Quote Originally Posted by sodascouts View Post
Interesting article. While admittedly I don't know all the ins and outs of the issue, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that the artists should own their own masters. What he says about the labels essentially screwing people over for decades is one of the reasons I can't muster up much sympathy when the labels cry about how they don't get as much revenue as they used to. Maybe it's simply a natural adjustment - they used to get too much.
He has a valid point about them being independent contractors. The law in NZ has been pretty thoroughly tested on employee vs contractor in various industries - is it as clear cut in the US?

I'd also be interested to see how much artists make/have made in the past from actual record sales vs touring, merchandise, and other endorsement type activity... and how much the artists get vs the record labels. Is that sort of info published anywhere?

Quote Originally Posted by sodascouts View Post
I think it's commendable that he mentions he has "four children" instead of the typical "my wife and I have three children" bit - although it is a bit mind-blowing to think Don Henley has a daughter older than I am. While it's not my business how he intends to divide his estate, I have to admit, I admire that he takes responsibility for his first child and intends to provide for her despite the fact she was born outside of marriage. Too many guys turns their backs on their kids in those circumstances.
Totally agree.