Mike McCready

They then heard nothing for months. They were subsequently approached by a small management company, who started working with them, until the original label (A big one, with film studios in Hollywood) objected and threatened to sue.

This left them completely unable to work, apart from doing small cash gigs under an assumed name, but using their original material – which they did until they were seen by the original A&R guy while playing at a bar in London.

After a fairly dirty fight their ‘New’ manager managed to get them out of the original promissory note and started A&R-ing them to other labels…

Then it got REALLY interesting!

Having been ‘Signed’ to a major gave the manager some leverage, and he managed to sign them to a smaller, independent label, who liked the demos and coughed up some money (Quite a bit of money) for recording.

The ‘Manager’ then rented them a rehearsal room and hired in a ProTools rig, mics, instruments, a desk, outboard, monitors and assorted engineers (which was when I got involved) and production assistants. Most of the hires were from his own ‘Management’ company. He also appointed himself Producer, although he didn’t actually know the difference between an Aux send and the ‘Q’ control on the channel EQ strips!!!

They recorded nearly two albums worth of material in about three months – material over which they now have no control whatsoever other than a claim to writer & performer royalties.

The ‘Manager’ organised their publishing (His company) and PRS / ASCAP / MCPS memberships, (So therefore the money trail), and because he used the label’s budget to ‘Hire in’ his own gear, he also owns the mechanicals and the outright copyright to the finished product, as well as taking 50% of GROSS on a retrospective points deal (Before distribution, marketing, promotion, expenses et. al), – leaving the band members (Five in total) with just a 5% stake each in the NET deliverable.

He’s even credited as a writer and performer for royalties, so he managed to shaft them there as well!

The real bastard though is that, out of their minimal royalties and gate receipts from touring, they’re supposed to pay (According to the contract) any shortfall on the recording budget as well as all touring expenses, rig hire and promotion.

They currently owe the management company about £40K, and with earnings as a support band at about £500 a gig, they have to do about 150 gigs for free before they break even.

On top of which the ‘Manager’ is currently punting the second lot of demos (An entire album’s worth) around to other labels as a finished product with a buy-out figure of £250K.