As everyone who gives a fig knows by now, Kelly Clarkson won the American Idol competition last night. She is now in the hands of the 19 Group of Companies (scroll to bottom):
- A Brief Introduction
Simon Fuller has had a profound influence on current British pop culture. At 21, he scored his first hit by signing the then-unknown song "Holiday" - Madonna's first hit to Chrysalis Music in the UK. His career as a manager started in 1985 when he set up "19" - the name derived from the company's first single release - Paul Hardcastle's four million selling smash entitled "19."
He has gone on to become one of the most respected and influential forces within the global entertainment industry.
He managed the development of Annie Lennox's solo career; he created and managed the Spice Girls, who went on to sell 38million albums and became a global phenomenon. This has been followed by the global television and music success story that is S Club 7.
The company has built up an unprecedented roster of top music producers, songwriters and artists playing a fundamental role in the success of artists including Madonna, U2, Oasis, Craig David, Eurythmics, Kylie Minogue, and Boyzone.
Today "19" is recognised as a leading creator, provider and promoter of globally successful, music based entertainment.
"19" has attracted a unique collection of expertise in people who work together to integrate and leverage activity across television, music, film, merchandising, music publishing, recording, artist/writer and producer management, sponsorship and promotion.
To date, "19" has been involved in the creation of over 50 Number 1 singles and 25 Number 1 albums with an impressive tally of over 70 Top 40 albums and 200 Top 40 singles.
Gary Fine, of entertainment law firm Kleinberg Lopez Lange Cuddy & Edel LLP in Los Angeles, dug up these provisions from the contestant contract, with the following explanation:
- I looked over a copy of the "American Idol: The Search For A Superstar Contestant Agreement and Release" and found it to be..........well..........how shall I say this................................particularly aggressive, perhaps. I have included below some provisions from the greement that some of you might find interesting. The agreement wasa 14 pages long and, naturally, contained additional language that would affect the interpretation of the provisions below, but I think it's safe to say that such additional language did not make the provisions any more artist friendly.
- 5. Future Agreements: Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section C, I understand and agree that in the event I am one of the final ten (10) contestants in the Competition, I will be required to enter into the following agreements: (a) an agreement with 19 Recordings Ltd. (or an affiliated company) for my exclusive services as a recording artist: (b) an agreement with 19 Merchandising Ltd. for the use of my name, likeness biography in connection with advertising, endorsement, merchandising and sponsorship; and (c) an agreement with 19 Management Ltd. for the management of my career as an artist. I understand and agree that, unless I am the individual selected as the winner of the Competition, such agreements shall become fully effective only at the election of 19 Recordings Ltd., 19 Merchandising Ltd., and/or 19 Management Ltd. I hereby warrant that as of the date of this agreement I have not entered into any contract or arrangement which might prevent me from entering into the agreements specified in sub-sections (a), (b) and (c) of this Section C.5., and that in the event I am prevented from entering into any of the foregoing agreements, I shall be immediately disqualified from the Competition and the Series.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Paul
And I thought the 13th Amendment eliminated this sort of thing ;)
My knowledge of law comes from The People's Court, but is there such a thing as an "unreasonable contract"? In other words, a contract so outrageous that its not legally binding?
2 - random(100)
I can't belive they signed that... I wonder if they did not read it or were that desperate...
3 - Robin Goodfellow
Involuntary servitude Paul. It's perfectly legal for someone to sign their life away as long as they do it of their own accord.
4 - Eric Olsen
Perfectly legal, but the situation certainly seems coercive to me: if you wish to participate, then you will sign this as is, period.
5 - x
WOW. So just how much do Kelly get in her pocket?
6 - Rachel Plummer
I thought slavery was illegal in this country.
7 - The Political Hobbyist
Coercive? How? No one held a gun to the head of Kelly Clarkson -- or any other American Idol participant, for that matter -- and said "sign this, or else." Ms. Clarkson was perfectly free to remain waiting tables in Texas. The other participants were perfectly free to do whatever it was they were doing before they signed on to the show.
Neither Fox nor 19 Ltd. has any obligation to negotiate against itself. Why should they? Even with an onerous contract such as this one, they had an ample supply of contestants perfectly willing to accept possible future restrictions in return for a shot at fame. Caveat emptor.
8 - Steve DeMars
I did not see anything that indicated the length of contract. Wouldn't she be able to go independent upon completion of the contract? At any rate, she stands to make a great deal of money for her efforts. That is if her voice can withstand the pressure
9 - Dale Stevenson
The thing about this is that this is essencially the same thing that any artist signs when they join a major label. The people with the money are the ones that get to call the shots, right from the get-go.
10 - dennard summers
wow...what else can be said. i think someone should chronicle all this into a book and that should be reading for someone looking to get into the music biz.
11 - Judie
This is a terrible price to have to pay for fame for a newcomer. It is hard to say 'Poor Kelly' but $1400 is not exactly 'rich'. The 19 Company should be ashamed of itself for taking such a terrible advantage of this young person.
12 - Marianne Ezell
I believe it was a contract such as this that caused first the Backstreet Boys and then 'NSync to sue Lou Pearlman to be released from their contracts. Lou is the "star maker" from Orlando who created both of those boy bands and created "Making the Band" for TV, which then gave us another boy band, O-Town, who I believe have since signed with Clive Davis. I'd like to hear what Mr. Davis has to say about these "slavery" contracts. But hopefully Simon Fuller and 19 Productions will make their profit off of Kelly and Tamyra (who they signed the day after she was booted off the show) and then let them go to more amenable management. It's a foot in the door for these talented kids who might never get heard otherwise. Hopefully when Sean Combs (Puffy, P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, or whatever his name is these days) does his "Making the Band" this Fall on MTV, his contract will be a bit more artist-friendly. But then again.....business is business and we are a free and capitalist country, aren't we? >^,,^<
13 - x
"may reveal and/or relate information about me of a personal, private, intimate. surprising, defamatory, disparaging, embarrassing or unfavorable nature, that may be factual and/or fictional"
This part is interesting because it would appear they can say whatever they damn well please in marketing Kelly AND justin..for example,..if they think it would sell records to have kelly and justin in an affair..then they can claim that is what is happening even if not.
How long is this contract? For the rest of her life if they deem it to be the case?
14 - Robin Goodfellow
Yup, the contract grants them the right to make up lies about the contestants. It also allows them to video tape the contestants any time they want, any where they want, even if they would have a reasonable expectation of privacy and even if they do not know they are being taped.
As for the length, I'm not a lawyer, but this part seems to say it lasts forever:
I hereby grant to Producer the unconditional right throughout the universe in perpetuity to use, simulate or portray (and to authorize others to do so) or to refrain from using, simulating or portraying, my name, likeness (whether photographic or otherwise), voice, singing voice, personality, personal identification or personal experiences, my life story, biographical data, incidents, situations and events which heretofore occurred or hereafter occur, including without limitation the right to use, or to authorize others to use any of the foregoing in or in connection with the Series (or any episode or portion thereof) and the advertising, promoting or publicizing of the Series or any Series episode by Producer, the Network, its operations, activities or programming services and with any merchandise, tie-in, sponsor, product, or service of any kind by Producer, the Network, or any of its programming services, and in any other manner whatsoever as Producer may elect in its sole discretion.
15 - Dr. Josh Saban
I wouldn't assume all the judges had access to, or were provided the content of the contract between 19 and the contestants.I have a clear understanding that Ms. Abdul and Mr. Jackson have no ties to 19 other than their own contract between them to "judge" in the compition.I do not know Mr.Cowell's official tie to 19. There are many unconfirmed rumors It would be inappropriate to speculate.
16 - Sheila
How much did Kelly really make for being the winner. Do they pay for all 10 finals air fare and motels when they go for their tours?
17 - Me
Insanity - really. What are these contestants thinking? With the publicity they managed to attract, they probably could have gotten more reasonable, less demeaning contracts even before they made the final ten. Kelly, among the other nine, have basically just sold their souls away; they really no longer have the right to privacy, protection from defamation of character or other such offenses. Do they realize that they've just sold away their lives just for a chance with showbiz?
18 - E.A. Castro
While I don't have any warm fuzzies for lawyers in general or entertainment lawyers specifically, I can say that they are only doing what they do best. The only real thing that comes to mind when reading the terms of Kelly Clarkson is... well, when you make a deal with the devil, you end up in hell.
19 - Alex
WoW..! Poor Kelly and the other 9 ..!
20 - Tarquin
Kelly is fucked!!!!
I hope Justin is smart and gets out of at least the recording contract. It sounds like only the actual winner is bound to the recording contract....or am I wrong about that? She is going to be a virtual puppet to 19 management. I see problems down the road for Kelly especially if she has her own artistic vision of herself.
21 - squee
Anyone remember the cartoon movie "Rock n Rule"?
22 - mack
Besides the $1400 for appearing in "World Idol", certainly there is some other description somewhere in the contract of how she's going to be financially compensated for all this. I can't imagine anybody signing something like this for less than a hefty sum.
23 - Mike B.
I've been in this business for 22 years, as a musician, writer and producer. I've seen many singers and bands sign deals like this. They know it's not a fair deal, but they all hope that when they "make it big", they can re-negotiate the deal. Sadly, that almost never happens.
As for those who say it's better than waiting tables, well, I think that it's worse to be famous and poor, than obscure and poor. I've seen many bands with hit records and no money. They are all ashamed and depressed. Everyone expects them to have wonderful, dream-like lives, when they don't have enough cash for busfare.
However, it's the wish for a quick path to the top that does these kids in. They don't want to slug it out on the road and build a following one club at a time. There truly is no free lunch.
24 - chuckalien
so does a contract like this trump the law?
for example, publishing untruths is libel, so, is it possible to sign away protection under the law?
25 - Billy
Wow! Thank God for the smart people in my life who opened my eyes to that crap that they so call a "contract". I feel bad that people felt they had nothing else left than to sign something stating that these people basically own them. No-one owns me but me! Something so irrelevant is not worth risking what could be years of your life.