Two Hundred and Twenty Sixth, the First Pot of Gold

"Driving carefully!"

Maxim looked at Cliff whose gaze was frequently drifting towards the rearview mirror, his expression, which was checking his status in the mirror, suddenly became stiff, and he complained mercilessly.

"Even if you are in a hurry, don't rush it for a while. Don't you know that my face is very precious, and I can't bear any loss of collision?"

Seeing Maxim complaining solemnly and expressing her dissatisfaction with righteous words, Alice couldn't help laughing, but just as the laughter overflowed, Alice could feel Maxim's gaze drifting over through the rearview mirror, There was absolutely no joke in those serious eyes.

"Ahem." Alice coughed twice to hide her emotions, and then said proactively, "I know, you are all concerned about royalties and signing bonuses, after all, this is related to the status and future of the band, I also hoped to get more benefits for the band, but Atlantic Records didn't give me a chance, because their contract terms are very fair."

Alice also understood the anxieties and worries of the band members, so she offered to explain without waiting for Cliff to ask.

"The royalties are 10, and the signing bonus is two hundred thousand dollars."

The so-called royalties, to be precise, are divided into records.

Record companies record albums and sell them through online and offline distribution channels. Every time an album is sold, the singer will be divided according to a certain percentage. This part is called royalties. Simply put, an album ten dollars, then a royalty of 10 is a dollar of revenue.

However, with the overall rise of digital music, physical albums have gradually begun to lose money, because physical albums also require procedures such as inner pages, packaging, and distribution, and each step requires a lot of cost. Achieving "profitability" has become increasingly difficult.

In addition to record royalties, singers and bands have other ways of earning income, including but not limited to the recording of film and television works, cover songs by other singers, the use of commercial songs, the use of variety shows, etc., but the royalties are still included in the record contract. main income.

It is precisely because of this that touring concerts have evolved into a real source of income for singers. Even for the top singers, it is difficult for them to make money relying on records. The entire income of an album may not be comparable to that of a single concert. Income, and top singers can earn tens of millions of dollars in a North American tour or a global tour.

Nevertheless, record royalties are still the first step for new singers, and their importance is self-evident.

In addition, royalties and copyrights are two different concepts.

The benefits that singers get from record sales are called royalties; while copyright is the ownership of songwriters for their own songs. As long as the employer uses the song, regardless of the purpose, he needs to pay the copyright owner. Copyright income is much higher than royalties.

To put it simply, Ronan created the song "Chasing the Light", first of all he is the creator of the original song and lyrics, and secondly he is also the creator of the arrangement, which also means that he owns all the copyrights of "Chasing the Light" . When the One Day King band recorded this song and officially released the album, how should Ronan's income be calculated.

First, he earns royalties as a band member; second, he earns copyright income as a songwriter and arranger.

Moreover, as a member of the band, Ronan’s income from record royalties is a single one, and only when the album or single is sold, can he be paid; but as the copyright owner, after the single is released, every time it is used commercially, Ronan can Credit again.

At present, in North America, the royalties of singers generally fluctuate between 10 and 20. Top big-name singers can try to get 20 of the royalties. But generally speaking, the contracts signed by new singers are the lower limit of the floating range, and 10 is a Common and fair figures.

As for the signing bonus...

Objectively speaking, it is really not high. After deducting high taxes,

In the end, it should be about 140,000 U.S. dollars that fell into the pocket of the One Day King Band, and the band needs four members to share equally, so that's not much; but again, it's not too low. For an independent band, even It's also slightly higher than expected-after all, the band's living expenses, accommodation expenses, studio expenses, etc. during the recording of the album are all contracted by Atlantic Records.

Ahmet's contract conditions are indeed fair.

Alice has considered it carefully. Whether it is royalties or signing bonuses, if she fights for them, there should be some room for improvement, but it will definitely not be too big. After all, the band has limited bargaining chips; therefore, it is better to focus on Put it on the creative freedom of the band, laying the foundation for the One Day Kings to maintain their own characteristics.

Thus, the terms of the contract value came out like this.

But after the words were spoken, there was silence in the carriage, and Alice didn't get any response—no positive or negative response.

Alice cast her gaze towards Cliff in the driver's seat, "What, is there a problem?"

Although he was asking for Cliff's opinion, his tone seemed to be "you dare to say that there is a problem." Cliff waved his hands in a panic, then quickly grabbed the steering wheel, and even shook his hands vigorously, " No, no, no problem, it's just... I'm wondering what level of contract this is?"

"Pfft", Ronan didn't hold back, and laughed outright.

Cliff looked a little embarrassed, "Ronan!"

Alice smiled and explained, "Normal level. The royalty of 10 is almost the general level for newcomers now; and the signing bonus is slightly higher than expected, but it is basically within the range of newcomers. Atlantic Records did not give you any special treatment. , but there is no deduction of any value."

"Oh. Oh oh oh." Cliff nodded again and again, looking at the rearview mirror again, showing a touch of surprise, "Alice..."

Alice could understand the meaning in Cliff's eyes, and she didn't intend to respond, but just smiled.

But Ronan's voice came out from the side, "You didn't expect Ellie to be so powerful, did you?"

"Hmm." Cliff admitted bluntly, but after admitting, he realized that this seemed bad. "Sorry, Alice, I didn't mean that."

Ronan waved his hand, like Alice's spokesperson, "No need to explain, we all know what you mean, but a good boy who knows his mistakes and can correct them is a good boy."

Cliff had black lines all over his head, but he still looked at Alice through the rearview mirror and apologized again. After seeing the smile on the corner of Alice's mouth, he felt relieved, "So, if the lawyer confirms that there is no problem with the contract , we can formally sign the contract? So what's next?"

"...Next, it's time to celebrate!"

Ronan raised his voice and shouted, it was like a starting gun, which aroused the joy and excitement in the band members' bodies, and couldn't help but began to howl.

Ahhh!

Oh oh oh!

Ho ho ho!

Ollie even opened the car window and yelled at the busy traffic in New York, "We've signed!"