thieves and pirates

[The_Laughing_Man]

+1

if you are concerned about getting money you think is owed you, drawing up a negotiated contract is absolutely vital. setting an advance or a % of profits are both standard practices in ANY contractual agreement. then, if the artist feels he or she has been treated unfairly, he or she can take the label to small claims court. the court can then decide whether the artist or the label is wasting its time.

if you don't negotiate payment up front, you really can't expect much.

Well, I think you can go down that road when it looks like the money might be worth it, or you are dealing with some larger company or someone you don`t know, but when things are this small and niche it isn`t always necessary.
In the techno field was and still is a system of mutual aid.
You develop a rapport with someone and then you swap tracks, or help a guy out with a release for a gig, or whatever, a system of mutual trust, which quite frankly feels much better. If someone is an ass then generally the community gets to know about it.
We all talk to each other and the wankers generally get steered around, so public outbursts like todays fiasco are just not needed, it`s ugly.
Despite all our bickering, it`s just banter for the most part, and I like to think (call me idealistic if you like) that we are all in the same boat and generally steer this rather ragged little boat in the direction we all want to go.

This attitude seems more prevailent amongst those that came from the free party/rave side of things admittedly.

But then, we were there, broke as phuck and banging it out in dirty warehouses long before money was even considered as part of it.
A relationship that survived those kind of conditions will tend to last regardless of money.

[DJPAUZE]

Well, I think you can go down that road when it looks like the money might be worth it, or you are dealing with some larger company or someone you don`t know, but when things are this small and niche it isn`t always necessary.
In the techno field was and still is a system of mutual aid.
You develop a rapport with someone and then you swap tracks, or help a guy out with a release for a gig, or whatever, a system of mutual trust, which quite frankly feels much better. If someone is an ass then generally the community gets to know about it.
We all talk to each other and the wankers generally get steered around, so public outbursts like todays fiasco are just not needed, it`s ugly.
Despite all our bickering, it`s just banter for the most part, and I like to think (call me idealistic if you like) that we are all in the same boat and generally steer this rather ragged little boat in the direction we all want to go.

This attitude seems more prevailent amongst those that came from the free party/rave side of things admittedly.

But then, we were there, broke as phuck and banging it out in dirty warehouses long before money was even considered as part of it.
A relationship that survived those kind of conditions will tend to last regardless of money.

This is exactly my point, I am so glad we see eye to eye on this. Trading tracks, swapping ideas. Staying as a collective. It's hard enough as it is with our tight small community of techno producers. I'd LOVE to fork over tons of loot to everyone i get on board, but at the end of the day there is no money. Yea I pay for my server. So what? I got a good friend who does my artwork free, because he loves techno. I also have a bunch of artists on my label who want to get out there and expose their names. So if they are okay with it, is ther a problem?

As said in one earlier post, unless you make a solid contractual agreement, don't expect much in return. You might get your break here and there, maybe a couple of euros/pounds or something along that line but expect to get a cent. Your money will come from gigs, hopefully.

Patrick and I did a track on Fine Audio, a pretty well known label out there. Know what we got? 1 promo. That's it. I ddn't expect anything, I got EXACTLY what I thought I would. Who cares, I have a job to pay for my bread and butter.

I don't rely on this business to pay my bills, I do it with my pocket money, to promote the music I love to listen to. For those of you that do rely on it to stay alive, and have succeeded, power to you. I am glad you are working with labels that can afford it.