So you wanna be an artist? Here's something to kick around

[Dredakyst]

agree or disagree with the dude... This is real talk...

TONEX vs. GOLIATH

Contrary to popular belief, I am STILL in the dark. there's not light at the end of this tunnel.
And I'm gonna keep on talking until everyone knows the TRUTH about this GAME.

I need every one to honestly pray for my complete release from this Goliath.
Because if it's not a release it will be a DEFEAT and I'm in prayer right now asking
God for one smooth stone to knock this sucka in the forhead and let God's people go !
Some may prefer to stay but I know the truth. If you all only knew how unhappy
SOOOO many of the artist are including myself. But I'm probably the only one
who will come right out and say it. Some may ask well, "Why did you sign with them?"
That's just it ....I never SIGNED with anyone except Tommy Boy Records back in the day and
that contract was ASSIGNED behind my back to ZLG (zomba label group).
I was traded like a slave into slavery.

First they hear the buzz about what it is that you're doing, what you created on your own with HARD work innovation and SWEAT, then they say.....hmmmmm He or She will make a real good field nigger or house nigger depending on what you talent is. if it's administration then of course you're the house nigger, if you are an artist, then of course your a field nigger or cotton picker shold I say.

ZLG loves to divide and conquer. The don't really break acts they find acts that have a following already and then fan the flames of what that artist has already garnered. Like John P Kee already had a following , Hez already had a following, I already had a following.
Instead of being creative and fighting fair and square against N'SYNC with the Backstreet Boys,
they bought their competition. So then TWO boy bands ended up on the same label.
They don't just want Usher, they also want Chris Brown too. They don't just want R.Kelly, they want Joe too. They don't just want Tonex they want Kirk too. They are trophy gatherers.

Now for Pop acts that may not be so bad because they make so much more money than the conventional "Gospel Act". We don't make nearly as much as they can off of merchandising,
concert dates etc. God knows we don't sell their type of records because quite frankly OUR record aren't recorded or promoted with the same type of FULL COMPANY support as out Mainstream Counterparts do. With that in mind the playing field for any act at that label that doesn't have a Joint Venture Deal with them is pretty much screwed.

If you sign to ZLG as an artist , you are automatically forced to give them 1/2 of your publishing. That's right folks , you don't have a choice. Here's the kicker though....they license the songs that you write back to you at a 1/3 of the original rate you should be paid.
If you record an album with ZLG you HAVE to use Battery Studios ---once again owned by ZLG
( who do an excellent job by the way) but the point is I don't really have a choice. I am forced to use everything "Zomba". Their mentality originates from South Africa which is all about slavery and control. And they assembly line acts like crazy until that CRAZE has died and they move on to the next thing. I wonder what's gonna happen after the SOLO r&b Male craze ends.


Most of the Gospel Acts at Verity/Gospocentric see about 1.5 months of promotion per record
then they move on to the next release. I'm mean Hezekiah's new album came and went so fast, most people have forgotten about it already and that was his BEST record to date!
Marvin Sapp's Record.....whoosh!, and let's not even talk about Joanne Rosario's album which is mad anointed but who knows that ? No one really, because it's done now. They've already moved on to the next thing. Well what about Vickie Winans, she seems to be doing quite well?
Vickie is en enterprise of her own, she is her own business woman that does about 256 dates year. She hires independant radio to work her record and shoots her own videos. But ZLG loves to take credit for it when it's time for a photo OP or when lights camera and action are in play.
All of us are not as fortunate as Vickie, so unless you are a Pastor with a healthy congregation to give you a salary, don't expect to make a living off of your records. If you are Pastor and have a contract with them you can't travel to really promote a records they way you need to so it's like a MAJOR catch 22.

My point is , the system was designed to encapsulate and enslave they ENTIRE Gospel World and place them on one GIGANTIC slave ship where they row and row and row and get beat , and whipped and scarred. Meanwhile the captains of this ship reap all of the benefits and have actually become Celebrities in their own right gracing more covers than the artist themselves !!
While we turn in albums for virtually free they make million of of these records and we don't see anything. The WoW Gospel Series is a whole other story. We don't see ANYTHING from those records and those have sold 1,000,000's of copies.

It may appear that they have done alot for me. Truth is my staff and I worked our BUTTS off to make OTB turn into what it did and still could be !!! But for the smallest request it's like pulling teeth. They are very slolw in their response to artists requests. They are completely understaffed and don't know to really support the creativity of an artist because creativity is beaten out of an artist by their 2nd album. What used to be a joy becomes and job. Music now for me feels like my greatest suffocator. I'm telling you all this because it's not right and it's not fair. I am gonna fight even if it's by my self. I don't want their money, I wanna be free.

Free to to create free to breathe free to share my gift the way I know God wants me to.
Please pray for all of the Sony/BMG artists that are under much pressure and concern.
I'm getting stronger and I'm healing but I'm not gonna conform to THEIR system. It should be fair and artists should own what they create. Prince tried to tell us 10 years ago about how all
of this works. But the truth of the matter is the DIGITAL revolution has the whole industry SHOOK right now. And thank God because now all of the middle men willl be out of the way.
Also ....distribution companies are making more than the major right now because they are not dictating what the artist can or can not do....they just make sure the product is their and the exploitation of the product is VERY visible. Y'all don't sign with folks for 6 and 7 albums anymore. Do it yourself, or just get a P&D ro go digital or online. I wish I had! please take heed people....it's a trick. You might get a PHAT advance but you will pay for it in the end.
It's high interest loan and the record company is a BANK !!!

So guess what? I'm broke and disgusted with these sick unethical business practices.

shout out to Bilal, Jaguar Wright, Prince, Rob Lewis & The Movement, Erykah Badu,
Rachel Ferrell and all of the other unsung heroes that have FOUGHT this industry for YEARS;
just for their right to maintain possession of Artistic Voice. I salute you. And I will take on this
Goliath for the future Artists who are up and coming to make the music world a better place in the future. So please support me now if you can by working harder than ever before.
By not signing anything without an attorney looking over your contract and stay true to you.


Tonex
Kingdom Kulture Kool

URL: Tonex's Blog

[songtress]

I agree that the music business is nasty and unfair to the artist and needs to change but I'm puzzled by some of Tonex previous statement. Didnt Tonex say that verity did alot to promote out the box in his radio interview??? Now he says it only appears as if they did alot for him??? Secondly, Tonex was going around "educating" artists about recording contracts and telling them to be careful. He also spoke about lawyers and stuff. I dont know if anyone remeber the  'Nureau state of the Union' he wrote on gospelflava.com about 2 or 3 years ago. I find it hard to believe that he really didnt know what he was getting into with these contractual agreement. With that said, I hope the labels and artists can learn from this situation and chnge things for the better.

I am also going to say this. I really did not believe that his retirement was any sort publicity stunt but now I believe that it was indeed a publicity stunt. He is not retiring. He will be back very soon. Tonex is bruised and hurt by the music business and critics. ZLG is no longer interested in his music and personal style. Therefore, they have virtually shelved him(typical of record labels-that is why they havent renegotiate his contract). Tonex is upset and hurt and is ready to spill his gut but i dont think he needed to pull a stunt to air his distress. He is not retiring.

[Dredakyst]

I find it hard to believe that he really didnt know what he was getting into with these contractual agreement. With that said, I hope the labels and artists can learn from this situation and chnge things for the better.

Well he stated that his contract was bought from Now Defunct Tommy Boy label...
 
As for the Verity is going a great job comment, maybe it was fluff... maybe he's being controversial… However… all and all he only said he was retiring from the music industry

However this is entertaining to watch… cause ZLG is a pretty big gorilla… can he be successful as prince was with Warner, in trying to sequester his freedom…
However, the Verity label artist comment... i wonder what they have to say about this..

Guess we have to tune in

[songtress]

I find it hard to believe that he really didnt know what he was getting into with these contractual agreement. With that said, I hope the labels and artists can learn from this situation and chnge things for the better.

Well he stated that his contract was bought from Now Defunct Tommy Boy label...
 
As for the Verity is going a great job comment, maybe it was fluff... maybe he's being controversial… However… all and all he only said he was retiring from the music industry

However this is entertaining to watch… cause ZLG is a pretty big gorilla… can he be successful as prince was with Warner, in trying to sequester his freedom…
However, the Verity label artist comment... i wonder what they have to say about this..

Guess we have to tune in

We indeed have to tune in. I pray that God's will be done. Tonex was out and about educating people about the industry- injustices and the need to have legal rep. It sounds as if he didnt know what he was talking about then. He pulled a stunt to get everyones attention. Now he has it..

Vickie Winans said that she has always received GREAT CONTRACTS. What does she know about the music biz that the other artist dont grasp. SHE NEEDS TO EDUCATE THE OTHER ARTIST SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE MONEY LIKE SHE DOES.

I like the statement they just dont want TOnex, the want Kirk too.....

[Dredakyst]

what i never understood is that why did gospel labels ever join secular labels in the first place...

oh i forgot...  for the love of money.... the peeps at the top get richer and as T said.. The artists get drained for ideas and emotional songs which in turn generate revenue for somebody... that's just how it is... real talk

[itsallpeach]

In my songwriting career, I've had one song to be recorded. My first (and only) royalty check was for $12.04, because only 62 copies of the record had been sold.  They called me to come and pick up the check like I had just won a million dollars or something.  

This is another reason the other 52 songs I've written have remained in the blue bag in the closet!  Statistics later showed (about 3 years later) that I had been bamboozled and could do nothing because the choir switched record labels in the middle of the deal....statute of limitations...and so forth.  To this day, that check sits in a picture frame to remind me not to be that big of a fool just so people can hear my music!

I feel him on this one.

[4hisglory]

I never had any aspirations of being an artist but I had watched enough "Behind the Music" to realize that the only people get rich is the record compnay.

The sad part if you talked to 10 local musicians or singers, about 11 of them are there own studio, know someone that have a studio, or are working on album.

[playhear]

Y'all don't sign with folks for 6 and 7 albums anymore. Do it yourself, or just get a P&D ro go digital or online. I wish I had! please take heed people....it's a trick. You might get a PHAT advance but you will pay for it in the end. It's high interest loan and the record company is a BANK !!!

So guess what? I'm broke and disgusted with these sick unethical business practices.

In sum, that's the lesson to be learned right there. Unfortunately, Tonex is learning the hard way about greedy labels, through personal experience.

[jlewis]

Vickie Winans gets paid because she is constantly on the road, doing award shows, concerts, or whatever.

Tonex is the pastor of a church so he  can't be on the road all the time.

another thing about vickie, she uses in house producers and musicians.  When I say in house I mean "in the Winans family"

Her son was the executive producer of her last album and I'm sure they worked out a deal that was cool for both  of them.

And if she is paying for her own videos then the studio doesn't have to "recoup" any of that cost.

Basically,  vickie already got some cash so she can pay her own way on some of the promotion/marketing.

If you just getting a deal and you are broke, then  you gotta abide by the law of the land.


Its sad but it is really not set up for the artists.

But on the real, I know yall don't think that we actually get a major say on what we hear on the radio anyway.


jlewis

[DBG2k5]

Now, I see the importance of supporting your LOCAL artists & their projects.  I believe that there are some people that can really make a living off of being an artist, but I'm seeing a lot of people take on every aspect of it.  Producing, distribution, all of it.  Of course, we would LOVE to sell millions of albums but it's good to say that everyone cannot sell that many for just one album.

Well, I know there are some people that are good at producing, good at graphics, good at marketing, good at singing, good at playing, good at making sure CD's are played on the radio, etc.  And they're ALL here on this website.  So, I'm just sitting here waiting to see who's going to step up and gather all this talent, and show 'America' how you can have a successful, SAVED label??!!

[jehovahpraize]

Well, I know there are some people that are good at producing, good at graphics, good at marketing, good at singing, good at playing, good at making sure CD's are played on the radio, etc.  And they're ALL here on this website.  So, I'm just sitting here waiting to see who's going to step up and gather all this talent, and show 'America' how you can have a successful, SAVED label??!!

Amen ,Preach Preacher, You betta say it!! I feel a, I feel a, I feel a,
 Oh Hecameinatoyota