Capítulo 11: Contracts and more contracts
So the next day, a Sunday at 3:00 p.m. the two were in the studio.
"Got me hoping you'll page me right now, your kiss (hey)
Got me hoping you'll save me right now (hey)
Looking so crazy, your…"
"Stop, stop. In this part I need you to increase the strength, the desire you put into your voice, I don't want to hear everything in the same tone. You're putting in a lot of emotion from the beginning, let's start again. "
" OK. "
They spent the whole Sunday there, recording and re-recording Beyoncé's voice. The part of the rap that was easiest was left for last. At this relaxed pace they continued recording, it was undeniable that they had incredible chemistry in the studio, this was clear in the way they understood each other.
They stayed in the studio until 10:00 p.m., when they decided that was enough for today.
The other day at 6 a.m. Arthur was woken up by his mother to go to school, she had given him a break for the last week, but now she would make sure he resumed his studies.
Fortunately, as his mother wasn't around 24 hours a day, he managed to sleep during most of the classes, in the rest he didn't pay much attention and only talked to Jessie and Jaime, his best friends and classmates. Finally he sold some more drugs to some playboys and went home
On the way he received a call from Bob.
" Hey dude. How is it going? Don't be sad if they don't like the song and don't want to publish it."
"Everything is going well, the contract has already been secured, we just need to work out the details with them now. As soon as the song starts to be distributed, I count on your support on the radio side, just guarantee me that they will play it once on the radio, that's all I ask. "
" Alright I'll do my best for you boy, I can guarantee that at least once the majority of black radio stations in NY will play it. "
" Okay, I'll get in touch when the music is being distributed. "
Hanging up the phone, Arthur's taxi arrived at his destination, today he arrived before Beyoncé so he could talk to his newest agent.
The two met at the entrance and went to the studio room that he and Beyoncé were using.
Now that José had resigned they couldn't use Columbia's facilities at will, so this was the only place they had to meet.
"Hey man, here are the contracts, they have our management contract which as we agreed I will have a percentage of 8%, the other document is the publishing PD for "Yeah", they keep 35% of the profits from the physical song and there is even 2 weeks to produce the copies and place them in stores, the marketing is on us, so I asked for some copies to distribute to the DJS and if you want to give one to someone, feel free too. The last contract is the distribution of the profits from your song with Beyoncé, it was 20/50/30, 20% from Columbia, 50% from Beyoncé and the remaining 30% are yours, you have to participate in the recording of the MV too, Columbia is paying for it. In both of these situations, we fully guarantee the rights to the online music. We still got a good percentage from you doing all the elements of the song, but we had to give up on the percentage of the physical profits."
" Great job man, keep working so we go far. As soon as these 2 songs come out we will need to find a record label. It will definitely be the most advantageous for us. "
Generally PD contracts charged a percentage of up to 66% of profits, it was easy money for record companies and distributors who didn't need to make any investment. They only achieved this low percentage due to some special circumstances and mainly thanks to their contacts. They couldn't depend on one circumstance forever, as soon as he became famous any record company would want a bigger piece of the pie.
"I intended to talk about this with you, as soon as your 2 songs come out your value will increase a lot and there will definitely be many record companies willing to sign you for a good price, not to mention all the support for your career that they can give you. "
" To sign with a record label there are some points that I won't give up José. Firstly, the online songs are entirely mine, this is an investment we are making, I'm sure that in the future the sale of online music will surpass the physical one, later we will create a company with a large library with the rights to many other songs, we are going to buy these rights from other singers Secondly, the duration of the contract should not be long, in 2 years I already hope to be a singer of the highest level and At that moment, the contract we will be able to sign will be much better, so let's make some concessions now for greater profits in the future. Try something like a 2 year contract and 2 albums, we won't be short of music. I understand if we have to give in a little too. "
Although José disagrees on some points, such as this blind faith in investing in online music, he preferred to remain silent.
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind when negotiating with record companies. Regarding the MV with Beyoncé, according to the forecast that you will finish recording by Friday, the clip recordings will be made on the 25th and 26th, following some of your ideas. "
Beyoncé herself was in a hurry to finish the album completely, she had already been frustrated with its postponement once, due to her interest in making the most of the song "Dilemma" which features one of her group mates, Kelly Rowland, Therefore, she and her team were in a hurry to launch.
The two soon finish sorting out the last details, with Arthur expected to bring the signed contracts tomorrow, this time he intended to take the contract to a law student before signing. Fordham University was a reasonable distance from his house, in the Bronx, plus he could afford a law student's fees and he definitely had more knowledge than him.
After a few minutes had ended, Beyoncé entered the room, starting another day of recording for the two of them.
Arthur's routine remained unchanged until the weekend, going to school in the morning and the studio in the afternoon, but unlike school in the studio he actually did something in the studio, only on Friday night did the routine change. that he went out with Jessie and Jaime to a club in the Bronx, unfortunately the night ended early due to a shooting at the club.
Now it was 3:00 p.m. and he was in a taxi heading to the MV recording location.
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