Friday, March 29, 2019

"The Beatles should own the rights to their music. And so should Motley Crue!" / Happenings In The Outhouse 29-March-2019

Dovetailing off of last week's post (if you haven't read it, here's a link to it), last weekend was the premiere of the Netflix movie The Dirt, based on the life of the heavy metal band Motley Crue.  One scene in particular made me think about the post and if one is ready for success.

To paraphrase the scene in particular, Nikki Sixx (bassist for the iconic band) was talking with a record executive about the rights to their music.  The executive said something like, "Not even the Beatles own the rights to their music."  Nikki replied that they should.  And so should Motley Crue.

I won't spoil the ending, but this made me think very hard about the rights to my own writing.  As well as your own writing/art.  If you're not ready for success, you may make stupid decisions and sign away all of your rights--not a good thing!

What I would do, to prepare yourself for success, is to read all you can about the business side.  I know, I know, your art is just that.  Art.  Well, if you want someone to take advantage of you and steal what may potentially be tons of money from your pocket, ignore this advice.  But if you want to be smart, learn what you can about the industry.

Kristine Rusch publishes a ton about contracts and rights--this is primarily for the book publishing industry, but much of her posts are applicable to other industries as well.  Here is a link to her posts, which I highly suggest to read.

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