1st time recording FOR PAY, never dealt with business end!

[Illuminalto]

Hello Tape Op Message Board!

THE BACKGROUND:
I have played instruments for around 15 years and have been gigging for 10 of em.
I always was the guy in the band that understood how to hook up PA speakers and guitar cabs, so I naturally got into live sound and audio in general.
I've played with various audio software through the years, and my interests have led me to READ BOOKS about equalization, mixing, the human ear, "psycho-acoustics", the various uses for compression, and mastering.

In all fairness, I would rate myself as a moderately-armed with knowledge, and decently able to distinguish EQ when harshness/masking occur in a mix.

Still feel a little bit under-experienced with different compression applications, (expansion, side-chaining) but have read up plenty on them.

THE SCENARIO:
I've been wanting a REAL rig to record some music on for a while - then it happened, an acquaintance who plays in a band says they are looking for a studio to record their first release. Things seem to line up, so I get him to commit for $100 per song (tracking and mixing, no mastering - a friendly rate, to be sure!) and move forward with purchasing equipment.

So, I broke down and used money I shouldn't have to purchase a pretty powerful little home recording computer and an 8-input interface. Also purchased a bunch of mics of varying types (condenser/dynamic/kick mic) in order to cover any number of recording situations and a 50ft xlr snake to get some distance and faux-isolation.

Studio is setup, have tracked and checked off all drum tracks to the satisfaction of the drummer, and am working on tracking guitar now.

THE QUESTION:
I am definitely the "recording engineer" for this album, and feel I am bleeding the lines into "producer" role. As we go along, I'm really surprising myself at how good the tracks sound - I'm being super-mindful of mic placements, not letting the talent get away with sloppy takes, and just trying to keep a tight protocol through the whole process.

I am, however, beginning to worry that once I receive their final payment and deliver their mixed tracks unto them - that they will get duped into signing onto a label (these guys are pretty oblivious despite being good musicians, and I'm sure that they'll fall head over heels for the "status" that being in a "signed band" brings you with underage, uneducated females).

???How do I protect myself from getting cut out of the work I've been doing and get the credits I am rightfully due for this album???

Do I need to bring pen and paper into this?

I'm not looking to screw the musicians and take ownership of everything, I would just like recognition for my part in a project that I've already put nearly 75 hours into - with many more to come....


Thank you to any and all!
Peace

[Gregg Juke]

The way you'll avoid this in the future is to have a_signed_ agreement _on paper_ that will state the various stipulations of the working situation that you both agree to, including roles, credits, and any present and future income/fees/royalties/bonuses etc.

For now, you may try discussing things as delicately as possible with the band, and try to get something signed. But most likely, this will be a learning experience for you in more ways than one.

I wouldn't worry too much about the band getting signed and making millions. But try to make sure that you get proper engineering credit at least.

GJ

[MoreSpaceEcho]

???How do I protect myself from getting cut out of the work I've been doing and get the credits I am rightfully due for this album???

if you agreed to work for a flat rate, and they pay you that rate, what else is there to get cut out of? besides your name in small print on the inside?

honestly, if it's your first gig working for pay, and they pay you, you should be psyched.

the likelihood of them getting famous and raking in the bucks is so vanishingly small that it isn't worth worrying about at all. and if you agreed to work for a flat fee and not a percentage of royalties, it wouldn't matter if they sold 1 copy or 1 million. they paid you all you're entitled to.

[dfuruta]

honestly, if it's your first gig working for pay, and they pay you, you should be psyched.

this is the truth. if you can pull this off, you're doing better than i did.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I agree with everybody above.
Honestly if this is your first gig, and it sounds good, and you got paid you've hit it out of the park. Don't waste your time and energy worrying about what might happen if/when the band gets signed. The value of a record deal is plummeting these days. Spend your time and energy parlaying your good work on this gig into getting your next gig and the one after that and the one after that. Recording careers are built slowly and by word of mouth.

[chris harris]

Stop badmouthing labels. If your clients sign to labels and have success, it's good for you. I can't imagine why the label or the band would be interested in intentionally screwing you out of an engineering credit.

[Nick Sevilla]

Stop badmouthing labels. If your clients sign to labels and have success, it's good for you. I can't imagine why the label or the band would be interested in intentionally screwing you out of an engineering credit.

If I had a nickel for every credit I did not get...
But, yes most labels are not into cutting people's credits.
You, the OP should be fine.
And no, you cannot worry about anything in the future:

"You can't start worrying about what's going to happen. You get spastic enough worrying about what's happening now."

Lauren Bacall

[chris harris]

Well yeah, make sure the band understands how you expect to be credited. But don't turn the relationship adversarial just because they're possibly having some success. And don't start off a relationship with a label that way.

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

The lesson here is: try to hash all this shit out over coffee or whatever long before the first downbeat. I hate when I have to talk business/credits/money during a session.

[lefthanddoes]

This is a statistical, true truth, right here:

the likelihood of them getting famous and raking in the bucks is so vanishingly small that it isn't worth worrying about at all.

Now is a good time to (continue to) do a great job and get a good rapport with the band. Credits on the CD don't have nearly as much effect as "hey, your CD sounds great, where did you record it?" "oh it was this guy Illuminalto, he's awesome!"

Also, feel free to blur the line between producer and engineer if you think it'll go over well. Which it sounds like it will, if they like how they sound so far.

[Nebakanezer]

Here is an idea or 2. If they are young and na?ve, Take them under your wing and use the down time to give them some mentoring style advice. If you believe in them and in yourself, consider some things like 1) if this completed CD gets them signed a) due they sell the rights to it b) keep the rights and sign a distribution deal, and this is only if the label don't decide to start from scratch with someone well known. 2) start a label (I'd be willing to bet you've read more than a few articles of this aspect of the business) because the more you can show a label your doing alright without them, the more leverage you bring to the table. It's a great time to be independent Do they have a manager or booking agent? I would like to here about the progress! But like everyone said, stay in the moment to make this yours and their best work to date.