Chris Hill, sympathetic bank manager, visited this morning to confirm that our facility arrangements are satisfactory. In 1969 the 16-year old Chris Hill climbed a tree in Hyde Park to have a better view of King Crimson. This show has resonances two days in a row...
A BBC producer from "Songs Of Praise" visited for lunch to discuss with Toyah presenting a programme with the theme of "healing". We three went along the valley to our local, where the landlord has acquired two pigs. We were sent down the valley slope to admire them, and we did: handsome porcine little suckers.
This afternoon Chris has a stunning "VROOOM VROOOM" from Mexico. This mix is great because the playing is great. Whenever a producer / engineer has a problem with a mix, it's because the musicians aren't playing well. If the performance is a stomper, the mix is a stomper; it mixes itself. My interest in producing a lot of the young free-jazzers in Keith Tippet's orbit (early 1970s) was to bring out what was being played; in rock recording the focus was on concealing or disguising what was being played.
Recent days in the office we are busy inputting data for the Collectors' Club: if you haven't had a reply yet, continue to not worry. The analogue work in setting up the Club properly is enermous.
In response to the Mexican record company who visited the Guestbook and enquired regarding DGM artist contracts: we don't have contracts with any of our artists. If an artist is unhappy about being here they are free to leave, subject only to the remaining duration of our own sub-licencing agreements (generally 2-3 years full-term). If an artist were unhappy being here, we would encourage them to leave. If an artist should leave, they take their record/s with them because DGM refuses to own the copyright in its artists' work. What we have is a simple letter of intent, for the sake of clarity and mutual understanding, which describes the arrangements between DGM and artist.
A "safe" contract between two parties, who enter a relationship without trust or goodwill, costs thousands of pounds in legal fees. Even then, to dispute that contract with a major would be the end of an artist's career and their life savings. To dispute a contract with DGM isn't worth our time or bother. So at DGM, we don't have contracts with our artists. But then, we don't have artists we distrust.
Virgin Records will soon be celebrating its 30th. birthday and I was approached by them for a quote. I'm not sure they'll use it: "My dealings with Virgin's legal department ended all goodwill which I held towards the company". (The King Crimson contract with Virgin was never actually signed).
One development in record companies during the second half of the 1980s was to link Business Affairs and Legal Departments into one: Legal & Business Affairs. Instead of negotiating with a business person, one dealt with a lawyer. The basic stance of most lawyers in dealings with a person on the other side of a debate is adversarial.
David Singleton will be posting the DGM artist letter on this Website, for your interest. My personal position on contracts is simple: if I am unable to read a contract in 15-20 minutes and understand 90% of its provisions, I throw it away.
22.50
Chris Murphy has looked in with "Red" and we continue with "Light ConstruKction" from Northampton. The guitar-piano is distorting but the lines are ace. (Soundscapes return to "The Iron Rail" in mid-November).
23.13
I am encouraging David to go home. He has agreed.
"Avoid celebrity."
