Darrin McGillis Productions

If you look at any of the jackets on your CD's or tapes, you will notice various bits of information. Although the content often differs, many of the same things are on every jacket. It should not surprise you that these things should also go on your tape. However, what is necessary and what does it mean? First for the cover. The only things which should go on the cover of your tape or CD are the band's name and the title of the tape, along with any artwork. Now for the good stuff: What goes on the back cover or J- card insert? The first thing to consider is credit. You obviously want to give yourself, "the band", credit for the record. As for crediting others, that depends on contracts. If you have a contract with a producer, it will surely include a clause whereby you must give him credit on the jacket. The same may go for the recording studio, manager. Receiving proper credit is very important in the entertainment industry. However, the only legal obligation to i...

Most bands play live. Whether you play live shows infrequently or on a regular basis, you should consider a written contract when playing live. A contract can be very simple. It does not have to be full of legal mumbo jumbo to be a contract. It can be as simple as "Band agrees to play on July 17, 2001 for one hour for $3,000 at Venue X." That is sufficient to be an enforceable contract. At a minimum, a contract should have the following elements. First, it should be in writing. An oral contract may be valid, but it is very difficult to enforce. The expression, "an oral contract is not worth the paper it is written is on" comes from experience. Therefore, I highly recommend getting the terms in writing. Second, it should be signed by both parties. This means the agent or venue owner and one member of the band. Each band member has authority to bind the entire band in a partnership. The following terms must be in the contract to be enforceable. First, it must spec...

A band is a business. The more you treat your band like a business, the more likely you are to succeed in the industry. There are essentially three forms a business can take. First is a sole proprietorship. If you are a solo artist, this is the route to take. However, if you are a band, this form is unavailable for obvious reasons. Therefore, your choices are between a partnership or a corporation. There are a few other forms businesses can take, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, etc., but they are too complicated to address here. A corporation is an interesting concept. The way it works is you create a company which is owned by stockholders. This stock is not traded on the Stock Exchange, but owned by the band members. In the entertainment industry, a band which incorporates forms what is know as a loan-out corporation. What the corporation does is contract with other parties for your services. For example, if you have a loan-out corporation and you get a record dea...

This article will discuss what to do when a club owner or promoter refuses to pay you. A typical call starts out, "My band played at Club X on Saturday and the owner told us we would get $300 but after the show he said it was a bad night and could only give us $50." My first question is whether the band had a written contract, and in most cases, there was not. You will know from my other articles that I always recommend using a written contract. Even a one sentence agreement stating "Band will play Club on [date] at 10 P.M. for four hours and receive $300" can be an enforceable contract. You are much less likely to get stiffed if you have it in writing. Assuming you don't have anything in writing, are you out of luck? The answer depends on what you want to do about it. First, be insistent about getting paid the agreed upon amount. Make a nuisance of yourself. After getting stiffed, it is unlikely you are going to play that club again, so there is no need to st...