July 28th, 2010 by jdsawyer
— — — —
Previous Chapter: Interlude: Think Contracts Don’t Matter?
— — — —
Most of this series concentrates on general contract principles. This week’s entry is a little different. It’s devoted solely to the creative industries (businesses like films, music, books, theater, etc. which depend on artists for their grist), and I’m posting it now rather than later because recent events have thrust it to the center of my attention. If you’re in a creative industry, this one’s for you.
It may surprise you to learn that Babylon 5 has never turned a profit. Not a cent. In fact, according to an Internet post earlier this year by creator J. Michael Straczynski, his most recent royalty statement informed him that the entire franchise is still $80m in debt. For perspective, all 5 seasons, plus 5 movies, plus the spinoff series, plus the follow-up Lost Tales special, cost under $200m to produce in aggregate. The franchise’s total revenues now totals in excess of $1.2b.
And, according to Warner Brothers, it’s never made a profit. Not a cent.
Continue reading ‘Principles of Contracts: Nothing But Net’
July 25th, 2010 by jdsawyer
For those of you waiting on the next Principles of Contracts or Balticon Adventure post, your patience will soon be rewarded. Things here have been hopping–between article deadlines, a couple new contracts to hash out, and having written a new book in the last three weeks, July has been completely packed.
Some of the contract stuff has reminded me of a topic that I’m going to bump to the front. The next post in the Contracts series will deal with defending yourself against creative bookkeeping, which is a concept that’s starting to leak from Hollywood into the New Media and Publishing worlds.
Stay tuned!
July 16th, 2010 by jdsawyer
Since I’ve been doing a blog series on the Principles of Contracts, I have to include this bit of news about the biggest, ugliest case of a handshake deal I’ve seen in quite some time. Seems that the publishers and authors of The Shack never really figured out who owned what, and now they’re out over a million bucks in royalties as the lawsuits fly. Take a read here for the whole ugly story, and remember: Contracts Matter.
Next time: Nothing But Net
July 8th, 2010 by jdsawyer
— — — —
Previous Chapter: The Narrowness Principle
— — — —
All business deals are based on trust, and it’s a trust backed up by a trustworthy legal system. Without trustworthy courts, high trust between people in a culture, and an environment characterized by trust and reciprocity, business is impossible.
“Trustworthy! Dan, what country are you living in?” I hear some of you cry. “The American courts are kangaroo affairs stripping us of our civil rights, legislating from the bench. The Judiciary is a racist, corrupt tool of criminal violence against the underclasses, and nothing more than a puppet of the special interests and elites in this country.” I hear some of you say that (every day, all around the blogosphere), but I also can’t help but notice that you’re reading a blog series about best practices for contracts, and that upwards of 80% of you reading it live, work, and do business in the United States. This isn’t a coincidence.
A well-functioning economy works because the trust quotient is high, and the reason isn’t too difficult to see: If I can’t trust you to live up to your end of the deal, and you can’t trust me to live up to mine, then why in the world would we do business together?
Oh, and that financial meltdown and credit freeze we just had? That was caused by an erosion of trust.
Continue reading ‘Principles of Contracts: Self-Interest’
