Originally Posted by: schmangeStill not quite sure what to make of it. I got a reply with a sample contract attached.

It's in MSword format here...
http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/RecordingContract.doc

I'm gonna spend a few days picking it apart in detail & see how it goes. I'm a little concerned about the way he avoided directly answering some of my questions... almost like a pre-written script...and I don't like the obvious name dropping of a 'famous' movie.
But hey, it doesn't cost anything to ask questions. Figure it this way... if they're legit, they won't mind me being cautious and grilling them on their business. ie, they won't mind me 'considering' their offer for a few weeks or more and contacting an entertainment lawyer. If they're shady they'll either get impatient and stop writing or get pissed off and move on to the next mark.

Well, what annoys me most about that contract is that it's written in ALL CAPITALS. Very obnoxious. Stupid lawyers.

Now, about that 10% increase per year; after reading through that section, it says that it applies to the price that they'll charge on your CD. That means that, for example, they'll charge $7.95 for a full length CD, but they reserve the right to increase that price to $8.75 the next year. I guess the reason they would stipulate that in the contract would be so that you couldn't complain that they're charging too much for your CD and that the high price is killing sales.

And, also, a 10% increase per year for 10 years doesn't equal a 100% increase. It actually is a 135.79 percentage point increase (e.g. from $100 to $235.79). Which does not correspond to a 10% decrease per year. A 10% decrease in the 25% royalty you get per the contract would whittle down to 9.69% (or a 15.31 percentage point drop) in 10 years.

OK, now I look like a real nerd. Back to work!