Sound Advice

What are some common scams that musicians should be aware of, and how do I avoid them?

As if it weren’t hard enough to try to make a buck from your music, there are many costly traps set for the unwary. Because the music business is so competitive, with thousands of performers desperately fighting for the same gigs, record contracts and other opportunities, many unscrupulous people and companies exist that prey on musicians. These scumbags typically make a lot of promises that they cannot deliver on and will tempt you with visions of getting the “big” break you need - for a price. Here’s a brief list of just some of the scams to identify and avoid:

1. Promotional compilations: Basically, for a fee, a promotion company will put your song(s) on a CD that they promise to send to every influential radio station and record label executive in the galaxy. While there are reputable companies that put these sorts of compilations together, by and large, this practice is worthless. First off, unsolicited recording submissions do not get heard by most A & R people and they will not take the time to wade through an entire disc of bands they have never heard of. Why pay for the privilege of having your material lumped together with a lot of lame music from unknown losers? Secondly, to get radio play on most commercial stations, you or, most likely, your record company will have to PAY an independent promotions firm to get added to their playlist (This is easily one of the biggest scams going and would take an entire column to rant about it!). It may also be difficult to confirm that the compilations CDs are even produced and distributed.
So you can see how these companies make a lot of money exploiting musicians’ greed and insecurity. If you are tempted by such an offer, check the company out. Ask them for contact information for performers who have directly benefited from their products. Try to get on comps featuring one type of music, not a mixed bag of random styles. Above all, do not sign over any other rights than the limited use on the CD for a limited time.

2. Pay for play: “Pay for play” is an unfortunate fact of life for musicians in many parts of the country. It works like this: performers are booked for a gig but are told that they have to sell a certain number of tickets to their own show before they get paid dollar one in return. If the number of tickets is not sold, the band may have to make up the difference from their own pocket, while the club gets the entire door and bar receipts. You might actually lose money for the gig.
While this sleazy practice is not common in Portland, a variation is occasionally found at certain local venues. Club patrons are asked at the door which band they are there to see and a tally is kept by the doorperson of how many people were “brought to” the show by each performer. These headcounts may have little to do with the actual pull of a band, as patrons might be attracted to the show by a number of the bands on the bill. However, if a band does not attract enough people, or if the headcount is sloppy or faked by the doorperson, performers might not get paid anything at the end of the night, or they might be paid less than what they were promised. I have personally witnessed the results of this scam around closing time and it was not a pretty scene.
Avoid these gig scams by not playing clubs that have such policies. Complain loudly to the booker and the management and spread the word to other performers. Above all, whenever possible, get a booker’s promises in writing, even if it is a copy of an e-mail confirming the gig and how much you are to be paid. Unfortunately, there are always other bands out there that want gigs of any kind, so club owners take advantage of this fact and it is often difficult to combat these practices.

3. Paid showcases: Recently a number of Portland bands paid a good chunk of money each for the “privilege” of performing a brief set for “A & R reps” from “major labels.” An out-of-state promotions company set up the event and, in exchange for payment, the attendees were to be offered recording contracts or unbiased evaluations of their performances. The sets were performed during off-hours at a downtown club and press reports suggested that the credentials of the A & R reps in attendance were suspicious, nobody was actually offered a recording contract and the entire event was a total waste of time and money.
Overall, you should never have to pay for showcasing. Only deal with A & R reps. or label executives that contact you or your management directly. If they are that interested in you, often they will pay for the costs of setting up a showcase gig - NOT the other way around. The old saying, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” definitely applies here.

4. “Free” demo recordings: Ok, so someone, maybe even a friend, has a studio or a production company, they tell you that they love your band, and offer to help you get famous by recording a demo for you for free. You, the broke, starving artist, are flattered by the attention and agree to the deal. However, these deals are rarely that simple. Problems can arise when your friendly producer suddenly expects to profit somehow from the eventual record deal you get, or holds your “free” master recordings hostage if you don’t pay them back for the their time and materials. The other danger of these deals is if your producer has obtained the rights to market your demo recordings, you might not be able to use those demo recordings yourself and will be obligated to any deals that the producer finds for you. You might spend a lot of time and effort and end up obligated to some crappy deal that is biased in favor of the producer, not you, and your royalties and advances from any resulting recording deals might be split with the producer against your will.
If you are approached about any “free” recording opportunities, be sure to work out all the details in advance: Who pays for what? Who owns what? Ideally, get all the deal points in writing - that you retain all the rights to any sound recordings and that your producer gives up all rights they might have in them. Don’t give up any rights, especially your song publishing, and don’t allow producers to sign agreements on your behalf. Consider working out a reasonable “buy out” clause, paying for the cost of the recordings, if the relationship goes south.

5. Unpaid film “exposure”: Musicians are often offered deals that do not pay anything but that will give them lots of “exposure.” These deals are very common with independent films and videos. I am not saying that all of these deals suck, and, yeah, you might get some exposure, but, by and large, someone is looking to get you to give it up for free. Pleading poverty is common: “Dude, we’re just independent filmmakers, nobody is getting paid on this…” Whatever. Sometimes, there is money available in the budget for music, so always try to push for some kind of up-front payment. In all likelihood, there will be no profits on the back-end, so don’t buy any lines about them paying you from the profits after the film is released.
If you are desperate for exposure, or want to just help out some friends, at the very least, have an agreement in writing whereby you keep all your copyrights (to both your sound recordings and song compositions) and severely limit the user’s ability to profit from the usage without paying you. Insist on proper credits in the film, including, if applicable, your copyright information, contact information, website address, and publishing company information.

The Bottom Line: There is no such thing as a free lunch, kids, there are always strings attached.
Avoid common rip-offs by keeping your bullshit detector on at all times. If you don’t have a bullshit detector, I can hook you up with the amazing, patented SCAM-A-LYZER 5000™. Just send $39.99(cash only!) to me in care of this magazine. LIMITED SUPPLIES! ACT NOW!

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO: pvshaver@aol.com

Disclaimer: The advice and opinions offered in this column are meant to be educational only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Every situation is different and you are cautioned to seek advice from qualified counsel regarding the specific facts of your matter. Neither the attorney nor Music Liberation Project accepts any responsibility for any reader’s reliance on the contents of this article.