Positive influences, Bad decisions...

Why is it so hard for artist in the music industry to stay out of trouble and keep their hands clean? Atlantic Records recording artist T.I. real name Clifford Harris Jr., fits right into this category.

T.I. has never been a changer to the judicial system, from the time he was 14 years old he has been in and out of courtroom time after time. But it wasn't until recently that he found trouble following him once again. In 2007, he was arrested for trying to purchase arsenal guns from an undercover police officer. T.I. was convicted on seven previous counts of felony charges. And with the federal weapons charges pending T.I. is looking to facing up to 20 years in a federal prison.

While waiting for his trial date he was placed on strict house arrest orders from the courts and had to have clearance on any non-medical reasons for him to leave or have visitors. During the trial he was convicted on two charges: possessions of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. He was sentenced to a year in a day at a federal prison in Arkansas and 1500 hours of community service.

For good behavior T.I. was released in early December 2009, and spent three months in a halfway house to complete his sentence, and placed on three years of probation. He was on a roll to keeping his hands clean, with the opening of his movie Takers premiering at number one in the box office first week of opening. And preparing for his seventh studio album King Uncaged, T.I. was finally on the ride of his life, or so that is what we thought until early September 2010 T.I. and his newly wed wife was arrested in Los Angeles for suspicions of possessing meth amphetamines. And recently failed a court appointed drug test.

So at the end of the day is it all worth it? Well I think I can answer that and say NO!!! Nothing is worth losing your family, career, and assets. Sometimes the mistakes we make tend to have prices to pay, being in the spotlight forces people to be a role model even if you ask not to be one. T.I. has been a positive influence by changing his life around. So has this bad decision to be careless and violate probation cause him to lose everything and return back to jail? We will find the answer out soon.....

New Record Deals...

What has the music industry come to? From the 80’s to 2010 music has went through changes. There are new artist, labels and genre; Pop has collaborated with Hip-Hop and Rock with R&B. But is that enough to keep people happy, to keep them wanting more?

Labels have started and end, artist have come and are now gone. But it wasn’t until the early 2000’s that the music industry began to turn for the bad with the illegal downloading of music; record sales started to decline and soon after record labels felt the financial downfall.

Record companies have started to cut back on album sales and push only singles. Taking advantage of mp3’s, iTunes, and ringtones sales. But we all know that artist that are out there now like the Jay-Z’s and the T.I.’s are going to sell there millions of album sales but what about the new artist what do they get? Are they going to sign a single deal meaning a record label signs you for that one popular single you have out to get royalties from ringtones, mp3’s and iTunes sales as well as radio play and if your lucky you get to push a second single and if that one is successful as well then you get the “360 Deal”.

Now what is a “360 Deal”?

The music industry executives came together to figure out how they were going to recoup the money back that were lost to the illegal downloading. The “360 Deal” is a record contract that the artist and the record company sign in agreement that the artist will split a percentage sales of all touring, merchandise, endorsements, songwriting, publishing, etc. Now the labels are promising that they are going to add more marketing and promotions to the new artist and that they are the one’s that is taking the financial risk by signing the new artist to these types of deals. So at the end of the day who are these deals made for the record companies or the artist? 

http://musicrowlawyer.typepad.com/music_row_lawyer/2007/12/the-360-record.html