Table of contents:
We do not charge a fee to any musicians artists who only do original works. We do not sponsor cover bands/tunes with or without permission form originating bands.
But for original bands, right now we offer both online and local in store distribution. Our policy is to guarantee a flat rate of 60% of the gross pre-tax sales goes directly to the artist. IF an artist requested that we offer their artwork in any store which required a commission that deprives the artist of that 60%, they would have to do so expressly in writing and in so doing release us from the obligation of rendering the said 60%. The 40% remaining we use for duplication, labor, shipping, promotions benefits and an interest bearing Capital One money market account for the purposes of increasing our future services for our clients.
When we receive music files and cover art [we can also create cover art free of charge for those who would prefer not to do the work or have a hard time creating such graphic works for a computer ready file, all we require is permission to do so.], we place these artists and titles on our web site shopping cart, do a work up and review, after which we take incoming orders, duplicate and ship.
We have four options for paying our clients:
1. the "I need it now" payment method, where we simply send the client their 60% through pay pal as soon as we receive the money, even before the albums are shipped,
______ Payment method 1, direct point of sale: In this method of sale, we fully do expect that each and every individual sale be received fourteen (14) days, but never longer than twenty one (21) days of receipt by the label.
2. The "Make it look good and save a little" method where we save up the total sales until it reached a predetermined amount [determined by the client] which will earn anywhere from .5% to .75% interest in our money market account, making for somewhat more impressive looking checks, while being less frequent, they pay more.
______ Payment method 2, cumulative sales during said periods of time (I.E. every 30, 60, or 90 days) _______ and payable no later than seven (7) days past the end of said time period. I/we understand that the amount of sales within a given time frame will vary based on market activity and will not the label to achieving a set monetary target within a specific time period under this style of payment.
3. Cumulative accrued gross sales: In this form of payment, the artist/band may opt to simply wait until some fixed amount of money has collected, for any purpose which they have, and have this amount delivered to them within the required time frame for said delivery or direct deposit. Being an unpredictable time frame, it is impossible to assess any interest earned on such said monies.
______ Payment method 3, Minimum sales receipt: I/we choose to wait until the sum of our sales reaches $ ________ and will then expect this amount of money to be paid to us no later than seven (7) days after such said amount of sales have been deposited to the label. I/we also recognize that under this method of payment that there is no time frame in which the label shall accumulate these sales, as there is on method to predict the speed at which said sales will accrue.
4. The "Make me some money on top of my money" account, where the client simply allows any set amount of money to remain within the account [we keep records of the principal, and the interest, and we send monthly updates to the client, money can be borrowed against such accounts and it offers trusteeship in the record label], earning from 1% up to the paying rate of the total account interest, which is presently 4% depending on the agreed length of time in deposit, as well as the total amount accrued. Earnings accruing over time will increase in value as the interest rates we allow will increase up to the maximum. This prevents the artist from having to pay taxes on the interest.
______ Payment method 4, Dividends will be held ___ in part _____% of the gross receipts, or _____ in full in a high interest bearing account and the band will remain able to access these saved funds in any kind of emergency and will be able to withdraw them no less than twenty four (24) hours upon written, telephoned, or e-mailed request, provided it is an agreed upon emergency by all band members.
We do, however, also advise that the artists create their own money market or High Yield savings accounts just as a wise banking measure.target=_blank>
Those who approach us for membership into out board of trustees must be evaluated upon the following criteria:
1. Each person must be an artist and actively involved with the artistic community, unless for some reason health issues do not permit. If you don't or haven't lived the life, you just won't be able to see it our way well enough. Children and spouses of artists may be excepted if they show exceptional merit for activities within the artistic and entertainment industry. Persons desiring viable experience will have options to volunteer at our future recording studios or work as promoters in the field. Six months active experience will suffice to initiate membership qualifications for the board applicants, but membership requires ongoing interaction with the artists and studios to remain in good standing. Anyone failing to meet the duties and commissions of this addendum will loose their seat on the board. Those who fail to perform without good cause will be permanently barred from reapplying. Members who are beset with health problems will be allowed to return, if their seats are still vacant, upon returning to adequate health.
2. Each person must be a term interest holder in the financial holdings of Pentagon Recording Specialties Unlimited for a minimum of one full calendar year [365 days from term holding agreement signing] and must remain in holding status for the entirety of their term on the board, except in such situations as there may be an extreme financial need which prevents their retaining their funds in holding. However, any person withdrawing their holdings from the fund without prior proof of need will be immediately removed from the board and banned permanently from rejoining. All persons who have met the emergency needs criteria will be allowed to remain on the board as long as other criteria are met, and as long as their needs remain such that re-contributing is financially impossible. Persons who, upon becoming financially available to return holdings to the fund, refuse or fail to deposit funds in the holding, will be removed from the board and banning may or may not occur, depending on other factors to be weighed in upon by the remaining board members.
3. Each person must be a member of their community in good standing, without an active criminal history, all persons convicted of drug trafficking crimes, fraud or embezzlement will be banned from applying for a minimum of 10 (ten) years after their final conviction date. Any persons with charges, warrants, or convictions less than ten years, or outstanding fines or fees for such shall not be considered for a board seat until all further duties to the law are duly discharged and proofs are remitted to the board for review. Persons with claims levied against them by the Better Business Bureau, or the local Chamber of Commerce will have to be fully reviewed and if such said charges are found to be true, any such sad member must fully discharge All said complaints with the plaintiff before they will be considered cleared to apply. Failure to discharge these duties within 6 months of the date of application will result in a 1 year banning from application.
4. Minorities, and persons of any age [with adult consent and/or supervision for minors] and minorities, and persons of disability are highly recommended and will be seen favorably for board seatings. All requirements of holding status for minors will be within the legal jurisdiction of the laws of California and must be held jointly with a parent(s) of legal custody or legal guardian acting in the best interest of the minor. Minors will have a 1.5 to one vote ratio and may be held in a position of two seats, should any seat be held vacant for any reason or in lieu of absent adult board members.
5. All board members will meet when meetings are held, whether in person, via teleconference, or under special arrangements, certified written votes or offerings can be sent in via the Board Head in mailing one (1) week (7 days) prior to the meeting, along with a verification questionnaire delineating that these members are sufficiently aware of the purposes and issues presented before the board at least (2) two weeks (14 days) prior to the scheduled meeting. Persons unable to attend should first of able, contact the Head as soon as possible, via telephone, e-mail, or parcel post, notifying the Head of their impending absence. Should the member find later that they are available to attend in a timely manner, no notice is required. However, for any member incapacitated to the extent that they are fully unable to notify the Head, we do request that another person be duly elected to notify the Head of the impending absence. In lieu of this, a review on the absence will be held one term after any unscheduled absence, allowing the Head and any other required officers to review the absence and determine the cause and the resulting disposition of the absence.
6. Meetings shall, except in the case of emergency issues such as violation hearings, be held every three (3) months (90 days or the nearest annual quarter) for a total of four times a year to fully discuss all issues and options before the board, along with a quarterly holdings and financial review. Persons desiring to bring up any issue within a quarter MUST have it posted before the Head a minimum of three (3) weeks (21 days) before said meetings, with all evidence, assumptions, proof and/or conclusions included, so that the Head can review, create memos and distribute such said memos to all board members in a timely fashion. "Last Minute" topics can only be allowed if in fact, they occurred within the final 3 weeks and are of significant importance [the Head deciding] to be presented in such an untimely manner, such as acts of violence, theft, fire or other significant events which could or are presently adversely affecting the normal operation of any portion of the studios, housing, staff, or legal aspects of the company.
7. Votes: voting, however presented, will be counted and verified by the secretary, and shall be weighed in after all discussions have come to a close. Minutes of previous meetings will be read before voting, and in some cases, issues can be held for a re-vote, should new factors be brought in concerning these issues. Requirements for voting include that the issues being voted upon not be of such extreme simplicity as to be non obtrusive to the normal daily functions of the company as a whole, that they do not undermine or alter the core essence of the company or the dignity of its reputation or members, do not attempt to curtail or compromise the quality, quantity or timeliness of services rendered to its clients, and can be reviewed and re voted up on at any time based on a, any new evidence or facts concerning the issues, and b, a two thirds (2/3) majority feel by a simple show of hands that a re vote is at least helpful, or a 50% show of hands that a re vote is urgently needed.
Persons entering into the employ and holding of the company shall at all times do their utmost to represent this company in the highest standards concerning freedom of speech, freedom of communication, good business practices and fair and tolerant treatment of all peoples.
Furthermore, no person shall purport to hold any political or religious view to be represented, supported, subscribed to, endorsed or promoted by the company.
There will be no passing out of handbills, tracts, or phamplets on the premises or by the staff or by our clients anywhere on the properties or to the general public endorsing any views in any fashion as to be construed or misconstrues as being connected directly or indirectly with the company.
All persons shall hold all information of the private lives and activities of the members, clients and staff in the strictest confidence, whether in public, in print, on audio, video, or in private person to person conversations.
All persons shall regard the company as an entity and shall respect its ability to self govern and shall not in any way attempt to unionize, privatize, or regulate its agenda or operation, or operational status partially or in total, from the inside or outside, save that the board of trustees shall by a majority vote of 75% elect to alter the operations as are needed to retain the internal and external functioning and integrity of the company for the express purpose of maintaining and keeping the company's status as good as possible in all respects. This will never become a unionized or for profit operation.
For bands who desire it, we will also promote and book bands in the local LA vicinity, even if they are from overseas. However, we MUST have assurances of the band's ability to make the venue, barring unforeseen disasters [such as vehicular accidents, weather and road related obstructions, or deaths in the family], or we will stop promoting for any given band on two failures to appear. OUR reputation is on the line.
As time goes on, we will be adding
1. Production [co-writing, arranging, remixing, back-up bands, digital mastering],
2. Recording [we are arranging to build a studio this year,along with housing for travelling/visiting artists],
3. Agency services [auditioning sessions, introductions, portfolios, biographical reviews]
4. Legal assistance with copyrighting, infringement and intellectual property rights.
5. Hard merchandising [jewelry, posters, clothing, custom vehicle development, etc.] as options to expand come available.
At no time will be charge a fee for our services to original works artists, as long as we are contracted to distribute.
For cover bands we offer our distribution services at a higher fee, rendering LICENSED remakes of original artists at 30% of the gross pre-tax sales. Nobody without express written permission from the original artists will be considered for distribution.
Our fees for artists performing cover tunes [again, with written permission] will be $50 per hour and our housing rates will be set when we find out how much it will cost us to offer these services, and will be available only when not in use by original artists.
Referral fees:
Any band or promoter who refers original artists to us will receive 5% of the gross pre-tax sales, 3% of a first tier referral, and 2% of a second tier referral. As time goes on and the number of artists gross, this could be quite a sum of money for the aggressive person. For actively recording artists already signed to us, there will be an additional 1% added to any of the above for helping out their fellow bands. We encourage team playing verses competition. We feel that the only people we need to compete against are our own selves to become better and better.
We are reviewing the option of offering high productivity bonuses to truly prolific artists. That would mean that any artist we find to be exceeding the average industry standard of artistic output would be offered an additional bonus for these efforts relative proportionally to the volume of output compared to the national industry averages. This means it pays to work hard at being creative.
Outlines for this qualifications are as follows: 1, all albums must have a minimum of 12 songs to qualify, 2, a minimum of one album a year [any 365 day time period] output is required, 3, sounds must not be distinctly similar [showing a lack of inventiveness in the artist] in sound, theme or wording. These bonuses could be as high as 10% depending on how extremely prolific an artist is. Artists are also required to NOT purchase their music or lyrics from outside sources to qualify.
Artist who prove to really be productive [I.E. volunteering in the recording, production, promotions and distributions of any and all artists within the company whether locally or regionally] will also qualify for drawings or gifts of such perks and home made custom street rods, limousines, exclusive limited edition concert passes to big name bands (of the artist's choice depending on availability) and expense paid vacations to exotic sites, whether popular or exclusive.
WE'RE artists and we APPRECIATE our artists!
We only require co-operation, honesty, and fair and reasonable treatment of our staff, plus the obligatory non-exclusive open ended revocable contract to duplicate, manage and distribute the original works of any artists desiring our services.
These contracts are revocable upon a 7 day WRITTEN notice, and will under many circumstances not prohibit the return of the artist or the members of groups from returning to our membership at future dates, excepting in where articles and/or codes of conduct are violated. Hearings can be requested if members feel that they are being falsely accused or if there may be extenuating circumstances [such as self defense issues]. Cases must be held in person, and requests must be in writing before a hearing will be held. There is not time limit for a hearing request. [that's different, huh?]
Facilities:
Rules of conduct are for persons entering and using company premises only. We do not inquire into the lifestyles or behavior of artists. If they do things we don't approve of, we will not still allow them to use our digital and electronic services.
Pentagon Recording Specialties Unlimited is a non-profit, all artist based co-operative company. We are a public company and are not limited in our access by minorities or disabled persons. We require tolerance and appropriate conduct while visiting or staying at company facilities at all time, offering due respect to all members of all races, sexes and religions. Any violations will be removed forthwith from our services and all accounts closed, gifts and perks forfeited.
No usage of nicotine or illicit drugs will be tolerated on company property (except in smoking designated areas, some of the rooms will be set aside for artists who smoke, but they must not smoke in rooms not designated as smoking hosted), and consumption of alcohol will be tolerated only as long as other violations of revocable level are not resultant, [I.E. urinating or defecating on company grounds outside of the proper usage of restrooms, fighting, causing enough disturbance to have the police called, running around naked or lewd behavior in public access areas]. So please don't bring your stash inside, keep it in your cars, we will not search the parking lots, or question the activities within private vehicles unless we suspect there are minors involved.
Paid and unpaid opportunities at the future studios:
We hope artists will volunteer to help in the future with the recording studios and upgraded production facilities once they are completed, but at no time will their participation be required as a condition for membership or services. Those who volunteer regularly, and receive adequate training that they are deemed fit to operate such said facilities without the supervision of senior staff members will be offered full or part time paid employment and housing.
Behavioral requirements for employed artists will be higher than for volunteers, as drug usage will be looked down up on and persons working on the premises are subject to search if there is any suspicion that drugs may be brought on the property.
All payments will be transacted through Pay Pal, unless clients or employees request another form of payment. We will do our best in every case to accommodate everyone.
In conclusion...
Cops already look down on artists and musicians, we don't need to ruin our non-profit status right off the ground floor and ruin this for everyone so if people complain to you about these things, maybe we should consider not hosting them.
Well, that's the most of it, I hope this is satisfactory to everyone, some won't like it, but most should be cool with it I hope.
Let everyone see this or tell them about it accurately if you decide to leave out anything, knowing that they ill have to sign an agreement to observe the rules prior to using our physical facilities.
Reminder: Rules of conduct are for persons entering and using company premises only. We do not inquire into the lifestyles or behavior of artists. If they do things we don't approve of, we will not still allow them to use our digital and electronic services.