Skeleton Records

[Theland]

I'm in hospital, and the guy in the next bed is John Weaver, owns Skeleton Records in Birkenhead, quite a collectors store, lots of vinyl, and he is so knowledgeable.
He was talking about how some big names were left penniless as they couldn't get their royalties. Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane as examples.
So sad that such talent went criminally unrewarded.
Do you know of similar?

[roopower]

Not exactly but Gary Numan has been saying he had over 1million streams of one of his songs and got paid £37. Thay can't be right either. Interesting chap to talk to I would imagine. We still have all our vinyl, singles, eps and lps.

[Theland]

Skeleton specialise in vinyl, more of a collectors shop I think.
Amazing how he has managed to stay in business given the supermarket competition.
He told me a Beatles Parlophone LP fetched £500.

[piggynose]

Is he still in business or is he down to his bare bones?

[barry1010]

Has he still got his moustache?

[Theland]

The shop is closed due to Covid, and he is in the next hospital bed to me.
A really nice guy.

[EdmundD]

I remember Jay Kay of Jamiroquai saying he was performing on Top Of The Pops and he didn't have enough money to get the bus home.

He said the problem was "recoupment" - the record companies take their costs for recording, promotion etc out of any revenues or royalties first and then the artist gets a percentage of what's left (if anything).

[Buenchico]

This might be of interest to some:
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/behind-scenes-one-merseysides-few-14584495

[Theland]

Chico - That's him in the purple shirt :-)

[andy-hughes]

Theland - // Do you know of similar? //

It depends entirely on the contract the artist signs, and what is in the small print.

If the artist is smart, he has a specialist lawyer to read the contract for him, and assess its actual value, which avoids the rip-offs that routinely do occur.

Back in the day - and that includes the '80's and beyond, contracts were routinely ruinous to artists and firmly weighted in the favour of the label.

Seriously savvy operators like Michael Jackson, having established their worth, re-negotiated deals heavily in their favour - he got Sony to pay in £2 per album in royalties for Thriller. Yes the label still made billions, but not the tens of billions they would have made otherwise.

These days, bands can make far more from spin-offs like merchandising, and the result of the internet opening access to everyone, the days of the major record deals and serious rip-offs, are gone.

I remember reading about The Beatles' first merchandising deal, and we have to remember that merchanidsing was unknown in those days - but the company who approaching Brian Epstein to buy the image rights for the band, on handbags, talcum powder, etc. came in with a view to hoping not to have to lose more than ten per cent of their profits.

Mr Epstein opened ngeotiations saying he couldn't possibly accept less than ten per cent for the band , leaving the company with the other ninety per cent.

Those guys must have been good poker players because they didn't burst into tears of grattitude at being made multi-millionaires with one sentence, but as I say, those naive days are very long gone.

The rule is - read the contract, and if you don't understand it, give it to someone who does, before you sign anything.

Sadly, in the 1960s', and for the next thirty years, there were far too many star-struck musicians with their eyes on a record release, and not who ultimately paid for it.