Contrap – The truth behind record labels’ contract

In the summer of 2017, upcoming reggae artistes Royal Blu and Runkus known for tracks such as Sing with God, Controller Remix, Burn Everything, Crazy Over You and among many other hits embarked on their first tour in places such as Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, England and other sections of Europe. It was their firs time working with an agency. It was a trial run for the duo, so they didn’t bother to sign a contract.

Before the tour they were promised money for shows in addition USD$500.00 for allowance to cover food and other miscellaneous expenses. In the midst of the tour around the ending of July, artistes realised that they have not received any of the allowance promised nor the right amount of money they were to receive after the shows. “If I had signed a contract. I knew I could have taken legal action against this agency and received what was rightfully mine,” said Royal Blu. Runkus stated that during his time on the tour he was working on strictly hear say.

A recording contract, commonly called a record deal, is a legal agreement between a record label and recording artiste, where the artiste makes a series of records for that particular label to sell and promote. The artiste is usually led to believe that these contracts are in their best interest; however, this is not always the case because these contracts are actually for the label’s personal gain. In the case of Royal Blu and Runkus, they should have researched and understand what a performance contract was. A performance contract is a contract that clearly outlines the details of the performance agreement such as time, location, performance expectations and payment and deposits.

A popular type of contract that many up and coming are signing is known as the 360 deal. Unfortunately, many new talents are on a 360 deal and are unaware of it.  A 360 deal is where a label gets a percentage of ALL of the artistes’ earnings. What makes a 360 deal so bad is that the the labels have most of the control over the artiste financially and sometimes artistically. Arguably, whatever amount of money the label invests in the artiste, the label has to regain more than the initial amount invested.

While signing a contract with a record label may sometimes may have its cons, there are a few benefits that come with signing it. These include: promotion and access to exclusive things such as samples and a fancy recording studio.

However, in this modern age, a young artiste may not need a big label to successful; they can be independent. Chicago native artiste Chance the Rapper is an independent rapper who won the Grammy Awards for having Best Rap Album and Best New Artiste at the 2017 ceremony. Being independent means that you can work on your craft and business without any restrictions that a record label may put on you. Social media makes branding and promoting young artists much easier and efficient.

Royal Blu is now classified as an independent artiste, who uses social media to promote his music and, as a result, has been booked for shows in England, Belgium, Germany and other countries across Europe, all on his own without using an agency. However, if you think being an independent artiste is not for you and you would rather be signed to a record company, then do so, but please ensure that you do a thorough research. Make sure to read that contract before you sign your name.

Below is the official music video for Royal Blu and Runkus hit song Skin Tone