I recently met and have become good friends with a woman who just signed on with a renowned record label out of Chicago. The producer fir this compay has worked for a number of A-list artists.
Earlier this month I came across an unbelievably talented group of kids in their late teens who have a band and who have written and produced some incredible hip-hop music and also a video for one of their songs. I (and a number of my friends) were completely astounded by their music and very mature presence.
I don’t have any experiencein the music industry, but these kids have a look and sound that I am 100% convinced will take them right to the top of hip-hop music.
My question is: is there any kind of standard “finders fee” if I am able to make an introduction to the record label and they get signed on?
Just to be clear, making money isn’t my main priority - I really just want to see them take their music to the highest level - but I figured an intro might be worth something?
Does anyone know about this kind if thing? Thanks!
What if the recording company invests a lot of money marketing this group you introduced to them and the group flops? Should you owe the record company a % of their marketing campaign? If not, why should you be entitled to an introduction fee? What did you risk? This apparently is not your line of work, so you’re not really risking your reputation as a talent finder.
I am not in the biz although there are several dopers who are but I am pretty sure that this is what being an agent/manager for the group is all about. In that case you would contract with the talent for a % of the groups revenues in exchange for you helping find them work.
It’s unlikely. If you’re talking about major record labels then in my experience there’s one thing and one thing only that gets a group signed: hype.
Sad but true - very very rare to see a band signed by a major on musical talent alone without a whole bunch of people already following them and quite a bit of buzz having already been created.
Although, even more sadly, record labels will occasionally pull a bunch of attractive dancers together and get some songs written for them in the hope that they can sell a few records.
And furthermore signing a band is as much about reading the market and signing the right group as it is about signing the best musicians.
Drachillix, this is what I realized after I posted - what these kids really need is an experienced agent or manager who can properly represent their interests in talks with any record label, no matter which one.
Omar, I understand what you are saying since no one wants to shell out if the band doesn’t go anywhere, but if I did connect the band with the record label I am talking about, I wouldn’t expect the label to pay me anything if they didn’t sign the band.
If they did work out an agreement with the band, it makes sense that they could have it in their budget to either pay me a nominal flat fee for the connection or possibly some tiny fraction of future album sales if they end up making money for the label.
I think a finder’s fee would be appropriate, because this is how business works. If they went the one-time, flat-fee route (if this was something they normally do), then this would simply be a calculated cost of doing business. If they sign X number of artists and Y% are profitable, for an average of Z dollars, then a finder’s fee of A would be worked into the cost of doing business.
I think I would do well to contact my friend’s agent to see if I can work out something with them rather than the label itself.