Put it in Writing! by: Ty Cohen Don't ever underestimate the importance of putting everything, and I mean everything, in writing, especially when it comes to music contracts. You just can't trust promises or handshakes that people give you anymore. Anything and everything that is discussed must be put in writing in music business contracts. Over the next few minutes, I hope you will grasp just how vital this is. It is crucial to put every promise and every single decision made, no matter how minuscule it seems at the time, in writing. If the deal goes sour, you don't want to end up penniless and caught in a he said, she said type of situation. You could spend years in court and end up in more debt than you were before. Your signed recording contracts will be the only defense you have. If the issue at hand is not included, you might just out of luck in the judge's eyes. You may have heard that oral contracts can be legally binding and you are right, some can be. There are four types of oral contracts that will not stand up in a court of law, an illegal act, if the terms of the agreement were not specified, if one or both the parties were mistaken or if the subject or terms are prohibited by law. But honestly, there is no way to prove something 100% unless you have written and signed music business contracts or several unbiased witnesses. Otherwise, you may be involved in a situation where it is your word against another person's and no one can predict the outcome of that. You should also be careful with emailing and text messaging and trying to apply these to the terms of recording contracts. At this time, laws relating to electronic communication and their validity in a court of law are still in their infancy. Don't count on an email or a text message as your proof of the contractual obligations of any party. The only thing that you can rely on is a written contract, typed up and signed by both parties, with witnesses. Unfortunately, the best way to protect yourself, your career and your income is by doing everything by the book. There have been several famous cases of bands or artists, such as Vanilla Ice, O-Town, Toni Braxton, Garbage, N'SYNC and Courtney Love claim that they have been given a raw deal with their music business contracts and have ended up in very bad positions. So, it definitely pays to put, not only everything in writing but to have a firm grasp and understanding on every last drop of information in your music contracts.
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