Whilst the internet has opened up previously unimaginable DIY pathways to success for bands and musicians, many artists still covet that legendary seven-figure major label deal. Indie cred is nice, but it’s a tough slog to get the real money.
It’s easy to see where this line of thought might come from. Sure, record labels are still reeling from the explosion and continued proliferation of internet piracy, and streaming is yet to pay the bills, but record labels are still handing out checks right?
Sure. But if you think it’s as simple as signing on the dotted line and waiting for the money to start rolling in, think again. Just ask Brooklyn outfit Unlocking the Truth, who nabbed a highly publicised $1.8 million deal with Sony after going viral online.
The Brooklyn heavy metal trio, all of whom are still high school aged, first came to international attention after footage of them performing in Times Square spread like wildfire online and was eventually picked up by the media.
Soon they were being courted by managers and record labels, with notorious show biz veteran Alan Sacks signing the band to a management deal and securing them the million-dollar deal with Sony. The boys became overnight stars.
But whilst every interview, late night talk show appearance, and magazine article made a big deal about the reported $1.8 million deal, as Yahoo Music notes, it’s not really a matter of a label driving a dump truck of money to your house.
As Sacks, Sony, and the band members clashed over the direction of the group, the three boys realised the truth of how record label contracts work. For one thing, that $1.8 million deal was for a five-album deal.
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In other words, the boys stood to make just under $2 million for giving Sony five whole albums to release. That sum for all five album advances was also contingent on how many albums they sold, i.e. they pretty much had to move more units than Taylor Swift.
According to Yahoo Music, Unlocking the Truth had to sell more than 250,000 units of each of their five albums in order to move on to the next level of the advance chain. It’s little wonder then that the band’s lawyers were soon trying to wrench them out of the contract.
The band’s upcoming documentary, Breaking a Monster, which is being screened during the Melbourne International Film Festival, chronicles the band’s journey from busking in Times Square to scoring a label deal, to realising the truth about the label machine.
