Kanye West shares record label contracts, musicians and fans react
- Kanye West recently shared photos of his record label contracts on social media
- Kanye wants Sony//ATV Music Publishing and Universal to release him from his publishing and recording contracts
- Kanye's peers in the music industry and fans shared mixed views after he posted his contracts online
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Kanye West has continued his rant on Twitter even after his account was suspended for some hours. The star wants Sony//ATV Music Publishing and Universal to release him from his publishing and recording contracts.
He even went as far as posting photos of his contracts on the micro-blogging app. The billionaire rapper has shared that he won't release new music until he gets his masters back from the labels.
The documents he posted on Wednesday night include details of advance payments for his albums, royalty rates, a profit-sharing agreement, and several amendments.
BBC reports that according to music industry lawyer Aurelia Butler-Ball, such multi-million-dollar advance payments are "rare in today's industry".
"If the label is going to take the risk and give that upfront investment, then they want the majority of the income when the record is sold.
"A very high-profile, well-established artist can sometimes negotiate slightly higher royalty rates, but that's really just the industry standard."
The Can't Tell Me Nothing hitmaker's Twitter account was suspended for some time after he shared the private phone number of Forbes' chief content officer Randall Lane. He is back on the app and has continued his fight to be freed from his contracts. Kanye posted on Thursday, 17 September:
"We’ve never seen anything like this before... Look how all the artist stood up. Praise god my brothers it's time for freedom. Keep praying."
Check out some of the reactions below from Kanye's music peers and fans after he shared his contracts online:
Guitarist Devin Bronson said:
"Now share the contracts for the artists you have signed to your label to show us how it’s done. We wait with great eagerness..."
Music producer and DJ Marshmello wrote:
"Kanye is giving free game right now. He’s not crazy he’s telling the truth and now you know why I’ve always remained independent as an artist and have never signed to a label."
South African artists manager Nota Baloyi said:
"Kanye contracts SUMMARY: Apart from the inducement which Kanye had to sign to get his advances, this shows that Jay-Z sold the masters to first 6 @kanyewest’s albums just so he could get his own back. He did so knowing Def Jam won’t sell them back to Kanye in future. That’s BEEF!"
@r0ryt13 commented:
"On the face of it, it looks like a poor deal but remember you signed it. You could NOT have signed it, if it’s terrible/unfair. Would love to see how different one of your labels contracts are? Probably the same as you know labels have to invest for you to sell records."
@SINcereOfMidMob added:
"This is one of Kanye’s 10 contracts basically: 75% of earnings. So they leave the artist with 25%. So let's say you make 2 million on a particular tour, they take 1.5 million and leave you with a half a million... That's daylight robbery."
Source: Instagram
In other news, Legit.ng reported that Kanye left many fans in disbelief when he posted a video of himself literally urinating on one of his Grammy awards in a toilet bowl. The footage has been viewed over 27.2 million times since he posted it on Wednesday, September 16.
The rapper even called on other musicians such as Bono, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Taylor Swift to assist him in his cause. Some tweeps who came across the footage of Kanye doing his thing on one of his Grammy awards were shaken.
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