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Early money buys your name
The Early Check
The check can be half a million dollars, handed to someone who is 18 or 19 at the start of a career. In return the artist signs over name, image, and likeness in perpetuity. Explained to technology investors, it sounds fake: picture a seed investor who owned the founder's intellectual property. In music that is how it works, and it is why many artists reach the end of their careers broke, with nothing they own.
Prince's Fight
Prince is the example. He changed his name to a symbol to get out of a contract, and he wrote slave on his face, because Warner owned his name, image, and likeness. He was one of the most successful artists of all time and didn't own what came out of his own head.
Flipping the Model
United Masters was built around the opposite arrangement. Digital platforms let artists find audiences before they find a record company, so there is less reason to sign rights away for a half-million-dollar advance. The company's name refers to the masters, and the economics are inverted so artists get the lion's share, since they did the work.
Why did Prince write slave on his face?
Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993 during a dispute with Warner Bros. Records. In the mid-1990s he appeared in public with the word 'slave' written on his cheek. He went back to using the name Prince in 2000, as his publishing contract with Warner/Chappell ended.
How does a record advance get paid back?
A major-label advance is recoupable: the label recovers it out of the artist's royalty share before any royalty checks are paid. Costs such as recording, video production, and tour support are commonly added to the balance. Until the balance is cleared, the artist receives no royalties from record sales.
How does a master differ from a song?
Every recorded song carries two copyrights: the sound recording, called the master, and the underlying composition, called the publishing. Different owners can hold each one. A single stream generates payments to both the owner of the master and the owner of the composition.
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