Artistes Need Opt-Out Clauses in Contracts They Sign

The Punch

Following recent spats between artistes and their record labels in the entertainment industry, a Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation, University of Ottawa, Canada, Prof. Chidi Oguamanam, has advised musicians to ensure they have what he called opt-out clauses and flexible terms in their contracts with labels.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, he said that in every contract there should be a point indicating that the contract be revised if not working in favour of both parties.

“In a contract, there should be a time when you need to opt out. Good record companies would most likely give you flexible terms of contract because if you succeed it benefits them but the most important thing is there should be trust for these terms to even work out,” he added.

Ogunmanam also suggested that up-and-coming artistes should lawyer-up in order not to be stuck in a label.

He said, “Labels tend to lock you up because there is inequality in bargaining power. Therefore, I suggest up and-coming artistes should have lawyers on stand-by. Artistes need to know where they stand, look at other options, know what their prospects are and where they can leverage on labels.”

The don warned that the trend of an artiste hiding under a label could result in being overlooked and given less attention in the industry.

“There is a highly democratised space where artistes could market themselves using technology. Having a good label is a strong advantage for competition, but I want to suggest that the whole space for publishing creative works is highly democratised because of technology. It is left for the artiste to assess at themselves and determine how they intend to thrive in the industry,” he added.

He noted that there were studies being conducted which showed that up-and-coming artistes preferred their music not be restricted by intellectual property.

“In the research, these artistes preferred that their songs could be easily downloaded by the public because the more downloads they have, the more recognised they become globally,” Oguamanam said.

He urged emerging talents to sign contracts with reputable labels who have good business practices in order to survive.

In the aspect of movie making, Oguamanam said that when a film-maker sought to adapt a novel into a movie, he would need the permission of the author of the book regardless of the changes being made during the adaptation.

“But if the project is adapted in a way that completely undermines the essence of that book, the author can put spanners on the project. The author could also sign an agreement with the publisher, which would preempt future adaptations into multiple media,” he added.

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