Soundtrack: The Great Gatsby. Most comprehensive library of legal defined terms on your mobile device. This is the same deal your favorite artist signed, this is their label. What do you expect a young, naive artist to do? Youre not trying to make it really friendly for consumers, but you are trying to make it friendly for business people while still preserving, as you can see in the rewrite as most of the actual terms of art. They are for your entire business. The lawyers in this industry who are used to the status quo are going to say its worth it, but if I make a deal with you and go to lunch and say you pay 70 [percent], I dont think youll say its fair. Where you calling from? On Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 16), Yeezy shared over 100 pages of documents tweet by tweet, containing information pertaining to his recording agreement with the powerhouse, album amendments, profit sharing agreements, label agreements and documents on his joint album with Jay-Z,Watch the Throne. Let me do a screen show real quick to show people what were talking about. Facebook did something a little bit different, but along the same lines to, you know, to keep the language the lawyers want on the left and then on the right either introduced the topic or the issue that the provision covers or in some cases actually rewrite it in plain English, as you know, were discussing. Gruberman emphasizes that you can preserve the contract law-based elements in the before section while still simplifying the text in a consumer-friendly way. Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer. So I apologize to both of you D.C. people watching. Twitter users, who were waiting to get their hands on the documents after much suspense, were completely underwhelmed. The papers indicate that he started on a royalty deal frequently afforded to upcoming artists, which later evolved into a more artist-friendly pressing and distribution deal that gave Kanye more of the profits and bigger budgets as he became a superstar. Dependents. Advances are loans with 75% interest rates (or worse). Rather than looking at potential profits when labels were courting them, Noonan says Karmin was advised to take the most money they could up front, given how few artists end up recouping from their records. Ross describes a counselor that can thread this very tough plain language needle. Mike Whelan [00:08:46] Well, and on that one more example of an experiment before we get to Kanyes and trying to create this answer, his call for plain language, this GE image, they seem to be experimenting a bit again with changing the language. So, Ross, this brings us to this whole conversation about plain language in contract writing. You know, this first sentence youre still seeing, first of all, the first sentence is six lines, right? In order to maintain the original intent, some legal jargon and industry terms must remain intact. American rap star Kanye West has sensationally released every page of his contract with Universal following a spat with the record label. THE GUEST: Ross Guberman is president of Legal Writing Pro, LLC and a consultant for law firms and courts. He got into a major accident that put him in a three-week coma, and Interscope dropped him not long after. Right. Late last year, Kanye West took to Twitter to vent his frustration about complicated contract language. At no point was Kanye allowed to object to a track being on the record if it achievedTop 100 chart success on any national trade publication at any time prior to when the Greatest Hits album was released. This is a situation were in. Its its unfortunately the the words and phrases that are operative to. As Kanye West escalates his battle with Universal Music Group, the Chicago rapper decided to share the entirety of his record contract on Twitter. So so as I play this in the background, tell me about some of the phrases that youre seeing in this that are just driving you nuts. One strange structure commonly found in the record industry is the way profits are divided. Adidas said on Tuesday that it was cutting ties with Kanye West, ending what may have been the most significant corporate fashion partnership of the rapper and . So, Ross, were going to tear down the contracts that Kanye shared. You got a bunch on the left in a very short sentence on the right. Music. Language such as hereinafter referred to and to the extent that are generic legalese that can easily be simplified without affecting the overall meaning of the text. For example, LinkedIn has made some effort to provide easy-to-understand language. Is this part of the contract or are they saying this is a separate thing? Kanye West signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, which was under Island Def Jam Music Group, whose parent company is Universal Music Group, on April 13, 2005. Like youre youre still youve got a complicated sentence with clauses. However, only 50 percent of video costscan berecouped from audio-only record royalties. We were lucky because we were careful. Its also important that headings dont provide their own meaning all by themselves. The suit said West. Ross Guberman [00:20:11] Yeah, I think part of that is really bracketing off, just as you are saying, words and phrases that a lawyer knows have substantive value. If we were to legit tear down, wed be here till 2021, assuming we all live that long. Mike Whelan [00:01:20] Pretty classy nightstand, Ross. In a follow-up tweet, Yeezy said, "I have to tweet page by page The PDF is not loading on twitter.". web pages So come join us right now. We have been engaged in an ongoing dialogue with Hit-Boy and all the concerned parties to address his concerns and will continue to do so until a reasonable solution is achieved.). Join me and my friends. Ye asked for $12 million, and $8 million would be paid promptly after the full execution of the 2012 amendment. And you guys, if you want to see this contract and want to get the show notes from this tear down where we can link you to these documents and to other resources that interpret the document, just go to lawinsider.com/resources. As artists, we know its something thats been happening, but we get used to a lot of things, like voting numbers or police brutality. 22% royalty rate for Kanye (and 78% for the record label). You can imagine the anxiety the in-house counsel have, right? Kanye West had already been burning bridges in the music industry. The before section has all the original wording, complete with legalese. Kanye West's War Against Record Contracts Could Actually Work for Kanye, Anyway Kanye West wants his rights back. Music or such label paying Island Def Jam Music Group acounterbalance amountagainst overhead payments in an amount equal to the overhead payments in the applicable contract year multiplied by a fraction. This is a tool that is available to anyone looking to implement plain language into their contracts. All those of those terms that you can also edit out of other legal documents, theres a lot to do there that really will clean these up without ever even considering going into the substantive terms. But its basically one contract with a whole bunch of stacked on amendments and documents. Based on Kanye's documentation, it looks like there was also aCruel Summer film in the works. Watch to see how three transactions handled alternative dispute resolution options. September 18, 2020. But they were reluctant to strike a deal with the young producer/rapper. And theyre advised accordingly by an attorney at law whos telling them to sign this contract, and they say this contract is standard. Well, Im looking at the after and, you know, its shorter which which tells me something about the the utility of cutting these bits of archaic language. Many young artists dont realize how recoupment works, in which a label fronts the money for artists advances and expenses like recording and marketing, to be paid back to the label through royalties later. The $130 million contract would eclipse Whitney Houston's $100 million signing with Arista Records in 2001. Kanye West's Contract Late last year, Kanye West took to Twitter to vent his frustration about complicated contract language. Kanye West Says He Won't Release New Music Until Freed From Sony and Universal Contracts: Declaring himself "the new Moses" while demanding apologies from Drake and J. Cole. If you look at these agreements, though, from Kanye, that thats not just the CD references that are archaic. You need a business manager to read how you did? Its not always clear whats what. But if Kanye West 's statements last year about slavery being a choice were out of bounds, he's taking more of a Prince-like tactic in his ongoing efforts to extract himself from his record. Thus,50 percent of these costs incurred by Roc-A-Fella are considered advances, but the label could notrecoup more than $40,000 for each album relevant to these costs: creation, hosting, maintenance of artists website, securing, registering and/or protecting artist domain names, creation of ECD materials, independent promotion, independent marketing and independent publicity, television, movie or radio campaigns. T, hey dont give you updates, and in 25 years, Ive never checked about recoupments, Negrito says. Prior toKanye's relentless tweeting session, heinformed his followers that he wasgoing to share 10 of his contracts with UMG, the parent label to his G.O.O.D. Ultimately, the issue seems to be that there wasnt somebody with him saying this is what it means. Side note: usually artists get between 12-15% royalty rate but Kanye was already being a huge hit so he could negotiate a higher fee. Whats the best way to get in touch with you to learn these skills? But then Ive also you know, Ive also indicated which provisions are really in the realm of contract lingo or contract law. Then you, Kanye, get your money. I didnt know this was the thing, but apparently its a Twitter meme. And so Kanye is at this point where hes like, dude, I got to have some other ways to make money. Music, is no. But there theres a lot you can do there, as the GE example has shown. Found online, don't shoot the messenger. Ye (/ j e / YAY; born Kanye Omari West / k n j e / KAHN-yay; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for several artists and developing the "chipmunk soul" sampling style. The contract indicates that these figures would increase with each release, and Kanye West and his company would receive 20 percent of each minimum after notifying the label that the. Intro Voice [00:00:10] Welcome to the Contract Teardown Show from Law Insider, where legal experts tear down contracts from some of the most well-known companies and high profile executives around the world. Just minutes prior, he had finished tweeting out the entirety of his Universal contract, one page at a time for a total of more than 100 tweets. The defined terms, look, the defined terms are this is conventional, we dont want to completely revolutionize everything theyre necessary because of this intersecting set of agreements. So, you know, my provision, these are coded blue brief catch picking up on a lot of those. They have before and after sections. Based on the agreement,Universal Music Group gave Kanye a $3.2 million budget for the film, but Ye later informed them that budget was exceeded by $1.5 million. Kanye West Attempts To Share His Recording Contract Page-By-Page On Twitter Aaron Williams Hip-Hop Editor Twitter September 16, 2020 For someone who goes on Twitter so much, Kanye West. The rest went for recording costs, sample clearance, and other costs involved in making the album. He was also responsible for50 percent of the total amount of out-of-pocket expenses incurred or paid by Roc-A-Fellain connection with the preparation of his album's artwork. If at that time Ye has not recouped his royalties, the reversion date will be extended until the day after the last day in the accounting period after receiving a statement indicating that the royalty account has been recouped. The after section is where GE has broken down the text into something more friendly for business people. Scooter Braun Projects is a talent management company that is more than just a company. Some are asking what took so long. Until then, Ross, I appreciate you being here. Youll get access to more content like this. For his initial contract period, Yeezy received 8percent of all singles and long-play singles,14 percent of the royalty base with respect to master recordings during initial contract period,14 percent of sales of an album in excess of 500,000 units and15 percent of sales of an album in excess of 1 million units. This is Kanyes contracts. Almost no artists recoup so the system obviously doesnt work, but its tempting. Kanye West is seen at a Donda listening event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 22, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. So I have to keep it versus this is archaic and useless. So we know recouped doesnt mean the same thing. What am I looking at here? So tell me, is the language on the right? Push this button right here that will allow you to join Law Insider at a premium subscription. But its all too new to know whether in any kind of dispute that language would actually be entered as evidence. Mike Whelan [00:04:08] wearing the shirt. Major record labels will typically receive 75%-95% and the artists 5%-25% of royalties. West filed suit . To be a little bit difficult to argue that. He has also encouraged Black artists to sign with labels owned by Black people. The deals not bad what is that based on? Negrito asks. Report: Kanyes Anti-Semitic Rhetoric Led to Assaults, Vandalism, If you have a kid who knows nothing about law and sees all this money, these contracts are 60 pages long, who the fuck is reading that? longtime A&R exec Chris Anokute, Anokute manages several clients including Curtis Waters, who recently went viral through his TikTok hit Stunnin. While Waters was courted by many major labels,at Anokutes counsel, he signed a shorter-term 60-40 profit-split deal with BMG. Looking back, I've thought many times about what makes Kanye Kanye. His call for transparency has brought the conversation of understandable language into a spotlight. Kanye West Posts Over 100 Pages of His Record Label Contracts, Tweet by Tweet Tyler Sharp Published: September 16, 2020 David Crotty / Patrick McMullan, Getty Images Kanye West made. this summer, doesnt point the finger at any one entity or group for the nature of these deals. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. August 6, 2021 3:35 PM EDT. (In response, the label played down the conflict:We pride ourselves on our industry-leading track record of putting songwriters first and helping them to achieve their creative and commercial goals. Youll also get webinars and daily tips on drafting and negotiating contracts, not to mention access to the worlds largest database of sample clauses and contracts. Rap superstar Kanye West is leading a revolt against . Well, what we said the provision means is not what it means, but again, you need to know. Obviously, we cant share the whole thing, but well make sure that you have a link to the whole thing in the show notes over at LawInsider.com/Resources. Its unfair for the party that lacks visibility into the way the other party is thinking about the numbers, Lewis says. 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Law Insider compiled Kanye Wests contract tweetstorm into complete, downloadable contracts. Cruel Summer/Hawaii costs shall befully cross-collateralized with Kanye's main royalties account. It was pretty awesome because it was specifically about contracts. ), Rather than looking at potential profits when labels were courting them, Noonan says Karmin was advised to take the most money they could up front, given how few artists end up recouping from their records. According to West's court papers, he's been "laboring" for EMI since 2003, when during the recording of College Dropout he signed a "lopsided" contract with the music publisher. Were going to deduct a million dollars. Mike Whelan [00:17:34] Yeah, I like the phrase sufficient moneys. Money and Music must stay together. Ross Guberman [00:03:18] And so Im the president of legal writing prose, so Ive been doing workshops and consulting on all different aspects of lawyer writing and judicial writing for a couple of decades now. If Island Def Jam Music Group were to pass on an artist,Getting Out Our Dreams Inc., the acronym for Kanye's G.O.O.D. Leave. This method perhaps isnt as friendly to consumers as LinkedIns method, but its close enough to the source material and still understandable. Royalty portals need to show (and do not now) Every song you delivered, Every store you are in, How many streams per song Income per song. Advances. UMG is the parent company of Def Jam and West's G.O.O.D. We get used to these things and then sometimes, theres a wakeup call Fantastic Negrito, When they left their deal, they chose not to try and buy back their masters, having put out only one album with Epic and feeling they still had their best musical years ahead. Those are four ways to keep the conversation going. Ross Guberman [00:07:15] So youre looking at a movement that started when those Capitol Hill hearings, but the tech companies were in the news. ; t shoot the messenger % -25 % of royalties the first is. 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