wrote:
My friend and I have just VERY recently got a band together. We havn't
even all been together in the same room. Said friend, Jacob, happens to
have neighbors who own an indie record label ( www.lessavenged.com ).

This means absolutely nothing. I can be an independent label simply by
having a name and the means to advertise.


These label characters have heard Jacob play two or three songs
accompanied by his brother and sister on cello and violin respectively.
No shows have been played, band hasn't practiced.

Less Avenged wants Jacob to sign with them for a one-cd deal that will
span one year. These are the details:

Jacob has to take care of the recording and pays for it, then delivers
the CD to Less Avenged by August 1st.

Rather demanding of them, to want Jacob to pay for everything AND under
a more than unreasonable deadline.

Less Avenged does promotion, merchandising, website management, and we
have to pay for CD manufacturing through them (1,000 Cds for $950).
CD sale profits split 60% to jacob, 40% to Less Avenged. And this is
after Less Avenged has "covered costs" (wait, costs of what?). I'm a
bit hazy on this last part.

My major question: Does this deal seem shady or subpar in comparison
with the "normal" sort of contract extended to new artists? I thought
that a record deal meant that the label pays for recording!

Okay, here's where the rubber meets the road. Listen up:

You should just cut out the middle man, Less Avenged Records, and do it
all yourself. Why? Because you're being asked to foot the bloody bill
for 90% of the cost in the first place.

Here's what you do, and it won't cost you substantially more than you
would be paying for now under the "terms" of their deal...

Record your album. Send it to Disc Maker or whomever for pressing. DM
even has a Mastering suite now so you can have that taken care of for
about $500.00, a very good deal.

Create a domain name, like your band's name, and buy it for $35.00 a
year through Network Solutions or other provider. Learn HTML, which is
easy, and create your own web site. Find a host, like Globat.com, and
set up your site to sell the album. Use Paypal or other service for
financial exchange. Mail off CD's. Make money.

Use MP3.com and other sites that let you upload your music for free for
the world to hear, as one form of advertising. All you gotta do is
convert the .wav file to .mp3 format using Total Recorder
(highcriteria.com) or similar program.

Know anyone with video gear? Or you can rent it. Record a video and
upload that to your web site along with sample material from the album
for people to listen to. Get people who visit your site to sign up for
a newsletter.

Yes, it's work. But if you want to be a band and do shows and sell CD's
and tour and all that stuff, you do the work you gotta do to make that
happen.

This is just a bit simplistic, but the basics have been laid out for
you to understand how "easy" it is to promote your own band, create
your own record label for distribution, and get it out to the whole
planet.

Since you're paying for everything up front, spend a little more and
take that other 40 percent in salary to yourselves and not that smarmy
label.

--Fletch