Pierre and Carti might be friends, but Pierre and Carti’s label executives have no such relationship. They don’t have a representative, don’t have their own terms, and end up signing a predatory document that sees them get the smallest possible slice of the pie.Įven if a rapper and producer have a close relationship, like Pierre Bourne and Playboi Carti for example, the contract needs to be taken seriously. Wether it’s naivety or laziness, far too many beat makers take a nonchalant approach to the contract process.

Unfortunately we see a lot of producers being all too trustworthy during this process. Once the document is signed, it’s game on. Even established producers like Kenny Beats run the risk of being ripped off if they don’t have their own lawyer read the fine print.

The labels, supported by decades of experience and a strong financial backing, are able to pay for lawyers who know how to structure contracts in a way that sees the label heads raking in the most dough. This is a complicated process that involves contracts, lawyer fees, third party organizations, and a lot of attention to detail.Īnd this is where the shady business usually comes in. The way record deals are structured is so that the labels make the vast majority of the money and then pay out royalties to the artist. However, the rapper is often labeled as the bad guy, when in reality it is the record labels who are ripping off producers. There are dozens of examples including the ones at the beginning of this article. At the industry level, this kind of thing is common.

Tm88 making a beat