Somehow control one hundredpercent of video costs of any video production costs in excess of $ 300,000 per isrecoupable...

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