We`re all used to signing a contract once we start working. It makes sure that we get paid and in turn, we follow the company rules. Simples. If you`re self employed running your own business then you generally have a good handle on how your business is running. Except when the business is artistry. It isn`t always the case but we artists are generally about the art and nothing else. If we wanted to go into business, we`d have done business studies at school and modeled over selves to be the MAN - but we didn`t - we just want to make music.
So we need lots of good honest people in place that can let us create, and we pay them to keep the administration and the legal side in check. But it isn`t always the case. The music business is an anomaly is that, it`s huge, has a massive profile, makes tons of money and is part of the establishment - and yet, some of the most shadiest moves ever made in the name of running a business can be commonplace. It can be `little` things like, taking a percentage off the sales of a CD to cover the breakages that were common with shellac records - no not vinyl, those old 78rpms that you play on a gramophone. Playing something as simple as a triangle on someone elses song so you could collect money as a performer as well as the artist. (an early Simon Cowell trick)
Sometimes it`s a bit more in - your - face than that. Imagine working for years and you turn round one day to find you don`t have as much as you should, or in fact you don`t even own your own work? The money you thought you could retire on isn`t there? Sometimes it`s plain bad luck and you got hurt.
Here are examples of well known musicians who got less than they bargained for.
ISSAC HAYES
For the younger `uns reading he used to be the voice of Chef from south park, But, to others he was a trailblazer - this guy made an impact in the world of music through performance , production and songwriting. He got an oscar for his 1971 soundtrack to "Shaft" - only the third black person to do so. He wrote many well known songs ( like Sam & Dave`s "Soul Man") for the Stax label as well as recording songs for himself. It should have been gravy all around for life. But the label got into difficulties and couldn`t pay anyone anything, Stax was broke. Hayes had taken out a $6 million bank loan ( the bank had an agreement with the Stax label to offer loans to them and it`s roster of artists) and now he couldn`t pay them. A deal was reached and Issac left Stax and his royalties were to be used to service the debt - but he was no longer selling llike he used to. In 1976 he had to throw in the towel - meaning from that point on the bank owned the rights to everything he ever recorded and from now on everytime someone played or covered his songs - the bank was, er, laughing all the way to the bank. South Park put him back on a financial even keel, but he never regained his catalogue.
CHARLATANS
Found out too late that they`d been ripped off by their accountant, Trevor Williams. The group had been hoodwinked, Trevor told them that he was offsetting future tax bills - he was actually nicking their money. In fact, they never got ANY profits off their first four albums, the most profitable ones. Trevor got 20 years.
LENOARD COHEN
Singersongwriter Leonard was living in retirement, thinking things were okay.. until it came apparent he wasn`t as well off as he thought.
His daughter got a tip off from someone who was a casual worker for his manager. He told her to tell her dad to have a look at his finances because "because he might be surprised at what he finds ..... He won't be able to retire."
He was £5 million down to be exact. His manager of 17 years Kelley Lynch had been siphoning his nest egg for years, forcing him, a famously recluse fellow, to perform and tour again to make a living. Kelley waged an internet based war against him accusing him of `sending SWAT teams to her house` amongst other nutty stuff. She `s penniless herself now. Good.
BAY CITY ROLLERS
They were the biggest heart - throb boyband of the 1970`s in the UK. But they don`t get any money from that period. The reason why band don`t get any money is 1. their manager was not good at keeping an eye on their finances with money dispearring into offshore accounts and 2. SONY/BMG who now owns the recordings through purchasing the bands former label cannot find a contract, even though the band are adamant that they signed one. Yeah, it is known that you`ve been in a successful band, that is well documented, but there`s nothin to prove legally that you were and as we can`t work out who should get what, you all get nothing. Thats £160 million worth of nothing all in all.
BADFINGER
Having started off at the Beatles Apple record label, under the Beatles wing, they eventually moved to warners when Apple was disintergrating - signing a $3 million pound deal. They went into the studio, recorded an album and had it released - it should`ve been cool. But, their manager, Bill Collins ( Yeah, the dad of Lewis Collins of the professionals) had signed a management deal with a guy called Stan Polley, He set up a holding company that would take in all revenue from anything and everything that badfinger made. It not known whether the band at the time actually saw the financial statements generated by the company,.. take a look how much of a cut Polley took ...
A financial statement prepared by Polley's accountants, Sigmund Balaban & Co., for the period between 8 December 1970 to 31 October 1971, showed Polley's income from the band: "Salaries and advances to client, $8,339 (Joey Molland), $6,861 (Mike Gibbins), $6,211 (Tom Evans), $5,959 (Pete Ham). Net corporation profit, $24,569. Management commission, $75,744 (Stan Polley)"
The publishing arm of warners started to get suspicous, they had asked that $250,000 should be put into an account that the band and the publishers could access. Polley ignored these requests. After repeated attempts to get the money, Warners brought in the lawyers, Polley said nothing of this to the band. They had no idea they were in a legal dispute. He told the band to get back in the studio and record another album, which they did, and which warners rejected. They didn`t pay for the costs that the album generated either.
Polley was gunning to get another advance off Warners but they wasn`t falling for it. They would not budge until the money appeared and they halted all promotion for their currrent album which had only been out a few weeks. All distrubtion of their previous work was stopped. Worldwide. The band couldn`t get any money, and they couldn`t earn any money either.
The band tried to get gigs without polley, but no manager or company would touch them becuase of Polley and the legal wranglings. Pete Ham, vocals & guitar, tried to get in touch with Polley many times during the early part of 1975 but was never `able to reach him`. Pete took his own life in April of that year, leaving this note:
"Anne, I love you. Blair, I love you. I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody. This is better. Pete.
P.S. Stan Polley is a soulless bastard. I will take him with me"
Later on, Tom Evans took his own life following the fallout of the remaning members of badfinger over the financial mess they were in. He had seen Pete hanging and never got over it.
GEORGE CLINTON
The guy he gave us P - Funk gets P-huck all in royalties. His manager in the 70`s doctored his contract, meaning that he took every penny of clintons work. Bad enough? Wait until the 90`s when everyone starts sampling his work. He gets nothing. His manager has earned 100 million pounds to date. Clinton can`t retire otherwise he`s bankrupt. This has been to court more than once, the last time being 2001. He got some rights back to some songs but overall Clinton lost.
Why? Even though the judge acknowledges that the document that he had signed with his manager had been doctored and at least a whole paragraph is missing, they don`t know what was missing from the agreement, so they`ve sided with the f**king manager, Armen Boladian, who has in the past fraudently sued artists for copyright infringment for music he doesn`t even own the rights to by doctoring documents. He gets money everytime snoop sings "what`s my name?"
It`s easy to look at the glitz and the glamour and the worldwide tour dates to think everyone is rich.
Nope.
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