Lies, Lies, and More Lies
Mark W. Lewis
1 "Do this one cheap (or free) and we'll make it up on the next one."
2 "We never pay a cent until we see the final product."
3 "Do this for us and you'll get great exposure! The jobs will just pour in!"
4 On looking at sketches or concepts: "Well, we aren't sure if we want to use you yet, but leave your material here so I can talk to my partner/investor/wife/clergy."
5 "Well, the job isn't CANCELLED, just delayed. Keep the account open and we'll continue in a month or two."
6 "Contract? We don't need no stinking contact! Aren't we friends?"
7 "Send me a bill after the work goes to press."
8 "The last guy did it for XXX dollars."
9 "Our budget is XXX dollars, firm."
10 "We are having financial problems. Give us the work, we'll make some money and we'll pay you. Simple."
The article goes on to say "In the end, working commercially, being a terrific artist is about 25% of the task. If that is the only part of the task that you are interested in, do yourself a favor. Don't turn 'pro.'"
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3 comments:
Yep, get them all the time. Just got a call to do a CD cover a few weeks ago and the band says that "Do this for us (free) and you'll get great exposure!" - sounds familiar? I think they should just freely give away their songs to the big record companies in return for their much needed publicity.
"Native" artists? Wow...I thought, that is pretty niche. Then I saw you meant naive, so it applies to me. ;-)
Xpressive Studio said...
I think they should just freely give away their songs to the big record companies in return for their much needed publicity.
Have you read their contracts? They already do give their music away.
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