Record Contracts?

All this talk has me wondering how recording contracts normally work. I already know that in typical situations, the artist receives an advance from the label to make the album. Once the album is available for sale, the label needs to recoup the cost of the advance and any other associated costs (videos, promos) before the artist start receiving royalties. These contracts are often notoriously slanted in favor of the label...so much so that even seemingly successful acts like XTC had a hard time making a living while being signed to a major (Virgin, in this case).

But what happens if the label decides to let the album go out-of-print? Or if the label goes bankrupt? I've already ascertained that the rights don't necessarily automatically revert back to the artist, but what DOES happen with the rights? It's just hard to believe that some of this great music remains out of print for such a long period of time.

Regards, Brent Received on Thu Oct 14 11:04:44 1999