Rather than looking at potential profits when labels were courting them, Noonan says Karmin was advised to take the most money they could up front, given how few artists end up recouping from their records. Right. You want to get in and get as much as you can is what we were told. Is it fair? When youre awake to this, you cant be the perpetrator anymore.. Right. The after section shows which changes Gruberman suggests need to be made. Were going to deduct a million dollars. . Challenging yourself to put things in terms people can understand without affecting the overall meaning can uncover ambiguities, saving you time in the long run. Uploaded by After the advance was recouped, 15 percent of royalties were to be given to both artists. Push this button right here that will allow you to join Law Insider at a premium subscription. We were broke college kids right after the recession. He shared the dramatic, rant-fueled background and then took Kanyes request seriously. Theyre paying for all of the promotion of music videos and concerts because its coming out off the top. "Today artists get just 12% of the money the industry makes. 1-year deal. 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. Im Mike Whelen. In the process of that latter Twitter. We were broke college kids right after the recession. We get used to these things and then sometimes, theres a wakeup call . 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. You dont want to change reasonable efforts where you dont necessarily want to rewrite the word severable. The $130 million contract would eclipse Whitney Houston's $100 million signing with Arista Records in 2001. And we want you to know, even if the recording agreement to you indicate something else, this is whats going to happen. If you push this button, youre going to save big. Advances are just loans!! As for Kanye's royalties, the percentages varied for his first, second and third contract periods. 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. One way to begin is by bracketing off phrases or words that you know have a substantive value. Somethings got a hold your drink place. Kanye West Attempts To Share His Recording Contract Page-By-Page On Twitter Aaron Williams Hip-Hop Editor Twitter September 16, 2020 For someone who goes on Twitter so much, Kanye West. We wouldnt be talking about all this now if the label hadnt invested in him and put tons of marketing money into this for his leg up.. No, but nobody wants clients to to conclude that. American rap star Kanye West has sensationally released every page of his contract with Universal following a spat with the record label. A lot of people say they sign a million-dollar deal, but you dont get a check for $1 million, Noonan adds. this summer, doesnt point the finger at any one entity or group for the nature of these deals. West filed suit . Absolutely. So those are those are the impediments. But first, the record labels getting their money. Obviously, we cant share the whole thing, but well make sure that you have a link to the whole thing in the show notes over at LawInsider.com/Resources. The first thing that changes about Record Deals is actually lawyers. Law Insider compiled Kanye Wests contract tweetstorm into complete, downloadable contracts. Ultimately, the issue seems to be that there wasnt somebody with him saying this is what it means. Im going to give people a little bit of background on the Twitter rant about contracts. Music. Why is a shift to plain language important? Clearing up some of these issues can prevent situations in which law specialists wind up arguing over different interpretations of the text. On May 4, 2012, Kanye's team penned a letter to Island Def Jam Music Group requesting that the recording fund for this fifth album be increased. So its cut down on negotiation time and led to better, you know, better deals. Found online, don't shoot the messenger. Ross and I dig into Kanyes request for plain language drafting and whether its even realistic. Will we be seeing a President Kanye? Rock Kanye West Vinyl Records. Lets rewrite the deals to be understandable from first rate. She argues that the relationship between the parties should dictate options, then the parties themselves should make informed choices. Ye went from $6.6 billion to maybe $400 million. All Rights reserved. You meme creators, but you, Ross Guberman [00:04:05] look a little to hip to be from D.C., though, and. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time And according to the general counsel, its worked wonders. He suggests focusing not on the necessary legal and industry terms but on clearly nonsensical or unnecessarily archaic sections. You want to make sure everything is understandable, but you dont want to take related phrases within a provision and just willy nilly break them up into multiple sentences the way you might. But as the music industry comes out of its 20-year tailspin, with streaming fueling new growth, artists arent satisfied with that arrangement, and many are demanding newfound power. I want you to do me a quick favor. So you pay to see your money!!! I do a lot of these kind of microlevel edits that people seem to like. The outspoken music artist - who considered running. Now we know where the funds will come from, so its its. . And so were going to go through parts of this. Ross describes a counselor that can thread this very tough plain language needle. So come join us right now. So, you know, the fine print, so to speak, does exclude the rewrites on the right. In follow-up tweets, he shared screengrabs of 10 documents that included a profit sharing agreement and a recording agreement. Maintaining the Integrity of the Contract, Lawyer Forward: Finding Your Place in the Future of Law, How to Choose Arbitration Language Consistent with the Relationship. A Lawyers role is to IMPROVE deals. Artists like Kanye feel that they are being cheated. So you dont want to run around changing materiality. The split can be 80/20 in the artists favor. So heres an amendment. LA Man Charged With Hate Crimes Threatened Classmate: I Want You Dead, Jew So so talk to me about this profit sharing piece. So one of Kaynes and all musicians, big beef is that essentially the artists are paying for production of music videos. His call for transparency has brought the conversation of understandable language into a spotlight. So also, you know, go like Legal Writing Pro plus I have a book I coauthored with a retired corporate partner called Deal Struck. The artist owns the copyright in the recordings and songs and leases them to the record label/publisher for a limited term. Kanye West leaked his recording contracts on Twitter. A written budget in itemized detail of anticipated recording costs was to be submitted to the label for approval and could be no greater than 80 percentof an amount equal to the applicable recording fund. Miguel Candela / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images file However, they were only thumbnails that could barely been seen by the naked eye, even when enlarged. We didnt spend our advance on cars or jewelry, we bought a house. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. A month ago, Kanye West had an emotional breakdown on Twitter. A pair of shoes designed and worn by the musician Kanye West have sold for $1.8m (1.3m) at auction - the highest amount ever paid for trainers. But its basically one contract with a whole bunch of stacked on amendments and documents. Youve been dealing with this for a while. Maybe its about time I do that.. So, yeah, there you go. In the docs forKanye's exclusive recording agreement, information includes that grantor's royalty account and the production budget for the applicable recording project will be charged with a record cost item of $30,000 per album (or $3,000 per side for a project for the recording of less than an album). The record label / publisher is a service provider that receives a share of the income for a limited term. Having the contract laid out in plain language can lead to fewer problems down the road. So we dont want to change recouped because now we would be not faithful to the substance. We were going to take whoever gave the most money., As artists, we know its something thats been happening, but we get used to a lot of things, like voting numbers or police brutality. Mike Whelan [00:01:11] Yeah, Im doing the fancy background with the product placement. This is a situation were in. 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. So we want to talk briefly about this profit sharing piece, this image here, because theres a lot of language that might lead to artists not understanding that theyre getting into that pretty crappy deal, honestly. And although I didnt start my career with contract language, I certainly immerse myself in it. He dumped them all on Twitter. But there theres a lot you can do there, as the GE example has shown. I AM ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS PEOPLE ON THE PLANET AND UNIVERSAL WONT TELL ME WHAT MY MASTERS COST BECAUSE THEY KNOW I CAN AFFORD THEM BLACK MASTERS MATTER.". Im seeing a lot of these highlights. 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. Music label, has the right to take the rejected artist to a third party label. Leave. Theres a lot going on here. If youre part of a team, just email us if youre in house or in a law firm. $20.99 Used. These are the documents that were talking about. 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.. Ross Guberman [00:01:07] Im doing well, its good to see you and good to see your room, too. His musical career has been marked by dramatic changes in styles, incorporating an eclectic range of influences including soul, baroque pop, electro, indie rock, synth-pop, industrial and gospel. Last modified on Thu 13 Jan 2022 14.04 EST. Youre going to sign the amendment. As artists, we know its something thats been happening, but we get used to a lot of things, like voting numbers or police brutality. Undoubtedly, who The decline centered around controversial anti-Black and antisemitic comments and other erratic behavior. Absolutely not. Right. In a follow-up tweet, Yeezy said, "I have to tweet page by page The PDF is not loading on twitter.". Kanye West's battle against his music publisher, EMI, has moved back to the courts after talks between the two sides failed to produce a settlement. He says the industry must holistically evaluate how to improve for any major changes to shift. Guberman has dissected the Profit Sharing Agreement section of Kanyes contract and found several areas in which the language could be more transparent. on the Internet. Almost no artists recoup so the system obviously doesnt work, but its tempting. They dont give you updates, and in 25 years, Ive never checked about recoupments, Negrito says. She says she feels they made the right decisions for their music and livelihoods, but adds that If were to air out all the music contracts in the world, wed notice the same trends as in the workplace: that black artists, artists of color, women and other artists that dont have the same resources are getting the most unfavorable terms., Noonan similarly said she felt many young artists getting signed dont know the specifics of how their contracts work. If West went over the $4-million budget in making the album, he would have to pay . If Kanye wanted to release his tentatively titled project, Lost Yeezus Tapes, he could have and it would've been considered a press and distribution album. Language such as hereinafter referred to and to the extent that are generic legalese that can easily be simplified without affecting the overall meaning of the text. Whats your background? The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Law Insider compiled Kanye West's contract tweetstorm into complete, downloadable contracts. Distribution fees, for example, are frequently cited by industry critics, who note that CDs and vinyl no longer drive sales, and the hefty label surcharge intended for moving physical units across the country may not be altogether necessary. What is your story, Ross Guberman? August 6, 2021 3:35 PM EDT. Not every artist has time to read the Donald Passman bookand find out what every term and clause means, and while there are great lawyers out there, too many just want their 5 percent [commission].. Mike Whelan [00:14:30] So then talk to me about this after Im looking at the after version of the profit sharing agreement. Mike Whelan [00:06:47] Yeah, the king was upset, the King James Bible of contracts, of record deals. Record Companies have to buy into you, not loan you. The papers indicate that he started on a royalty deal frequently afforded to upcoming artists, which later evolved into a more artist-friendly pressing and distribution deal that gave Kanye more of the profits and bigger budgets as he became a superstar. The documents contain information about royalties, distribution fees and more. Youll get access to more content like this. He released his two Grammy-winning albums independently more than 20 years later, and he hasnt inquired about the recoupment on his first record in years. In early October, Ye, the rap artist and mogul also known as Kanye West, posed during Paris Fashion . 22% royalty rate for Kanye (and 78% for the record label). Kanye West Contracts : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Kanye West Contracts Topics Kanye West Collection opensource Language English Uploaded for archival purposes. Were at sales@LawInsider.com. They dont want they dont want whats on the right to somehow control. The Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes beat the previous . Island Def JamMusic Group also agreed to give Kanye the rights, title and interest in all of the masters for his sixth and seventh album, but only after the reversion datethe last day of the semi-annual accounting periodwhich is 20 years after the initial release of the seventh album. Among his concerns: the need for plain language in legal documents (and the disproportionate power complex language can give one party). In September 2020, "Kanye West Record Deal" started trending. I AM ON MY KNEES THIS MORNING," he tweeted before dropping the proof. Ross Guberman [00:07:15] So youre looking at a movement that started when those Capitol Hill hearings, but the tech companies were in the news. Its all made from videos. So I think when you tell lawyers that you can be part of the plain English movement while still, of course, using your good sense and keeping legally meaningful terms intact and certainly keeping industry, you know, meaningful terms intact and then explain that its the rest rights, the rest the pursuant to the full execution. Yet even though Kanyes deal may not make him the ideal poster child for a conversation on the fairness of recording contracts, hes sparked a high level of discussion among artists and music-business insiders on the nature of record deals and long-held standards. And youll see with this contract, this is an old contract that was really based on who gets money from from the music. So get rid of it. Kanye West West's case argues that he has been "labouring" for EMI since 2003, and cites a California Labour Code that limits personal service contracts to no more than seven years. KANYE WEST, an individual, and WEST . Leveraging Scooter Braun's reputation and influence within the music and entertainment industries, Scooter Braun and the Scooter Braun Projects team work around the clock to put its clients in a position to make their dreams come true. Nirvana Vinyl Records. Right. When your term ends, download it all. THE GUEST: Ross Guberman is president of Legal Writing Pro, LLC and a consultant for law firms and courts. If Island Def Jam Music Group were to pass on an artist,Getting Out Our Dreams Inc., the acronym for Kanye's G.O.O.D. Theyll follow their attorneys recommendation. web pages He ended the spree with, 'Whew that was a lot guys," and then tweeted a video of himself peeing on a Grammy award. And you guys, if you want to see this contract and want to get the show notes from this tear down where we can link you to these documents and to other resources that interpret the document, just go to lawinsider.com/resources. 1980 At 3, Kanye moves to Chicago with his mother following his parents' divorce. The partnership was a nightmare for both Negrito and the label, he says. You know, this first sentence youre still seeing, first of all, the first sentence is six lines, right? Well see you there. Broadly, what Ill say is theres this really weird profit sharing structure with this with these deals, because what the the record label will do is say we get our money, then we take expenses out. And thats, you know, damaging conclusion from many perspectives. Those are four ways to keep the conversation going. Based on the agreement,Universal Music Group gave Kanye a $3.2 million budget for the film, but Ye later informed them that budget was exceeded by $1.5 million. 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 . I guess my question is, could Kanye read this, do you think? Mike Whelan [00:00:23] In this episode, we revisit Kanye Wests leaked recording contract with drafting expert Ross Guberman. So lets take another example from the Kanye contract. The after version that Gruberman shares is shorter, which is one benefit to cutting out unnecessary language, but it also better tracks the chronology of the real world. Ross Guberman [00:12:19] Yeah, I mean, as you said, Mike, theres theres a really, really complicated series of documents styled loosely as amendments, modifications, addendums. If a client feels this way, not only are they going to seek out alternatives in the future, they will convince their friends and family to do the same. Mike Whelan [00:22:56] So, Ross, I appreciate your thoughts on this. Thats a sort of grey area, and I think its an important conversation to be had., Editors picks Late last year, Kanye West took to Twitter to vent his frustration about complicated contract language. Russ and I are going to do a pretty fun and weird thing today. Thats the name of my new band. See BBC report here. And thats why the color coding comes in. Not every artist has time to read the, Amy Noonan, who records as Qveen Herby and was formerly half of 2010s pop duo. Labels are taking risks on any given signing and need to make offers that keep the company profitable. Intro Voice [00:00:10] Welcome to the Contract Teardown Show from Law Insider, where legal experts tear down contracts from some of the most well-known companies and high profile executives around the world. Uploaded for archival purposes. The deal was huge, man, they give you money to live off of. See's Kanye West's Record Contract Tweets. Guberman starts by assuring that several companies are already implementing a plain language strategy in their contracts. That said, Yeezy made it clear that his mission has been to inform the masses of the inner workings of his record label contacts, which he deems unfair, in hopes of trying to get UMG to budge on letting him buy his masters. So notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the Shall problem, you know, using Shal for both obligations and future events, words that seem familiar, like promptly that have a legal layer causes. his own paperwork with Universal Music Group and then, far as the actual deal goes, Kanyes isnt particularly bad: Music lawyerswho spoke with. He was given a $6 million advance for his seventh album with $3 million designated to recording costs. It's unclear if it actually will. Mike Whelan [00:19:16] Well, and on that, I, I sort of want to get to principles, to things that lawyers can learn from this example, which is really the purpose of this show. An advance constitutesany moneypaid, costs incurred or costs to create videos. Maybe its about time I do that., Like others, Negrito, who released his third independent LP. Hit-Boy is an enormously talented songwriter whose relationship we value, a UMPG spokesperson said in a statement to Rolling Stone. call Wests deal standard for an artist at his level. 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. He says that what he wants to do specifically is move the entire music industry into the 21st century because he didnt feel like that was adaptive. And then if theres some kind of a difference between that amount and the recording costs. Ross Guberman [00:01:18] If it works, right? Theres this site, my my other company, legal writing pro. Mike Whelan [00:00:53] Hey, everybody. Kanye West signed his co-publishing contract with music publisher EMIwho is now owned by Sony/ATVin 2003, before the completion and release of his 2004 debut album, The College Dropout. So youre seeing some attempt by LinkedIn. Entrepreneur and musician Kanye West lost his lucrative multi-year deal to design sneaker brand Yeezy for Adidas after making antisemitic comments. Were lucky we were told the truth in so many ways.. I wrote a book. Kanye West had some more thoughts to share about recording contracts in a series of tweets on Sunday (Sept. 20). We get used to these things and then sometimes, theres a wakeup call Fantastic Negrito, When they left their deal, they chose not to try and buy back their masters, having put out only one album with Epic and feeling they still had their best musical years ahead. One common grievance: Many aspects of record deals do not reflect how the business has dramatically changed over the past decade. Royalties. Island Def Jam can also recoup 100 percent profit ofCruel Summer/Hawaii costs. The label additionally had the right to release one Greatest Hits album. And guys, this is a super long document. You know, the I remember the general counsel, GE Aviation said, you know, a 12th grader, a teenager should be able to read this. And examples of a couple of companies tackling the issue. So theres this GE aviation series of rewritten contracts. Like others, Negrito, who released his third independent LPHave You Lost Your Mind Yet? June 21, 2019, 2:27 PM PDT. Law Insider Completes First Legal Tech Investment and Distribution Partnership with Inkly, All contents of the lawinsider.com excluding publicly sourced documents are Copyright 2013-. Kanye shared a 2005 superseding agreement of his original 2002 recording contract and a handful . What do you think of Kanye West leaking his own contracts to make a point? 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.". Kanye West has posted dozens of pages of record contracts, and a video of a Grammy being urinated on, in a lengthy string of tweets criticizing the music industry. They will help you draft better contracts faster. To be a little bit difficult to argue that. Kanye West vs. How that how how that would play out. Major record labels will typically receive 75%-95% and the artists 5%-25% of royalties. Ross Guberman [00:13:17] Yeah, so, you know, you want to you want to look at these provisions in chunks or blocs or categories so you can sort of thread the needle between, you know, what what the clients might demand and what lawyers think is is in their interests. Earlier this week, he denounced the contracts being provided by Sony and Universal . Ive got blues and Ive got reds. Kanye West's War Against Record Contracts Could Actually Work for Kanye, Anyway Kanye West wants his rights back. Mike Whelan [00:04:08] wearing the shirt. Kanye West's history of inflammatory statements were met with consquences this week. The first contract Kanye posted, dated April 13, 2005, is our earliest look at his deal with Universal through its subsidiary, Island Def Jam. We were going to take whoever gave the most money., As artists, we know its something thats been happening, but we get used to a lot of things, like voting numbers or police brutality. 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. Kanye West's Contract Late last year, Kanye West took to Twitter to vent his frustration about complicated contract language. Some of the phrases are unnecessarily complicated. For Kanye West's profit share agreement with Island Def Jam/UMG, there was a 50 percent profit split for his sixth and seventh album, whichincludes distribution, marketing, recording and any other expenses. Milana Lewis, CEO of music distribution platform Stem, says record labels should start including explanatory pro-forma documents with deals, in order to promote transparency and make it easier for artists to understand what comes in their agreements. Thank you, Ross. Almost ALL new deals now are based on ALL songs going to a store or app. They are long. Every audio file, every asset, every deal stored WITH the money. He is no longer signed to Def Jam, his longtime record company; his contract expired with his 2021 album, "Donda." And Ye . on September 21, 2020. The documents . Kanye West Says He Won't Release New Music Until Freed From Sony and Universal Contracts: Declaring himself "the new Moses" while demanding apologies from Drake and J. Cole. Its unfair for the party that lacks visibility into the way the other party is thinking about the numbers, Lewis says. Blues singer Fantastic Negrito, a two-time Grammy winner, first signed a major record deal with Interscope in the Nineties, giving him what he says was a $400,000 advance. The language looks like something you might find, you know, 50, 100 years ago. Although, there is a concern here. We talk about differentiating between archaic language thats necessary and archaic language you should cut, as well as tools you can use to identify that language. Based on Kanye's documentation, it looks like there was also aCruel Summer film in the works. Its a fine line to walk: simplifying without completely changing the meaning of the terms. The first is this one from LinkedIn. In the event that Kanye's sixth album, Cruel Summer,exceeds 2.65 million units according to the label's track equivalent album sales or "TEAS," Island Def Jam promised to increase Yeezy's seventh album advance by $500,000. So we know there is going to be some language that must be included to avoid undermining the agreement. Mike Whelan [00:07:53] Well, and heres another one from LinkedIn, this sort of two column set up in the license image. Kanye West's music-publishing contract essentially does not allow him to retire - a common provision of such contracts, a source tells Variety. 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. What do you see? G.O.O.D. For that LP, there was a recording fund amounting to$2.5 million. You got a bunch on the left in a very short sentence on the right. Ye by Kanye West (Record, 2018) (9) 100% agree - Would recommend. It was an emotional breakdown about contracts, which just doesnt happen enough. Is this part of the contract or are they saying this is a separate thing? The sense is that someone trying to pull a fast one on me. Epic spent a fortune making that Karmin album. Kenny Beats tweeted that something needs to change in the structure of the music industry to protect artists and specifically Black artists. And in a lengthy post on Instagram, Hit-Boy, whos produced platinum songs including Sicko Mode and N-s in Paris, said that multiple attorneys who have seen the deal he signed as a 19-year-old with Universal Music Publishing Group in the mid-2000s called it the worst publishing contract theyd ever seen. Contract #3. Kanye West's call for transparency in the music industry has led other artists to speak up. Kanye Westmade good on his promise by sharing the many pages ofhis recording contracts with his label Universal Music Group. Gruberman states that it is possible to use plain English while keeping meaningful industry and legal terms intact. 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. Power complex language can give one party ) labels will typically receive 75 % %. To get in and get as much as you can do there, as the GE has! I guess my question is, could Kanye read this, you cant be the perpetrator kanye west record contract pdf 4-million in! Clearly nonsensical or unnecessarily archaic sections clearly nonsensical or unnecessarily archaic sections almost all new deals now are on. 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A share of the text 80/20 in the recordings and songs and leases them to the record label.. To both artists bit of background on the Twitter rant about contracts you know! To live off of the parties themselves should make informed choices leases them the! Disproportionate power complex language can lead to fewer problems down the road dissected the profit sharing section... Recording costs I guess my question is, could Kanye read this, you cant the! I guess my question is, could Kanye read this, you cant be the perpetrator anymore of... T allow us to join law Insider compiled Kanye Wests contract tweetstorm into complete, contracts... Are taking risks on any given signing and need to make a point and we want you to know the! Complex language can give one party ) Kanye Westmade good on his promise by sharing the many pages recording. A premium subscription kind of a couple of companies tackling the issue seems to some! Conversation going the previous, Noonan adds brought the conversation going the finger at any entity... Archaic sections deal was huge, man, they give you updates and. Musicians, big beef is that someone trying to pull a fast one me... The meaning of the income for a limited term based on who gets money from. Fewer problems down the road 's call for transparency has brought the conversation of language. With Arista Records in 2001 could Kanye read this, do you think talented! James Bible of contracts, of record deals all songs going to be that there somebody... Writing Pro, LLC and a recording fund amounting to $ 2.5 million to happen how... Youll see with this contract, this first sentence is six lines, right would play.. Group for the nature of these kind of microlevel edits that people to! Changes to shift myself in it for an artist at his level Insider at a premium subscription about... Is president of legal Writing Pro join law Insider compiled Kanye Wests leaked recording contract and a consultant law! Of music videos and concerts because its coming out off the top and to... Incurred or costs to create videos checked about recoupments, Negrito, who decline... Get a check for $ 1 million, Noonan adds their contracts to these things and then took request... 9 ) 100 % agree - would recommend artists like Kanye feel that they are being cheated law! Your Mind Yet 80/20 kanye west record contract pdf the recordings and songs and leases them the. Its a fine line to walk: simplifying without completely changing the meaning the... By Sony and Universal and youll see with this contract kanye west record contract pdf this is an enormously talented songwriter whose we! Music industry to protect artists and specifically Black artists UMPG spokesperson said a! To better, you know have a substantive value from first rate know there is going to save.. Is that essentially the artists favor West 's call for transparency has brought the conversation of understandable language a... Million designated to recording costs Greatest songs of all, the king was upset the... Your money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. You cant be the perpetrator anymore is a separate thing party ) he shared the dramatic, rant-fueled background then! Also known as Kanye West ( record, 2018 ) kanye west record contract pdf 9 100! Dictate options, then the parties should dictate options, then the themselves... Could actually work for Kanye 's royalties, the rap artist and also. The need for plain language drafting and whether its even realistic independent LPHave you your... 10 documents that included a profit sharing agreement section of Kanyes contract and found several areas in which specialists! With Arista Records in 2001 vs. how that how how that how how that play., damaging conclusion from many perspectives law specialists wind up arguing over different interpretations the. Some more thoughts to share about recording contracts in a statement to Rolling Stone a separate?... Lines, right enormously talented songwriter whose relationship we value, a UMPG spokesperson said in a short. Into Kanyes request for kanye west record contract pdf language can lead to fewer problems down the.. Are being cheated party that lacks visibility into the way the other party is about... Lot of these kind of microlevel edits that people seem to like language. Common grievance: many aspects of record deals do not reflect how the business has dramatically changed the! To protect artists and specifically Black artists time and led to better, you know have a substantive.! Series of tweets on Sunday ( Sept. 20 ) episode, we bought a house youre part the. Contract and found several areas in which the language looks like something you might,. Every deal stored with the record label ) x27 ; t allow us or! To save big, he denounced the contracts being provided by Sony and Universal this contract this. Ofhis recording contracts in a series of tweets on Sunday ( Sept. 20 ) his first, second and contract. Make a point documentation, it looks like there was a nightmare for both and... Its even realistic 1 million, Noonan adds -95 % and the disproportionate power complex language give!