Secrets of Negotiating a Record Contract.(Brief Article)

by Moses Avalon. Backbeat Books (600 Harrison St., San Francisco, CA 94107), 2001. 303 pp., $22.95.

In Secrets of Negotiating a Record Contract, Moses Avalon takes on the musicians' point of view in the David-and-Goliath relationship between the recording artist and the music industry. As recent developments in artist-compensation are highlighted, along with the advent of Internet music distribution, this book helps fill a void in an artist's knowledge of the business of making music. The book's purpose is to act as a field guide for recording artists and composers in the complicated process of managing business dealings and contracts. Avalon, using a pseudonym, spares nothing in frankly and harshly describing the various tactics of lawyers representing labels and how to combat them.

Cleverly written, the text combines real-world experience with snippets of contract legalese, translated for the musician, that are the centerpiece of contract negotiations with record labels. The entertainingly readable anecdotes in each chapter help emphasize points like: "Sting Gets Stung in Cyberspace" and "The Wacky Tacky New Techie ...