By, Wendy Day
I had written an article for this month’s column about the proliferation of negativity in this industry—namely, HATERS! It has gotten so bad that some of my more powerful friends have been holding conference calls with each other to block and destroy the people who are attacking them with words (both publicly and privately). And while I am a more karma driven person than a pro-active blackballer, I have to admit that I understand it.
But I guess you’ll have to wait til next month to read about how to handle the haters in your life, because last night I heard that Shakir Stewart shot and killed himself. And while I understand why people want to stop the pain they are feeling, I have to admit that the news of his death shocked the shit out of me. It brought back the pain I felt when I heard Pac passed, and when I got that call from Vanessa Satten at XXL telling me there were rumors that Pimp C had died, and could I call his Mom to see if he was OK…I mean how do you ever make THAT call—“I hear your son may be dead, what are YOU hearing?” Nah, I’ll pass on that call. I immediately called Chad’s cell phone and was able to leave him a voicemail—that was an encouraging sign that his voicemail wasn’t full. I called Julia Beverly at Ozone and Grouchy Greg at AllHipHop, neither of whom had heard the rumor yet—more good signs. Both did call me back within the hour to verify his death, however, while my assistant called Greg Street who also verified it as truth, not fiction.
The thing about death is that it is both personal and public. So not only do you have to deal with your own feelings of loss, but you have to deal with others’ reactions as well. So, not only did Shakir leave my life, and the industry, but he left the lives of his family, friends, children, co-workers, artists, and fans. He also left the people he interacted with along the course of his daily life from the person who cut his hair to the guy who parks his car or sells him coffee in the morning.
So bear with me as I talk about death a bit, because it’s how I’m working out the loss of a guy who from the outside looking in seemed to have everything going for him, success, a dream job, a great life, money, connections, power, kids, etc-- but a ton of pain that he wasn’t able to handle any longer… Just goes to show ya…you never know what the next person is going through.
When Biggie passed away (I really wanted to say when Biggie was gunned down viciously but it sounded angry, and I’ve been too angry in this column in ‘08), it was a mess. He left a wife, a mother, children, and a label president, all of whom seemed to have some stake in ownership in him. Biggie left no will, no paperwork, no instructions for what HE wanted to happen after his death, so there was nothing to sort out the mess besides time and fighting. When Pimp C passed, it was also a mess. He had a wife who had legal say, but also a mother, artists, a label, and a partner, all of whom had emotional claim to what came next. Chad also died without leaving any instructions.
The outcome after your passing may be a scenario that you would never want to have happen. So handle it now. Here are the basics:
• A Will: A will is a legal document that enforces your wishes of what happens in the event of your death. It says who gets what, whether you’ll be buried or cremated, if you want to donate organs or body parts, and who gets to make decisions about your estate. When I die, I want to be cremated and sprinkled in the ocean, and this document specifies exactly that.
• Life Insurance: This is the insurance policy you take out if you have children or loved ones that you want supported financially, after you are no longer alive to do so. I can’t speak for the rest of you, but I pay a little under a thousand dollars a year, for a million dollars worth of coverage. If I die, my Mom will become a wealthy woman because it is my intention to take care of her as she gets older, and if I am not here to do so, someone has to—hence the life insurance policy.
• An Executor to run your estate or foundation: If you are someone who has wealth, this is an important aspect of your instructions. You need to choose a friend, a family member, or a professional (like an accountant, lawyer, or business manager) to handle your business when you are gone. Biggie’s Mom handles his estate. Tupac’s Mom handles his estate. A business manager named Artie Erk handles J Dilla‘s estate. My entertainment attorney will handle my estate—I trust him and he knows me well enough to know what I’d want and not want.
Here are some of the things an Executor will need to know:
• Vital Statistics and Data: Parent's address, Children’s names and addresses (and birthdates), and your correct date of birth. Gather this information in a notebook: Full Name, Address, Birthplace, Date of birth, Social Security number, Marital status, Husband or wife’s name, Children names and dates of birth, Father's name, birth date and birthplace (city and state) Mother's full maiden name, birth date and birthplace (city and state). To assure accurate vital statistics, keep copies of your official birth certificate and social security card with this personal information.
• Personal Data: Year moved to current address; Education: High school attended, year graduated, colleges attended, dates of graduation and degrees; Occupation: Employed by or retired from and any additional employment information you want known; Church Membership or Affiliation; Heritage/Ancestry; Veteran: Branch of Service, Date enlisted, Serial number, Date of discharge, Location of discharge papers, Last rank, Additional military information (It is helpful if a copy of the veteran's discharge and form DD214 are stored with this personal profile); Professional/Fraternal/Charitable/Social Organizations
• People to Notify: List Full name, address, phone number and your relationship to this person
• Personal Records: List all Bank Accounts-- Checking and Savings-- Name of bank, Type of account, Address, Phone number, Account number; Safe Deposit Box: Name of bank, Address, Telephone, The name on the box if not your own, Location of key; Insurance Policies List policies with name of Company, Policy number, Name of insured, Amount of benefit, Beneficiary, Location of policies; Pension Plan: Name of company, address; Real Estate Owned: Address, Location of Deeds and Titles, other documents related to the real estate
• Location of Important Papers: Automobile Registration; Birth Certificate; Income Tax Records for past 3 years; Marriage Certificate/Divorce certificate; Last Will and Testament; Original Last Will and Testament and the copies; Stocks and Bonds; Attorney's Name, Address, Phone number; Accountant's Name, Address, Phone number; Executor's Name, Address, Phone number; Real Estate Broker's name, Address, Phone number; Stockbroker's Name, Address, Phone Number; Authorized persons to arrange final details of funeral (chose two); Additional information: extra keys, car title, bills, loans information that needs to be paid off, etc.
• Funeral Service Choices: Choice of funeral home, name, address and phone number; Type of service, Catholic, protestant, new age etc.; Location of service, name address and phone Officiate, Clergy, other: Name, address and phone. Other speakers or readers at service: Name, address and phone numbers; Participating Organization: Fraternal or Military Pallbearers: Name, Address, phone numbers; Honorary Pallbearers: Name, Address, and phone numbers. Obituary: Yes or No, Photo attached?; Name of newspaper, address; Family Visitation: yes or no; Public Visitation: Yes or no; Casket: Open or closed; Casket type: Steel, Copper, Bronze, Wood, other; Casket Color, Interior Color; Flag: Yes or No, Folded or Draped; Clothing: From current wardrobe or new; Jewelry: Yes or No; Preference of Flowers; Memorials: Full name and mailing address; Favorite Poetry, scriptures or other readings; Music; Items to Display: Collection of Family Photographs, Favorite possessions, Family mementos, Awards received; Special Items to be placed in casket, etc.
• Cremation: Urn: Wood, Metal, Steel, Copper, Bronze, other Disposition of Remains-- Earth burial, Entombment, Kept by the family, Scattering, other Special instructions if kept by family: Special instructions for scattering. If Earth Burial: Outer Burial Container: Yes or No Concrete, Steel, Bronze, Other Exterior Color Inscription Name of Cemetery: Location: Lot in name of: Section: Lot: Block: Plot: Inscription for memorial marker: If Entombment: Name of Columbarium, Location, Inscription for memorial marker
There are professionals who handle this planning for you, before you die, to make sure everything will go smoothly when you do die. There are lawyers and accountants who specialize in estate planning. They have access to insurance people who can implement the necessary policies. But the bottom line is that you need to take care of it now because after you pass away, it’s difficult enough for those you leave behind. Don’t allow them to fight amongst each other because you were too lazy, or too scared, to plan for your future beyond your life—especially if you have kids.
I have watched too many friends die and the uncertainty that surrounds everything is cruel, at best. When Proof passed away, he had an entire record label but no instructions on who’d run it, how it would run, how it would be funded, what would happen to the staff and artists signed to the label. And it came to a screeching halt. I can’t imagine Proof would have wanted it to end like that. When Pimp C passed away, the careers of his artists came to a grinding halt. This forced his wife to wake up the next morning as a label owner, plus deal with her husband’s death, whether she wanted that responsibility or not.
Planning for your death doesn’t mean you are going to die anytime soon. It’s just the responsible thing to do. And if Biggie, Pac, Proof, Pimp C, and others made plans for what would happen when and if they passed away, it would have made the lives so much easier for those they left behind. Hell, folks will already be grieving over your loss….and to make them step up and handle business, make hard decisions, and fight over what remains (worst case scenario) is crueler than cruel.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Signing To A Label Owned By An Artist
By, Wendy Day from Rap Coalition (www.Rap-Coalition.com and www.rapcointelpro.com)
In my experience, there are two ways to get signed to a deal that could possibly lead to a successful career in the music industry. One way is to put out your own CD and sell enough CDs regionally to create the leverage to entice a major label into signing you to a deal that will lead to success, and the second way is to sign to an already established platinum recording artist, and come through the deal he or she has worked out with a major label that wants to be in business with that artist.
There are both upsides and downsides to signing underneath an already signed artist or producer. There are more artist owned or controlled labels than at any other time in the history of the urban music business. Some of those current opportunities are:
Artist examples
• Young Jeezy’s CTE (formerly known as Corporate Thugz) through Def Jam
• 50 Cent’s G Unit through Interscope
• Eminem’s Shady through Interscope
• T.I.’s Grand Hustle through Capitol or Asylum
• Ludacris’ DTP through Def Jam
• Nelly’s Derty Entertainment, through Universal
Producer examples
• Mr Colipark’s label through Interscope
• Polow’s Zone 4 through Interscope
• Dr Dre’s Aftermath through Interscope
• Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music through Sony
• Pharrell’s label through Interscope
DJ examples
• DJ Drama’s Aphilliates label through Asylum
• DJ Khaled’s label through Koch
When a major label has an established artist with a strong sales track record of success (platinum or better), that label often offers a label deal to the artist to keep him or her happy. In some cases, it’s a real label (such as DTP, Shady, CTE, G-Unit, etc) with real offices, with their own dedicated staffs. And in some cases, it’s just a logo printed on the back of a CD to appear that the artist has his or her own label. There are a variety of reasons why these different types of deals exist, but that would be a topic for another article…
If one of the ways to get established in this industry is by coming up underneath an established, successful artist, you should consider the pluses and minuses.
Downside:
• The money, if and when it comes, passes through the hands of middlemen. If 50 decides to sign you to G-Unit, the money eventually goes from Interscope through G-Unit and then (hopefully) trickles down to the artist.
• There’s often a long wait--most artists already have their friends that they want to put on through their deal. Therefore, if you are an outsider in that camp, you’d have to wait your turn to come out.
• Compilation albums are usually the first release from a major artist who has just been given his own label deal. Often, this is because the artist has too many artists coming up under him or her, and compilations often allow one artist to stand out from the rest.
• If the major artist pisses off the major label, your project will suffer exponentially.
• If the major artist’s next release doesn’t do very well, the label deal will often suffer because the need to keep that established artist happy is no longer as strong.
• Many artists sign other artists who are not as talented so they will not be upstaged. Very few major artists are secure enough with themselves to sign artists who are better than they are or who can out rap them.
• Most artists do not have strong business sense and not many have the business acumen to hire professionals with a strong track record of success to run their companies for them. You could end up signed to a label run by (and therefore trusting your career to) the artist’s best friend who has no music business experience.
• Most releases under a major artist’s label are seen by consumers as just “friends” of the artist and are rarely taken as seriously as unknown artists. Murphy Lee will always be seen as Nelly’s boy, D-12 will always be Eminem’s buddies, P$C are T.I.’s friends, and Tony Yayo will always be seen as 50’s childhood friend. Whether they have this kind of history or not, that is the perception—admit it, you were thinking that when those albums dropped.
• You will never have a better deal than the deal your artist label-owner has with his label (unless you sell more CDs than him and can renegotiate). For example, if you are signed to an artist who received 18 points from Def Jam in his deal (that’s 18% of the retail selling price of each CD, after you paying back all of the expenses), you will likely get a lesser percentage than 18 points. He can’t give you more than he gets.
• You will most likely have to use newer, less established producers for your beats—or even the in-house producers, because there’s rarely a budget for you to record with the A-list hit makers like Mannie Fresh, Jim Jonsin, Dr Dre, etc. In a hit-driven, radio-focused industry, that could be somewhat challenging.
Upside:
• If the artist who signs you is a priority at the label (like Eminem, Ludacris, TI, 50 Cent, etc), there is a better chance that your project will be a priority at the label as well. The level of effort the major label makes on your project is in direct proportion to the level of financial value of the artist to whom you are signed.
• You gain immediate recognition in the marketplace when a major artist gets behind you and co-signs you.
• You are signed to a label that is run by an artist so the understanding of the music and artform is much stronger than if you are signed to a label run by a lawyer or an accountant.
• Your first release is almost guaranteed to feature the platinum recording artist because you are signed to him or her, and there is a financial stake in being promoted (and co-signed) by that artist.
• You are thrust into a career that starts out at a mid-level. You get to tour with an already established artist, you get to learn the industry through the eyes of a platinum recording artist, and you gain part of an already established fan base. The opportunities for exposure for you are immediately greater.
• You get to see the inside view of a superstar’s career. You can learn from the mistakes or successes of that artist who comes before you. It is next to impossible to get such an insider’s view without being right there to live it firsthand. This education is invaluable if you are smart enough to apply what works to your own career and not experience those same mistakes and pitfalls yourself.
While there are upsides and downsides to every deal, each artist must weigh these for themselves and their own situation. Signing to an established artist may not be good for everyone, and it may be the best route for others. The trick is to know all of the pluses and minuses of any opportunity and then to make an informed decision based on what is best for your own career and your own situation. After all, signing any record deal is usually a commitment of 5 to 7 years of your life. In most cases, this is the life span of a rap career, so choose very wisely.
In my experience, there are two ways to get signed to a deal that could possibly lead to a successful career in the music industry. One way is to put out your own CD and sell enough CDs regionally to create the leverage to entice a major label into signing you to a deal that will lead to success, and the second way is to sign to an already established platinum recording artist, and come through the deal he or she has worked out with a major label that wants to be in business with that artist.
There are both upsides and downsides to signing underneath an already signed artist or producer. There are more artist owned or controlled labels than at any other time in the history of the urban music business. Some of those current opportunities are:
Artist examples
• Young Jeezy’s CTE (formerly known as Corporate Thugz) through Def Jam
• 50 Cent’s G Unit through Interscope
• Eminem’s Shady through Interscope
• T.I.’s Grand Hustle through Capitol or Asylum
• Ludacris’ DTP through Def Jam
• Nelly’s Derty Entertainment, through Universal
Producer examples
• Mr Colipark’s label through Interscope
• Polow’s Zone 4 through Interscope
• Dr Dre’s Aftermath through Interscope
• Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music through Sony
• Pharrell’s label through Interscope
DJ examples
• DJ Drama’s Aphilliates label through Asylum
• DJ Khaled’s label through Koch
When a major label has an established artist with a strong sales track record of success (platinum or better), that label often offers a label deal to the artist to keep him or her happy. In some cases, it’s a real label (such as DTP, Shady, CTE, G-Unit, etc) with real offices, with their own dedicated staffs. And in some cases, it’s just a logo printed on the back of a CD to appear that the artist has his or her own label. There are a variety of reasons why these different types of deals exist, but that would be a topic for another article…
If one of the ways to get established in this industry is by coming up underneath an established, successful artist, you should consider the pluses and minuses.
Downside:
• The money, if and when it comes, passes through the hands of middlemen. If 50 decides to sign you to G-Unit, the money eventually goes from Interscope through G-Unit and then (hopefully) trickles down to the artist.
• There’s often a long wait--most artists already have their friends that they want to put on through their deal. Therefore, if you are an outsider in that camp, you’d have to wait your turn to come out.
• Compilation albums are usually the first release from a major artist who has just been given his own label deal. Often, this is because the artist has too many artists coming up under him or her, and compilations often allow one artist to stand out from the rest.
• If the major artist pisses off the major label, your project will suffer exponentially.
• If the major artist’s next release doesn’t do very well, the label deal will often suffer because the need to keep that established artist happy is no longer as strong.
• Many artists sign other artists who are not as talented so they will not be upstaged. Very few major artists are secure enough with themselves to sign artists who are better than they are or who can out rap them.
• Most artists do not have strong business sense and not many have the business acumen to hire professionals with a strong track record of success to run their companies for them. You could end up signed to a label run by (and therefore trusting your career to) the artist’s best friend who has no music business experience.
• Most releases under a major artist’s label are seen by consumers as just “friends” of the artist and are rarely taken as seriously as unknown artists. Murphy Lee will always be seen as Nelly’s boy, D-12 will always be Eminem’s buddies, P$C are T.I.’s friends, and Tony Yayo will always be seen as 50’s childhood friend. Whether they have this kind of history or not, that is the perception—admit it, you were thinking that when those albums dropped.
• You will never have a better deal than the deal your artist label-owner has with his label (unless you sell more CDs than him and can renegotiate). For example, if you are signed to an artist who received 18 points from Def Jam in his deal (that’s 18% of the retail selling price of each CD, after you paying back all of the expenses), you will likely get a lesser percentage than 18 points. He can’t give you more than he gets.
• You will most likely have to use newer, less established producers for your beats—or even the in-house producers, because there’s rarely a budget for you to record with the A-list hit makers like Mannie Fresh, Jim Jonsin, Dr Dre, etc. In a hit-driven, radio-focused industry, that could be somewhat challenging.
Upside:
• If the artist who signs you is a priority at the label (like Eminem, Ludacris, TI, 50 Cent, etc), there is a better chance that your project will be a priority at the label as well. The level of effort the major label makes on your project is in direct proportion to the level of financial value of the artist to whom you are signed.
• You gain immediate recognition in the marketplace when a major artist gets behind you and co-signs you.
• You are signed to a label that is run by an artist so the understanding of the music and artform is much stronger than if you are signed to a label run by a lawyer or an accountant.
• Your first release is almost guaranteed to feature the platinum recording artist because you are signed to him or her, and there is a financial stake in being promoted (and co-signed) by that artist.
• You are thrust into a career that starts out at a mid-level. You get to tour with an already established artist, you get to learn the industry through the eyes of a platinum recording artist, and you gain part of an already established fan base. The opportunities for exposure for you are immediately greater.
• You get to see the inside view of a superstar’s career. You can learn from the mistakes or successes of that artist who comes before you. It is next to impossible to get such an insider’s view without being right there to live it firsthand. This education is invaluable if you are smart enough to apply what works to your own career and not experience those same mistakes and pitfalls yourself.
While there are upsides and downsides to every deal, each artist must weigh these for themselves and their own situation. Signing to an established artist may not be good for everyone, and it may be the best route for others. The trick is to know all of the pluses and minuses of any opportunity and then to make an informed decision based on what is best for your own career and your own situation. After all, signing any record deal is usually a commitment of 5 to 7 years of your life. In most cases, this is the life span of a rap career, so choose very wisely.
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