COMMITTED
TO STAYING
INDEPENDENT
Thanks for the questions...hopefully the following will give you the answers you need - if not or you have others please contact Jayne at jayne.lhp@ntlworld.com or phone/txt 07891165759
Q: What is your plan for
promoting the bands?
A: we would promote you both on the internet and to media outlets.
We are also teaming up with a promotion / management / booking agent
to help secure gigs and further promotion to the media. We will also
look at preparing (or looking for ways to improve) your bio as well
as setting up profiles on other networks such as Bebo and Facebook.
Q: How successful has the
label been to date?
A: we are also looking for our big break and have only really
started actively looking for talent this month, we are now in talks
with a few bands working through the details.
Q: Are you interested in
our genre?
A: we are interested in ALL genres.
Q: How far are you
willing to go to assure a bands success?
A: we will go as far as we can to make you a success, if you don't
make it...we don't earn money and the other reason I opened up the
company was to see up and coming artists have a good start in the
business and hopefully continue to use us!!
Q: How strictly will you
follow the contract?
A: the contract can be negotiated, but once signed is only variable
if both parties agree the change.
Q: How concerned are you
about your age limit rule?
A: this is a legal item, and if under 18 you would also need the
signature of a parent / guardian.
Q: What areas will your
alliance with Headline Management cover?
A: Headline Management offer Support, advice, management,
representation, public relations, promotions and bookings for bands,
artists, performers and entertainers
Q: Can you help
with promo copies?
A: As part of our promotion of an artist we will send out
promo copies to radio stations and other media, we can also send the
artist promo copies at a reasonable price for example to give out at
gigs.
Q: How much of the
profits from sales go back to the artist?
A: This depends on the amount stated in the contract but will
anywhere from 50% up to 95%
Q: What is the
profits retained by LHP used for?
A: Half is used to market our artists and the other half is
used for general running costs.
Q: I have some
tracks but not 12, can you still help me?
A: If you have between 10 and 15 this is enough for an album,
but as long as you have at least 4 we can release these as an EP. We
only release singles from these, so one or two songs on their own
are not sufficient.
Q: You said about a
"bio", what is one and what should it contain?
A: A bio or biography is about you, who you are...it should
include some background about who you are and your music, you should
also include some pictures of band members, gigs you have / are
going to play and press reviews
Q: Is LHP a member
of any professional bodies ?
A: We are a member of the Phonographic Performers Limited
(PPL) who collect royalties on our behalf.
Q: I have a demo
and a bio, where should I send them to?
A: You can either mail them to A&R Department, LHP Records, 98
Wolseley Road, Southampton SO15 3ER or email them to
Jayne.LHP@ntlworld.com
Q: How long or how
much do I have to produce while under contract?
A: This is one of our major points - each contract covers one
album / EP...although we hope you will come back for more.
Q: How long does a
contract last?
A: We will hold the copyright on a contracted album / EP for a
minimum of 7 years.
Q: Do you sign
cover artists?
A: We do as long as you are fully licensed by the copyright
holder. A copy of such agreement will need to be presented to us at
the time of signing a contract with us.
Q: The contract
talks about receiving an advance, so how much will we get?
A: This is an optional section which is at the discression of
LHP Records, however this will NOT be offered until we have a number
of artists previously signed.
Q: Do we have to
pay any money at all or at the start? Sorry to ask its just when i
was in an old band a "record company" liked us and wanted to sign us
then asked for £500 to cover recording and admin costs! Then a
further £500
A: Ok we dont ask for any money at any time - unless it is for
a service we dont do on a regular basis...for example if you say
wanted
www.ssr.com setup as a website and then this would be negosiated
during the sign-up process...we try and be as transparant as
possible....so how do we make money you ask ? well we make money
from the royalties collected...we keep around 5-15%...even then half
of that is put into a pot to further promote the band and cover
costs...so you still get 85-95% of everything well sell on your
behalf.
Q: Will we be
restrained by the equipment you have at the studio? as i notice you
are very elcetro/club bassed and we are kind of indie/alternative
and i can understand if your doing this to branch out but we wont be
changing our style. Also i think the travelling distance maybe a
problem.
A: LHP Records and LHP Studios are part of the same company
but seperate...if that makes sense. At the moment LHP Studios is not
available for bands to use due to a lack of space. What you would
need to do is get a master CD recorded and send it to us (or via
email). This would then be what is covered by the contract (one
contract per album/EP)..from there on in we can then go into pushing
out the music, collecting royalties and sending them onto
you...leaving you to do what you do best...produce more music, and
do the gigs...
Q: Can you listen to my music on my profile /
website and tell me what you think?
A:
PLEASE DO NOT ASK US TO VISIT YOU PAGE TO LISTEN TO YOUR TUNES AND
MESSAGE YOU BACK - While we would love to do this, we simply dont
have the time. However even if we do, you will still need to
'formally' submit a demo to us
Q: Can we come and meet you at
your offices
A: Sorry but our 'office space' is small at the moment until
we become established, this also helps keep our costs down
Q: Why do you
state a signing of 7 years ?
A: Firstly this is 7 years for the ONE album or EP covered by
the contract. The reason that we state 7 years is that this is the
length of time that we hope to be generating royalties from the
material.
Q: Can we
negotiate a term of less than 7 years?
A: Yes you can, however for every year less LHP Record's share
of the royalties will increase by 10%. Of course half still goes
back to promoting the album/EP.
Q: What would you do if a major label wanted to buy
up LHP Records?
A: Firstly LHP Records is part of Long Hall Productions Limited
which also includes LHP Studios, which facilitates my own band Deja
Vue. Secondly we want to be 'independant' and are NOT actively or
passively looking to be bought up by the 'big 4' (see the slogan on
our profile), that's not to say we wont grow...its just if your
signed to us, you will grow with us...not under some major and often
restrictive label.
We have set up these FAQs to try and answer some of your questions and present them to try and help others.
At LHP Records we want to try and be as transparent as possible and ALL questions will receive and honest answer as promptly as possible.
While we are here to obviously make a profit, we want to reward you the artist with as much of the royalties as possible and at the same time take away the hassle of pushing you work to make sales.