Ahhh boo. :( You could enter anyway and see what happens?

please add us if any of you like uss =] x

Ahhh boo. :( You could enter anyway and see what happens?

 

Not really, I'd actually really piss off someone who works with the label and knows damn well I'm Canadian,lol. (Don't ask...can't answer.;))

iv entered check us outttt

 

http://www.myspace.com/littlethoughtsband

 

=] x

 

im from the UK so i cant technically win but i felt i had to enter anyway haha

 

Good songs! I'll add you next time I'm MySpacing. (My advice it to post 'Commit'. It has an opening song feel, and lots of energy. I can see the song played in an arena-rock setting more than your other ones.)

Good songs! I'll add you next time I'm MySpacing. (My advice it to post 'Commit'. It has an opening song feel, and lots of energy. I can see the song played in an arena-rock setting more than your other ones.)

 

thankss alot =] i really want to re-record it but were quite poor sadly haha hopefully get more tunes done in the summer, i think one of the best things about been in a signed band has to be the extensive budget you get

thankss alot =] i really want to re-record it but were quite poor sadly haha hopefully get more tunes done in the summer, i think one of the best things about been in a signed band has to be the extensive budget you get

 

 

lol, yeah. There's only so much you can do with garage band or Pro Tools!:D

oh how awesome. go for it M. I think Jd so do it also. he did a great cover of them.

I wish I could sing with Chris on stage...that is a dream of mine.

 

That...and being able to watch the band record an album!

Yawn, Perez has got such a vendetta against Coldplay these days.

 

Coldplay and their record label are giving undiscovered bands the chance to 'open' for the group in San Jose, Chicago, Philly, Hartford, Washington D.C. and Boston by entering an online contest.

 

To enter, bands need to submit an original song performance via YouTube.

For those of you who are considering the contest — read the contest rules and fine print closely.

You could see your YouTube performance being used in ways you're not happy with and you won't be able to do anything about it!

 

There's even a line in the rules that says that Coldplay's record company can place your band's song on a compilation album and they wouldn't be required to pay up for usage.

It gets worse.

 

By submitting your bands' performance of an original song, Coldplay's record people have the exclusive option to sign your band to what appears to be a crappy record deal.

Is playing with Coldplay really worth giving up even an ounce of control over your original material?

 

Think about it hard!

 

http://perezhilton.com/2008-07-01-coldplay-effs-with-the-little-people

Perez can suck it..oh right..he actually does:P

Don't I recall Perez really liking Coldplay? He even liked them as recently as the release of the Violet Hill video. What happened?

 

Not like I care anyway. He can go on recommending his horrible, awful Europop-trashy stuff. I think today he said that he liked the new Heidi Montag song. Good Lord.

He called Chris a 'genius' when Violet first aired. Always loved them

 

Then he heard the album, didn't like it and has ragged on them ever since.

Capitol Records and Coldplay as Mephistopheles

 

Capitol Records has decided to hold a contest to select openers for Coldplay’s latest tour for shows in San Jose, Philadelphia, Chicago, Hartford, DC, and Boston. Bands may submit a video to YouTube of their best song, and the winner gets a chance to take the stage before the headliner and play to no-doubt sold out audiences of tens of thousands, assuredly launching them into superstardom and earning the love and respect of one of the largest rock bands of our time.

 

Below the cut is the terms and services of this agreement, outlining the very worst contest rules and conditions I have ever seen. Seriously, Faust would be loving this.

 

The German legend of Faust has always been an easy crossover to American blues, folk and rock music. The idea of making a pact with Lucifer to become the greatest and strongest musician alive has been popular legend since Routes 61 and 49 crossed in Clarksdale Mississippi. The harsh realities of the music industry has made skeptics of us all, and to some extent we should be grateful. Bands are more cautious about signing into pacts for fame, be it with Mephistopheles or Warner. Young adults such as I have been educated in how the industry tries to get to you, and where you can push back. While pacts in blood have been replaced with controlled composition clauses and cross-collateralization, fewer Fausts live among us than did in the early days of Rock ‘N’ Roll.

 

Still, seems the devils keep coming, and this year’s model bears the name Capitol Records.

 

What seems like an innocent enough contest bears a burden in the fine print worthy of any deal Robert Johnson may or may not have signed. Here’s what you give up in exchange for opening for Coldplay:

 

• You are allowed one submission, and “inappropriate submissions” as deemed by Live Nation (you didn’t think a story this bad wouldn’t mention these guys, right?) are immediately disqualified. No user checks, no superseded votes - just the sole discretion of a company. And if there’s anything the history of popular music in the US should illustrate, it’s that companies almost never get it right on the first go-round (think of the Decca audition of the Beatles). But that’s just bad for the vitality of quality rock music - that says nothing of the cruelty of the contest, and is largely understandable from the angle of Capitol.
   
  
• You grant Capitol unlimited, unrestricted, royalty-free license to use your submission (and your name, address, and likeness) in any way they deem fit. Naturally, Capitol doesn’t want the trouble of having to find you guys to pay royalties when using your song and likeness to promote the contest or the tour, but nothing here prevents Capitol from doing other things, such as sell all of the contest submissions in a CD and give you nothing, or license your song for a car commercial and pocket the profits.
   
  
• The next sentence after you give away your hit song? Capitol can change it. Directly from the terms and conditions, Capitol may, “in Capitol’s sole discretion, may edit, adapt, composite, mix, remix, morph, scan, duplicate, alter and/or otherwise modify and commercially exploit your submission, in whole or in part, without any restrictions as to changes.” Your song becomes not your song. You no longer have input into how it is used. You have lost all control over your work. Now bear in mind the previous point about unlimited use. They can (and no doubt will) remix, sample, modify, alter and change any element of the song that they deem appropriate (or test market as such).
  

 

And then we get to the really meaty stuff. Capitol reserves the right, upon entry of the contest, to hold the “irrevocable and exclusive option (the ‘Recording Option’) to enter into an agreement with you (’Recording Agreement’) that will provide for an option on Capitol’s part to record demo recordings with you and/or enter into a long-term exclusive artist agreement with you. The Recording Option may be exercised by Capitol giving you written notice at any time before the end of the Option Exercise Period.” The Option Exercise Period is 60 days after the end of the contest. For 60 days, Capitol holds the right to enter you into a recording agreement (and, by extension, you cannot enter a deal with another company for 60 days). By entering into the contest, you agree to the terms. And what are the terms? Let’s take a peek:

 

• You get a fixed budget of either $5,000 (for a demo) or $100,000 (for an album), and are subject to “certain royalty provisions and other terms and conditions commensurate with those contained in Capitol’s standard Recording Agreement for new artists.” These terms will no doubt include recouping clauses, controlled composition clauses, and other forms of old-guard provisions engineered to screw with artists.
   
  
• “As part of the Recording Agreement you must agree to and must irrevocably assign and transfer to Capitol, all rights, title, and interest in your submission, including without limitation, all sound recording copyrights therein, pursuant to any demo recording contract as executed between or among the parties, and to forever waive and agree never to assert any and all so-called moral rights they may have or be entitled to in respect of your submission.” I wonder if Snidely Whiplash is their contract attorney. The moral rights part is especially interesting, as by nature they are inalienable, so Capitol could never force you to waive them.
  
• They don’t even take care of you while you’re out there recording. Once again from the terms and conditions: “Travel to production studio facilities, including all travel expenses, are your sole responsibility, and each of its respective members, and will not be reimbursed to you under any circumstances by Capitol.” Now, I will be one of the first to criticize the “old model” of record contracts, with artists wasting millions in days of gluttonous indulgence forever recouped afterward. But these artists are counting on music for their bread and butter. It’s their job. Travel for work is traditionally covered by work in jobs, especially jobs that have employers making millions of dollars a year.

 

Oh yes, and what happens if you do in fact shoot the moon and win that opening slot?

 

The winning band will be given the opportunity to play for up to 20 minutes in the opening slot for the Coldplay concert in their market. The winning band will also be awarded $2,000 and receive ten (10) tickets to the Coldplay concert in their market for family and friends, to be divided equally among the members of the band. The winning band is solely responsible for transportation to the concert and must provide their own instruments (24 channel inputs maximum). Material to be performed by the winning band and all other show elements are subject to review and approval by [Live Nation].

 

They review and approve your performance. You are limited to 24 Channel Inputs (on boards which can hold easily double that without interfering with Coldplay’s setup). You are not even given the courtesy of a limousine ride. You are given a fee usually reserved for mid-range wedding bands. You play for 20 minutes, with no guarantee as to where physically or on the time line the band gets to play (and with 1-2 other openers, you can be sure it will be within minutes of opening the doors, and long before anyone makes it through security). Oh, and I hope each member of the band wasn’t planning on inviting both their parents and a boy- or girlfriend, as those 10 tickets will go by quick.

 

All contractual analysis aside, Christopher Pappas of The Everyday Visuals may put it better, playing out the scenario of a winning band a la “Good Will Hunting”:

 

After they make their record (with the song that won the contest as the new single) the label, in a ’surprise’ move, decides to shelve the record. I mean, did the label ever really intend to release it anyway? Not only that, but they own the rights to the songs – yes, even that song, the hit single, the one that won them the contest in the first place. Now the label sells the song to GM, and between war profiteering and human rights violations, they find time to slip it into a commercial for a new series on NBC. Huge licensing and sync fees abound – all going to the label, with the band sitting at home with nothing left but the phrase: “Hey, did you know I wrote that tune?” (A party conversation starter, at best).

 

Now, let’s just imagine this song was called “Yellow”.

 

This is a foul example of how bad our industry has become. This contest disguising as pro-artist is the antithesis. I call shame onto Coldplay and Boston’s WFNX for associating themselves with such a backhanded contest - this Devil’s bargain of a promotion goes far beyond the normal corporate buzz shill; it’s downright evil. I honestly expected better of a station like WFNX. I sincerely hope Capitol records never finds the gall to claim they are “supportive” or “nurturing” of artists ever again. Any thread of decency the late, great Johnny Mercer had when he started the company is gone by the decades of greed and corruption best captured by Johnny Rotten. I strongly advise any self-respecting artist to never enter into a contest like this. I fear some good band out there won’t read the fine print and lose all the rights to their material to a company that clearly is only interested in the business side of music business.

 

http://andyontheroad.wordpress.com/

Eeek :confused:

that's horrifying.

 

i wonder whether the band will speak up about how crap that is.

I wonder if the band are even aware!

That is disgusting and dehumanizing, so much for raising awareness to our fellow human beings. Have the boys agreed to this? sounds like slavery to me

This Fucking sucks !!! Me and my band were really exited about the contest when we heard about it. But we read through all the fricking terms, and decided its bullshit! As an artist you want to be recognized for your work! What a bunch of creepers trying to find an easy way to exploit bands good effort to make it somewhere. I hope they find no good band thanks to their terms and end up signing a lousy shitty band like every other band out there. what a way to ruin what could have been a great contest!

what i still don't get, and is the one thing I completely despise about coldplay and their organization, is how ready they are to lie down in the face of some seriously evil corporate shit. for a dude who justly advocates fair trade, he (and the band) seem remarkably placid about a.) this, b.) the massive layoff and firing of EMI employees, c.) the totally backwards non-simultaneous release of their album about 3 weeks later than they should have.

 

Like, this is the kind of nightmare story that old hippies tell their kids when they want them to live on communes. And here's the thing. Coldplay's offering an opening spot on their tour. If that's how they got their start, there'd be no Coldplay. And I can't think of another band that would let this kind of shit go by when they have so much at stake (their newly found cred, and the slight diminishment of the critical hate they usually get). Radiohead? No fucking way this would happen. U2? Paul McGuiness would fuck a band over and then the band would stick up for the openers and turn it around.

 

Really shit to see. Love the music, and I geniunely think Will Champion and the boys are some of the nicest folk I've ever met (got to meet them back on the X&Y tour thanks to a lucky stroke), but I haven't a clue how they can let this stuff slide.

obviously this is a emi work. remember that emi choose the single also so dont blame coldplay.

Thanks for warning us, Ian!;) ( ..and the Devil's :vampire: in the details..).. Sounds a bit like they took a lesson from some of the mortgage/banking practices here in the US: On page 3.b, buried in fine print, it clearly states in leagalE that 'the aforementioned rate will be adjusted to 300% of the current rate in 36 months past the signing of this document.. too bad if you can't pay that much!' So, good to read the fine print, and find out what fangs and claws it does contain!

Why can't these companies just be fair with us peeps? I mean, would these execs. want to be treated that way, if they were in our shoes?? Grr!:veryangry2: I'd like to see them put through the same mill they press others through.

Anyhow, down with the the bad corps. and their greedheads!

I must confess I fail to be "horrified" by this for 3 reasons

 

1. Most (if not all) of the s$#ty elements of this contract are fairly common to both modern A&R deals provided to new and unproven bands, contests where people submit creative work, or both. If I'm not mistaken, Coldplay's initial deal only alloted them around 80,000 U.S. to record Parachutes. These days labels (especially the majors) only offer decent deals to artists they absolutely have to.

 

2. The provisions alloted the winning band are fairly in line with what I would expect to be provided in a situation such as this. I'm not sure what the going rate is for local bands is where the person who wrote this article is from but most of the gigging bands I know (and I know my share) would count a $2000 payday a very good night. Also, about the 24 input channels thing, I really don't know many small local bands that could'nt suit their needs with that (or at the very least make due). As for tickets, assuming a 5 piece band, that's two comps each, which really doesn't strike me as all that bad. This guy seems to be under the impression that this is a big time support slot, which is hardly the intent of the contest; namely to provide a local unknown band a bit of free exposure and a chance to say they opened for Coldplay.

 

3. Only a complete idiot would sign a contract before reading it in it's entirety. If the terms don't suit you, don't expose yourself to the risk (Jeez, I kinda sound like my dad there...:laugh3:)

 

The "between the lines" thesis of the article (namely that this contest is some kind of eleaborate front for Capitol to amass a royalty free stockpile of songs at the expense of unknown artists, is frankly, a bit laughable. Record labels have been screwing artists since the 1920's, if they really wanted to do so here, there are plenty of easier ways...

 

The simple fact is many of the offending provisions in this contest are simply seldom used CYA provisions found in virtually every contest where people submit creative work (don't believe me read the fine print for America's funniest home videos sometime)

 

I already know that record labels and Live nation suck a$$, so what's new here?:thinking:

I've just looked and those particular t&c's aren't there now.........

Hmm they're not, how odd.

 

Presumably they no longer apply then...

Don't pee your pants when you meet the guys during soundcheck... even though that would be a good conversation starter :P

 

On second though, after reading Ian's post, you might want to save the pee because that will be one of the few things you'll have once you've played as the opening band :(