What you guys are missing is, they weren't "paid poorly". Again, they were given 8% of sales profit for performing. They worked with Foster and McElroy for example, established writers/producers who probably demanded a decent percentage for their work. They have background singers who are either paid out as work for hire or gonna take a percentage. BY THE TIME THE LABEL TAKES CARE OF THINGS LIKE PROMO/AD, ARTIST DEVELOPMENT, RECORDING/STUDIO COST, LIVING EXPENSES FOR ANYONE INVOLVED IN THE ALBUM, SAMPLE CLEARANCE, ECT, THEY WOULD NEVER GET OUT THE RED AND TURN PROFIT THEMSELVES WITHOUT TAKING 50-70% OF SALES.
This is a business, they could've not taken the contract, never been En Vogue, and never seen a dime. Instead they made about $80k each in royalties when an album dropped and made about $10-20k each every night they performed. What B.S. rap video got you thinking En Vogue ain't get paid right? You think Rich Homie and Chief Keef are doing close to that?
Oh, you thought there was MORE money in this shyt? You think the dude who does the hard work doesn't make the MINIMUM WAGE? Business 101. If you don't got the money to BUY a McDonald's, you work at one for a few dollars an hour DOING ALL THE WORK while the owner who probably couldn't make a big mac if his life depended on it sits in an office counting millions. The workers can't buy a value meal with what they make in an hour. You think if you work at the Ford factory(before getting laid off)actually putting the cars together that you can even afford to buy a brand new ford without really evaluating your finances? The guys running that plant are driving Maybachs to meeting to hear about how bad their company is doing and how more workers need to be laid off, lol.
The only reason this frustrates me so much, it's music. All those byches did was sing. All I do is press buttons/keys to clarify I'm saying in music NO ONE DOES ANYTHING LABOR INTENSIVE, you can lie to yourself, but you do not. You don't HAVE to educate yourself in any way to make music, that's why its sad seeing guys up here saying "I wanna drop out school to be the next dumb musician who any businessman can see is a lubed up idiot waiting to be f**ked from a mile away". It's easy to pretend you're "doing something everyone else isn't" but you are...proven by the millions of others doing the same thing!!!! You don't like 8% the next guy will give his lung for 4.5, lol.
These "poor cheated guys" see the world, have access to wardrobe without having to pay, get given the nicest cars to drive and homes to live in while making $80k when an album drops, and 10-20k every time they step on a stage to sing a song they didn't even write or produce. They were not victimized. Makes for a good story though. Because when your time is over, they take back the nice house/car to give to the next guy to drive, but you had all that time to buy your own while making $80k per album drop and 10-20k per show.
You do realize those actors in movies with those huge salaries are getting the same types of cuts, right? That "actor guy" made $2M to star in that movie that did $500M, lol. That B-Ball player who made $3M last year made the Miami heat/NBA $12M off just his merchandising and his team made $800M in profits while the NBA made Billions!!! Same(if not less of a) percentage, just bigger numbers being played with.
If not for the businesses prospering, they would have no use for you whatsoever. Then you just some guy with a Basketball at the park, some chick singing in the shower or church choir, some guy writing a script in a starbucks, lol. You should be thankful for that type of split, you could just be passed by, and unless you got the money to fund yourself, they do indeed hold all the cards.
