Artist Consultation Services

Consultations For Emerging Artists, Producers, Songwriters, Managers & Small Labels

Furthering our efforts to “level the playing field” for those who can not afford high priced lawyers, consultants, or, degreed programs in Music Business, we present the following amazing services from $10 to $500. These new, affordable consultation products have been developed and fine-tuned from hundreds of consultations since the Company’s birth in 2000.

These services are subsidized by donations to artists rights advocacy.  They are made affordable through the generosity of others.  The prices below are the co-pay for each service.  The balance is paid by the Advocacy Fund.  To qualify for these prices you must meet specific criteria. If you do not qualify you can always purchase services from the Pro Services page.

To understand how our Advocacy Fund works go here.

 

 

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(click service for more information)

Basic Consultation
Basic Consultation Plus
What am I signing?
Create a legal partnership
Contracts
Need a manager?
Resolve a dispute
Hookup to a lawyer or producer

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Basic Consultation

Mentoring /Career Strategies/Sound Advice

Mentoring Sessions/Career Consultations:

Next Step,” “Dry Run,” and the “10 Consultation

Application: For Those in need of general, trustworthy, accurate, music business advice that is free from agendas.

Let’s face it, no matter how knowledgeable we think we are, we all need a little expert advice now and again. In these priced-fixed consultations, we provide the same expert advice given to professionals at professional rates for a fraction of the normal cost. This is made affordable by creating predetermined consultation formats: “Next Step,” “Dry Run,” and “The $10 Consultation.” It is available – at these rates – only to artists who are not signed to major labels. Each is described below.

$10 Consultation

Can’t afford any of the services below? Don’t worry. For only $10 you can submit a single question and it will be answered directly (questions are occasionally submitted to several associated experts). This is the Best value on the internet: Period!

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Next Step Consultation

Visualizing the jump from the garage to the MTV Awards can be daunting: a veritable maze of choices. The Moses Avalon Company services those interested in long term professional careers by evaluating their media kits and demos (or other materials) and coming up with a strategy to get them to the next level. Clients frequently repeat this service after six months to a year feeling like success is finally within reach. Our secret: your career path is broken down into simple easy-to-accomplish actions that will move you towards your goals in the music business. Fee: $250.00.

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Dry Run Consultation

“We love it, but can we hear more material?”

Are you tired of hearing this line from A&R people? According to just about every convention when it comes to submissions you only have one shot with a major label. After that, regardless of what they say, if you’re rejected, you might as well change your name. Many artists have found that a “Dry Run” with The Moses Avalon Company is worth the small fee. Using the company’s proprietary Evaluation Graph, demos are broken down into 25 points, showing their strengths and weaknesses in a way that is meaningful to the artist, producer and writer(s). Clients walk away feeling empowered, armed with a structured plan of attack for their major label submission. Fee: $250.00.

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Basic Consultation Plus

Mentoring /Career Strategies/Sound Advice

Application: For Those with special circumstances and needs, that are in need of general, trustworthy, accurate, music business advice that is free from agendas.

The same as the Basic consultation above, except this is for those that have special circumstances or needs. Fee $350

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What am I signing

(Manager contracts too)

Find out what any music contract really says in plain English.

The Moses Avalon Company is a safe haven for honest examination of any deal concerning artists, producers and managers. For less than the going-rate for one hour with an attorney, the Company will render a written business analysis of the contract or set up a teleconference with the client. An introduction to a top attorney is provided, for free, if necessary. Fee: $250.00.

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Create a Legal Partnership for your band

Application: When two or more creative parties want to form a partnership.

We understand the inherent stress when sharing copyrights, brand, logos, and royalties. We offer a specific Partnership Consultation: We meet with the entire group and work out the splits and shares. The attorney is left out of the haggling stage where tension can mount.

The band or team pays a very low fixed Consultation fee of $300. An introduction to a top attorney and follow-up meetings are included free with this service, if needed (Read some celebrity horror stories about when a single attorney represents the entire group).

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Artist and Producer Contracts

Create a simple and fair deal between an artist and a producer.

The traditional 29-page, single-spaced legalese headache of a production contract is quickly becoming obsolete. The Moses Avalon Company has developed its own method for structuring development/production deals: One that is easy to understand, easy to administrate and has been used successfully by many producers and small production companies.

Via this consultation you will receive an expert’s education in producer/artist deals and will come to understand exactly how they can work productively for you. An introduction to a top music attorney is included in this service. Fee: $500.

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Need a Manager?

Get help negotiating deals/shopping your project and trade marking.

In order to do something as basic as sitting in on a recording contract negotiation or make a few introductions, a manager will often take about 15-20% of ALL the artist’s income from all sources for five years or more.

The Moses Avalon Company is not anti-manager. We support them completely. But we also feel that sometimes a manager is not what artists are looking for. As an alternative we provide Interim Management Services for those that are not looking for complete day-to-day management of their careers, but rather a representative to act on their behalf for a brief time with no agenda other than their immediate needs. This is done on a fee basis, rather than a commission basis. Fees are commensurate with the job type.

Inquire about this service

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Resolve a dispute with someone in the music biz

Application: You have a dispute with someone in the music business and you can not reason with them.

Irreconcilable differences are inevitable in a business as fast and as lose as the music industry. Problem: most disputes are not worth taking to court, and even if they were, most judges or juries are not educated in the music business acumen. The result is that both sides feel that they cannot get a reasonable audience. Mr. Avalon will personally mediate any dispute for a fee that is commensurate with the claim, rather than charging traditional mediation fees which could be cost prohibitive. Mr. Avalon is a recognized music industry expert in California, Florida and New York courts.

However, mediation is only for parties who are willing to be resolve a problem. What if you have a dispute and the other side is not even wiling to talk about it? There are many legal ways to reason with them, without involving lawyers. The Moses Avalon Company has created a special Dispute Consultation for this purpose. This is NOT legal advice, but rather, street-smart, business advice based on 20 years in the trenches of the music business. In fact, to be honest, methods given in Dispute Consultations are proven methods that a lawyer would, in all likelihood, never reveal to you. Basic fee: $180.

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Need a hook-up to a great lawyer or producer

Pro Introductions services: Need a lawyer, producer or manager who you can trust? Click Here


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What is a Major Label?

What exactly is a major label? It’s sometimes hard to say. Mr. Avalon has always believed that, regardless of whether or not the label calls itself an “Indie” or “major label affiliate,” it is a de facto major label if meets these criteria:

• Its contract reads like a multi-album, major label deal: It is long and has lots of nebulous language. For a complete reference see Secrets of Negotiating a Record Contract.

• Its product is distributed by one of the five major distributors (UNI, WEA, BMG, EMI, Sony) or is funded by one of them.

So who are they? Here’s a partial list of the top 40. For a complete list of who owns or controls every label in the business, refer to Confessions of a Record Producer’s “Family Trees.”

This list was last updated on Jan. 6, 2004.

UniversalDreamWorksHollywoodA&MGeffenInterscopeDef JamIsland

Mercury

Rounder

MCA

Curb

Universal

Motown

Polydor

GRP

VerveWEAAtlanticElektraSireRhinoWarner BrosGiant

Maverick

Reprise

BMG

Arista

Bad Boy

RCA

Razor & Tie

Windham Hill

J Records

ZombaEMI GroupBlue NoteCapitolPriorityVirginEMISony Music

Columbia

Epic

Sony


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Partnership Horror Stories

Music Partnership Consultation is a unique and highly specialized service. It was born out of the myriad lawsuits brought forth because bands entered into partnership agreements using only one attorney to represent them. Years later, when the band was successful or splitting up, they sued their former attorney (the legal term for this is called “conflict of interest”). They thought they were saving money by using only one attorney, but it ended up losing a lot more money back end. This happens even in high profile cases (Marilyn Manson, to name but one). See the excerpt below from Confessions of a Record Producer.

Who Butters Marilyn’s Bread?

In June of 1997, Marilyn Manson (real name: Brian Warner) found himself the subject of a lawsuit by his co-writer Daisy Berkowitz. It seems that Marilyn neglected to pay Daisy (real name: Scott Putesky) his share of the royalties from those cool hit tunes they penned together. Daisy trusted Marilyn to be the executor of the copyrights by signing over the administration of his share to a company he thought was equally owned by the entire group.

In his suit, Daisy claimed that the group’s attorney intentionally drafted the agreement in Marilyn’s favor. He also claimed that Marilyn told him signing the agreement would guarantee that Daisy would be in the band for life!

After the record was certified platinum, Daisy asked for some money. Instead, he was fired from the band without a cent. His ten-count, $15 Million, lawsuit includes malpractice against the attorney for not making him aware of the inherent conflict of interest in representing more than one side.

Daisy settled for an undisclosed amount just south of what he asked for. Moral: Before signing anything, always get your own representation.

Other links for the Daisy/Manson saga include:

http://www.angelfire.com/de/daisyberkowitz/lawsuit.html

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