The Biggest Scams In The Music Business

The music industry is often seen as a glamorous and exciting world, full of opportunities for aspiring artists and entrepreneurs. However, behind the glitz and glamour lies a darker side, where unscrupulous individuals prey on the hopes and dreams of those trying to make it in the business. In this blog post, we will explore the 12 most popular music business scams, shedding light on the tactics used by scammers and providing tips on how to avoid falling victim to their schemes. Whether you're an aspiring musician, a music industry professional, or simply someone interested in the workings of the music business, this article is a must-read.

Some things arent all they're cracked up to be. Let's talk about those who take their hard earned money to invest into their career and end up getting scammed.

I figured this time, before I dive into the topic of Scamming in the music business, I did some research on others who have experienced these acts of fraud in the music business

As the music industry continues to grow and evolve, so do the scams that prey on aspiring musicians and industry professionals. From fake record deals to bogus music conferences, the music business is rife with scams that can leave victims with empty pockets and shattered dreams. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at the 12 most popular music business scams and how you can avoid falling prey to them. Whether you're a musician, manager, or industry professional, this article is a must-read to protect yourself and your career.

1. Payola
The granddaddy of all song commercial enterprise scams, payola is bribery, pay-for-play, the music commercial enterprise equivalent of darkish money. First, it became song pluggers influencing jazz-generation bandleaders; then it became so-referred to as indie promoters performing as document organisation bagmen. Payola changed into made illegal after a scandal inside the late Nineteen Fifties whilst DJs took bribes in return for radio airplay. It reared its ugly head again in the early 2000s and maintains today, its most cancers now spreading to services charging for placement on streaming provider playlists.

2. The Greedy A&R
A&Rs (short for Artist & Repertoire) scout talent and oversee the creative process on behalf in their company. A&Rs use both their ears and their community to find that expertise, and their role as gatekeepers gives them large energy to break artists. but a few A&Rs have evolved shady facet hustles, charging songwriters, performers, and producers to check their material. these scams are available in many bureaucracy, including charging for submissions and charging to show off. every now and then events are made to look like contests with the winners receiving apparently treasured meetings or introductions, however it’s the organizers pocketing the access expenses and the ticket income. A&Rs are already being paid to pay attention to song: it’s their job. If that’s proper, why should an artist ought to pay them once more?

3, The Consumer
just as there are A&Rs at the interior scamming artists with goals of getting signed, there are consultants at the outside scamming them, too. New to the industry and desperate for connections, a few artists are willing to pay up-front to get their song shopped around. but ask the question: what incentive is there for a representative who already has the dough? in place of paying earlier to have any individual store your music, why now not negotiate a finder’s charge this is due simplest whilst the deal gets achieved? A scammer will insist on the previous, but a reputable pro will agree to the latter. Even higher: domesticate your industry relationships and keep your cash for an legal professional that will help you near the deal you purchased for your personal.

4. The Manufacturing Deal
those contracts contain an industry participant who symptoms an artist to a file deal, even though that participant might not have a distribution deal or maybe own a label. It’s smooth to convince a neophyte to offer their rights away, and complex recording contracts obscure what’s honestly occurring. additionally, because the production company stands among the artist and the report company, there may be a threat that their involvement will complicate the connection or add no cost. Worse, such deals frequently force the artist to give up 50% of the cash and may tie them up unnecessarily. JoJo paid this fee: her first deal ultimately left her not able to release new track for years.

5. The Double-Dipper
It’s trendy practice for managers to rate a fee of 15% – 20% of gross profits in alternate for their offerings. but they don’t get to position their palms in an artist’s pockets twice. If a supervisor also runs a label, artists should be vigilant approximately how their consultant gets compensated. This doesn’t imply a supervisor can’t personal a label at all, just that there needs to be a agreement that spells out all the terms should they have more than one roles. (this is applicable to tune publishing, too.)

moreover, artists have to be alert to any situation in which an consultant attempts to take a copyright interest. growing artists may not have instant cash go with the flow, so unscrupulous managers negotiate for a piece of their copyrights. Artists need to by no means give up that ownership effortlessly: copyrights exist long after the proprietor’s demise, and joint authorship approach that an artist might be tied to their former supervisor even once they stop operating collectively.

6. The War
A struggle of interest can arise while one party has relationships that make it difficult to pick pretty. a standard instance is while an legal professional represents each facets in a negotiation. need to this manifest, the legal professional is obligated to reveal and clear up the struggle or lose their license. different enterprise players are underneath no such duty, so be alert to conflicts and create relationships built on accept as true with.

7. The Vig
some recording artists are regarded to rate producers or songwriters for placements. They call for a chunk of the music publishing in alternate for a promise to release the music, even if they didn’t write a note! Hungry for the placement, unsuspecting marks pay up out of worry they received’t get it otherwise. some may additionally see this because the cost of doing commercial enterprise, but it’s definitely a bribe. It takes place at all stages within the industry: Robin Thicke admitted he got a bigger piece of Pharrell’s publishing for “Blurred traces” than he deserved, and Claude Kelly lately complained about the practice on Twitter.

8. The “buy-On” agreement
every other example of pay-for-play: promoters who price artists to carry out, or headliners who rate smaller acts for beginning slots. suppose that’s honest? actually no longer. if you are performing, you must get paid, so avoid those scams. it may sense like you’re passing on a outstanding opportunity, but they’re rarely as top as they sound.

9. The Ghosting representative
I’ve heard lots of stories approximately consultants who charge for their services up-front and then disappear into skinny air with out actually doing any paintings. They make top notch promises, and appear to have the credentials and contacts to returned them up. however do your due diligence and ask for references before writing a take a look at. It’s also standard in the business to pay 50% on graduation and 50% on shipping, so negotiate to pay in installments, so that you always have the leverage to get them to supply.

10. The Shady Publicist
while considering whether or not to hire a publicist, research their capacity to generate press and assist manipulate a exposure campaign. The value of a publicist is their get right of entry to to a list of blogs, writers, and other stores; their ability to assist craft a story that resonates; their willingness to pitch their contacts. No publicist can assure something, so don’t fall for any claims that they do.

11. The Blog
any other instance of payola, beware of blogs all too keen to take your cash in go back for writing a tale of posting your music. What’s the hazard they write  sentences or regurgitate your bio? if they ought to churn out content like that, it’s due to the fact no one’s studying. all and sundry is hungry for press, however why need to you need to pay for it?

12. The Faker
once an critical component of payola, DJs logged faux spins or performed records at off-hours to juke the stats. today, bots are used to run the identical rip-off. Streams and fans may be faked, however there are  troubles with this technique. First, in case you get caught faking anything, the provider will take down your song and reset your numbers. 2d, faux fans don’t purchase stuff, so your lie will get exposed when nobody shows up on your overall performance or purchases your facts.