Such nice problems you have!
Where are you located?

in the south jersey/philadelphia area.

Do you have copies of the contracts?

Very simple. It is time for you to speak with an entertainment lawyer.

1. Get a lawyer - one who is a specialist in the music business.

2. Start reading. [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.amazon.c…"] Passman's book[/]="http://www.amazon.c…"] Passman's book[/] is a good start. Lots of others out there. Ask your lawyer for recommendations.

3. Sit down with your band and start talking about how the band is going to be run as a business. Write a letter of agreement describing how you plan to run the band: how money gets split, how decisions get made, who owns what (including the name of the band). This is very hard for some bands, but it will save a lot of bitterness down the line. Your lawyer may be a help here, but the legality of the agreement is a lot less important than the fact that these issues get talked about.

taxman wrote: Very simple. It is time for you to speak with an entertainment lawyer.

+1

Be prepared to mind your own business! A lawyer in any field is a tool. They work for you, not the other way around. I find it very difficult to believe this two headed pursuit is happening and you have NO idea of what to do next. For you guys to have gotten this far shows an incredible focus and sustained drive coupled with a highly marketed....and marketable product.

Based on the little I know of getting signed it seems to be the surest way to loose control of music money and mind. Maybe it's just time to incorporate and keep on running the gig your way?

Do not incorporate. The modern company vehicle is a limited liabity company (LLC) it is much more flexible than a corporation. Don't do it on your own. Forming an LLC is a piece of cake, but deciding who should be members, what type of member they shoud be, and how the entity should be managed is much more difficult.

I am a tax lawyer and do consulting work for an entertainment firm in NYC. However, I am not an entertainment lawyer and don't hold myself out as one. Unfortunately, as a lawyer I am required to tell you that comments I make on this forum are not intended as legal advice and that no attorney client relationship is created hereby. If you need help finding an entertainment lawyer let me know.

ill be brutally honest with you guys, I'm actually in a music business class and our final is this topic, and our class can ask us anything about the topic. our reading curriculum is donald passmans book, so I'm familiar with the material. I'm just trying to get a head start on the topic.

thanks guys.

Are you saying this was a class exercise?

You are also dishonist and requesting information under false pretenses.

:twisted:

this was my final debate, im trying to see if im on the right track.

this was my final debate, im trying to see if im on the right track.

We can all appreciate that, and applaud you for furthering your education...

However, posing your question the way you did isn't necessarily the best way to make friends and influence people here on teh internets.

I do not remember a "debate". I remember someone asking for aid with a flimsy concern but these guys thought you worth their time. You have misrepresented your goal and cheated them.

I, on the other hand, knew you were full of shit:)

It's possible for the teague to edit the title and the original post, right? So as not to falsely draw in anyone else...

There might still be redemption available if you get restarted with an honest version of your question.

And even then, it is usually bad form to ask other people to do your homework for you. How 'bout you post your proposal then ask for discussion/feedback?

"influence people here on teh internets."

Influence the whole internet? Har har.

forget it guys, sorry for doing that. i appreciate the help, though.

You really are looking for the easy way out, aren't you?

Lesson #1 for music business (or any business, or life for that matter): there is no easy way out. If you think you have found a shortcut, you'll find out eventually that it is an illusion.

There, now you got the "serious advice" you were asking for. 8-)

I'm thinking of the looney tunes type cartoons, where theres a chase, and the pursuer sees a shortcut in the form of a tunnel, and accelerates into a solid wall, as the pursuee drops a bucket of paint and runs off.

Exactly! :lol: