September 14, 2005
COUNTING CUTS
Roger Cramer, former rock band manager, current lawyer, and actual friend, on the relative scarcity of rap Best Ofs:
"I have wondered about this myself, since most rap albums have one to three singles and the rest is filler. If I haven't bothered to acquire the album, I'd rather own the Best Of.
I don't think it's a legal question. Generally speaking, you don't have to re-clear the producers or side artists for different exploitations of the same masters. Samples may require a new clearance: it would depend on the specific license.
As you probably know, artists hate Best Ofs—they love their albums. A lot of Best Of deals that I negotiate involve a new song or two, and a new advance for the new songs, so (I'd have to ask to be sure) I think labels don't want to spend the extra money for a superstar best-of collection when they don't do very well in the market place."
Posted by Sasha at September 14, 2005 09:35 AM | TrackBack