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    CLJobe
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

The Apple Tree - 20. Chapter 20

The tour went exceeding well. Tony appeared on several radio stations, plugging his music, did a few local television shows and he did something else that showed a special side of Tony. In every city were we went, Tony visited the children's hospital with his guitar and played music for them. He had sing-a-longs, took requests and his favorite was to take one of the kid's name and make up a song about them. I think Tony became even more popular as a result of doing this. The odd thing, Tony never told anyone. We'd show up at a hospital during visiting hours and he would be the Blue Minstrel.

When the tour was over, Tony went back to school, continued to utilize the school's recording studio, and played every Friday night. The agents want him to make albums where Tony prefers single-side disc. Eventually, the agents convinced Tony to make an album and gave him songs to sing. These songs were not the ones that Tony had written. I had our lawyer look over Tony's contract and by contract, he was obligated to produce two albums each year. The contract was to expire upon Tony's graduation.

"Tony, your agent will begin to pressure you to sign another contract before your current contract is up. Don't sign anything till I tell you it's ok. Under the provisions of the current contract, you are obligated to make two albums a year and they have the right to select the music. I'll make sure that any new contract will not contain any requirements and that you have the sole choice of music. They might not like it and in fact, they won't like it, but we have an ace up our sleeve, the music department's recording studio. We could build our own and the public will like you just as much. From now on you sign nothing without my approval."

"They're not going to like that."

"So let them yell at me. I'll get the lawyer to draw up a contract between you and me that prohibits you from signing any contract without my approval."

"They won't like that."

"Just tell them I'm your manager. They are familiar with the term, they have assigned one to you right now under the pretense of working for you when in reality he's working for the recording company. If all else fails, we have the shack and Annie's café. We won't starve."

Tony had just completed his second year. The music department put him on a fast track to finish all of his major requirements even giving him credit for the music he composed and the tour. Now Tony had to focus on his electives. When he changed majors, he classified some of his previous major requirements as electives. The bottom line, Tony had 1 and a ½ year to go to graduate.

The pressure to perform according to the contract was mounting. But Tony just simply told them to talk to me. That they didn't like. Tony did make two albums that year. Although they picked the music, he was able to slip in a few songs of his own. The following year, they wanted him to do another tour. I told them that it wasn't covered in his contract and he had decided to focus on working on his degree. Of course, they didn't like that but I showed him there was no contractual obligation to go on tour. His manager assigned to him by the recording studio tried to get him to agree, he'd tell him to see me. It took a month before they got the message, if you want Tony to do anything, better talk to me.

Tony continued with his studies. Thanksgiving we spent on the farm and enjoyed the solitude of our shack. Over the Christmas break, Tony did go on a tour, but not what the agent and recording company wanted, we toured children's hospitals sometimes twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Although we never advertise, I'd call one day ahead and get permission from the hospital administration to perform for 1 to 2 hours. I wanted this not to be a publicity stunt. But even as I tried to keep it low-key, the papers found out after we left a hospital, then they started to stake out hospitals trying to find which ones we had on our itinerary. We came close a few times but I'd walk in with a guitar and they would chase me while Tony snuck in. When they realized I wasn't Tony, they would leave.

The result of spending our Christmas holiday with these children paid off in ways that we had never envisioned. The hospitals sent Tony a plaque made by the children thanking him. Of course, eventually, the word got out and the papers began trying to get a story from him. Tony was delighted with the plaques and I had to take a picture of him holding the plaque to send back to the hospital. The newspapers, Tony left word to contact me.

Copyright © 2021 CLJobe; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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That is such a one sided contract since  Tony's own written songs were out there I think they could have found another record company willing to go with different conditions.It used to be the norm for record companies to select songs for the artists like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin but when the Beatles came along and they wrote their own songs that started to change.Two albums a year was common in the sixties and seventies until some artists with some leverage told the record companies 'You'll get it when it's done".Two albums a year today is almost  more rare these days but not unheard of.

Here's a thought  record one of Tony's concerts for kids at the hospital and then make and sell a DVD for charity something to do with kids.

Edited by weinerdog
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Stardom carries some awefull people, the studio managers are money hounds without any care for the artist , I am glad that they are going to go at it by themselves, the shack has become a sanctuary for them

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1 hour ago, weinerdog said:

That is such a one sided contract since  Tony's own written songs were out there I think they could have found another record company willing to go with different conditions.It used to be the norm for record companies to select songs for the artists like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin but when the Beatles came along and they wrote their own songs that started to change.Two albums a year was common in the sixties and seventies until some artists with some leverage told the record companies 'You'll get it when it's done".Two albums a year today is almost  more rare these days but not unheard of.

Here's a thought  record one of Tony's concerts for kids at the hospital and then make and sell a DVD for charity something to do with kids.

Where were you when I wrote this story?  There are only a few chapters left. I did do a little research but I'm not that familiar with the artistic side.

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Refreshing to read of those giving back to the world unselfishly and expecting or wanting nothing in return. The priceless reward is knowing you made someone else happy. The investments of a lifetime. 

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2 minutes ago, mikedup said:

Stardom carries some awefull people, the studio managers are money hounds without any care for the artist , I am glad that they are going to go at it by themselves, the shack has become a sanctuary for them

Yes, so it seems.  Money is an excellent motivator 

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Just now, Chris L said:

Refreshing to read of those giving back to the world unselfishly and expecting or wanting nothing in return. The priceless reward is knowing you made someone else happy. The investments of a lifetime. 

And a smile is the payment for a lifetime

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The music business is full of unscrupulous, no good vermin!!! Tell 'em to go jump in a lake!!!!

"Tony, your agent will begin to pressure you to sign another contract before your current contract is up. Don't sign anything till I tell you it's ok. Under the provisions of the current contract, you are obligated to make two albums a year and they have the right to select the music. I'll make sure that any new contract will not contain any requirements and that you have the sole choice of music. They might not like it and in fact, they won't like it, but we have an ace up our sleeve, the music department's recording studio. We could build our own and the public will like you just as much. From now on you sign nothing without my approval." 

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31 minutes ago, drsawzall said:

The music business is full of unscrupulous, no good vermin!!! Tell 'em to go jump in a lake!!!!

"Tony, your agent will begin to pressure you to sign another contract before your current contract is up. Don't sign anything till I tell you it's ok. Under the provisions of the current contract, you are obligated to make two albums a year and they have the right to select the music. I'll make sure that any new contract will not contain any requirements and that you have the sole choice of music. They might not like it and in fact, they won't like it, but we have an ace up our sleeve, the music department's recording studio. We could build our own and the public will like you just as much. From now on you sign nothing without my approval." 

Yea, money hungry vultures. There is a price to pay for fame, some are willing to pay and some will take their chance on their own or with a loving partner. Let's see what Jim has up his sleeve

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The way the music company, or agents are using him make me almost glad that I only ever sang in the church choir. You hear, so many stories like this where the agent or the manager as ripped the artist off or tied them into contract so tight that they never make any money for themselves. So glad Tony has our hero in his corner. Making the singer only sing the songs they want is so wrong in so many different ways. If the talent in there then it needs nurturing and encouraging. Still waiting for my CD... the ladies in my shop would just love to have him come in and song to them.

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13 hours ago, Kev said:

The way the music company, or agents are using him make me almost glad that I only ever sang in the church choir. You hear, so many stories like this where the agent or the manager as ripped the artist off or tied them into contract so tight that they never make any money for themselves. So glad Tony has our hero in his corner. Making the singer only sing the songs they want is so wrong in so many different ways. If the talent in there then it needs nurturing and encouraging. Still waiting for my CD... the ladies in my shop would just love to have him come in and song to them.

I bet, but I think they prefer to seeing you.  Maybe you should sing to them. 

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20 hours ago, weinerdog said:

That is such a one sided contract since  Tony's own written songs were out there I think they could have found another record company willing to go with different conditions.It used to be the norm for record companies to select songs for the artists like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin but when the Beatles came along and they wrote their own songs that started to change.Two albums a year was common in the sixties and seventies until some artists with some leverage told the record companies 'You'll get it when it's done".Two albums a year today is almost  more rare these days but not unheard of.

Here's a thought  record one of Tony's concerts for kids at the hospital and then make and sell a DVD for charity something to do with kids.

I read a story on another site (I am currently reading it for the 4th time, I love this story so much!) where the central characters are a rock star and his entertainment lawyer rep.  They are introduced by the star’s brother and (of course) rockets go off!   I think I actually may have found it from a side comment from @Carlos Hazday.
 

One of the things I like about the story is the detailed explanation of the background of the entertainment industry.  Not only does the lawyer explain their personal relationship, but he explains how the industry works, contracts work and even what it can be like on tour! The author is quite detailed and really opened my eyes to some of the garbage that can go on from the recording companies’ side.  You can just know that whatever is in the story, it’s actually much worse in reality.  In the story, like the Beatles, when he finally was able to get out of all the contracts, the singer actually started recording on his own label (to his great advantage)!  The only thing he lost from that were the platinum records when his sales set records (his partner solved this by making their own!).

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3 minutes ago, Clancy59 said:

I read a story on another site (I am currently reading it for the 4th time, I love this story so much!) where the central characters are a rock star and his entertainment lawyer rep.  They are introduced by the star’s brother and (of course) rockets go off!   I think I actually may have found it from a side comment from @Carlos Hazday.
 

One of the things I like about the story is the detailed explanation of the background of the entertainment industry.  Not only does the lawyer explain their personal relationship, but he explains how the industry works, contracts work and even what it can be like on tour! The author is quite detailed and really opened my eyes to some of the garbage that can go on from the recording companies’ side.  You can just know that whatever is in the story, it’s actually much worse in reality.  In the story, like the Beatles, when he finally was able to get out of all the contracts, the singer actually started recording on his own label (to his great advantage)!  The only thing he lost from that were the platinum records when his sales set records (his partner solved this by making their own!).

IMaybe I should have read that story before I wrote mine. I would guess the author either knew someone or had done some exhaustive research. 

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6 minutes ago, CLJobe said:

IMaybe I should have read that story before I wrote mine. I would guess the author either knew someone or had done some exhaustive research. 

That was definitely my impression.

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