0:00:03 > 0:00:09For the past 40 years, THIS has been my world.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Managing Sabbath and Ozzy.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15My dad did it before me,
0:00:15 > 0:00:20and my kids, and now grandkids have grown up with it.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25As long as I've been doing this,
0:00:25 > 0:00:31the story of deals has always been about the artist versus the man.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37You're basically at war with the music biz.
0:00:41 > 0:00:47Ozzy's first solo record deal was with CBS in 1980.
0:00:47 > 0:00:53We signed a really crap deal, and the label threw a listening party.
0:00:53 > 0:01:00Ozzy comes, the man of peace, with two live doves in his pocket.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02But when we get there,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06the people from the record company are less than friendly.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Ozzy goes to sit on a girl's lap,
0:01:08 > 0:01:13but she freezes and she pushes him away.
0:01:13 > 0:01:14And I don't know why,
0:01:14 > 0:01:19but he takes out the first dove and decides to put it in his mouth
0:01:19 > 0:01:20and bit its head off.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26The record label went nuts.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Obviously, they were disgusted.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35But at the end of it, they knew who was boss, and it wasn't them.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40My advice to most musicians is don't sign a record deal.
0:01:40 > 0:01:41Somebody taking your money,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44you're not going to want to make music, point-blank.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Exploit, written into every contract.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Scary.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52You need a lawyer.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Royalties... I don't believe they pay ANY royalties.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58The greatest names in our business have suffered
0:01:58 > 0:02:00at the hands of unscrupulous people.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03On the radio, your record was number one...
0:02:05 > 0:02:07..and you're still broke!
0:02:07 > 0:02:09This programme contains some strong language
0:02:19 > 0:02:24Anybody who's anybody in pop has sat down in a boardroom
0:02:24 > 0:02:28and been asked to sign a deal that changes their life -
0:02:28 > 0:02:33be it for records, publishing, concerts, whatever.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34The history of deals
0:02:34 > 0:02:36is like a long-term tug-of-war
0:02:36 > 0:02:41between the artist and the music biz -
0:02:41 > 0:02:43the artist seeking a just reward,
0:02:43 > 0:02:49and the music biz trying to limit the risk of their investment.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54The first deal you usually need to get, just to be heard,
0:02:54 > 0:02:55is a record deal.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Record deals are in principle one-sided -
0:03:00 > 0:03:05the record label own the recordings and give you a royalty.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10A bit like them owning your house and giving you a cut of the rent.
0:03:10 > 0:03:16And when record deals began back in the '50s, that cut was very small.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19GUITAR PLAYS BLUES
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Specialty, the big label.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Art Rupe ran Specialty Records.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33He was more like a businessman, strictly businessman.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36# Yeah, people talk about me
0:03:36 > 0:03:39# Call me all outta my name... #
0:03:39 > 0:03:42I'm 99 years old.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45I'll be 100 on September 5.
0:03:46 > 0:03:52A record has a lot of competition, and in order to get attention,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54it's good to have a good intro,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and I had never heard an introduction to a record
0:03:57 > 0:04:00like Little Richard's.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04He had the bee-bop-a-lupa in there from the beginning.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07- That's my drum. - HE DRUMS HIS HANDS
0:04:07 > 0:04:08- Kick drum. - HE IMITATES KICK DRUM
0:04:09 > 0:04:12# Wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom...! #
0:04:12 > 0:04:14That was my drum. He got that from me.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Wop bop a loo bop a lop... Kick drum, boom.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19# Tutti frutti, oh rutti
0:04:19 > 0:04:22# Tutti frutti, oh rutti... #
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Oh, it blew my top.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27# Wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom!
0:04:27 > 0:04:29# I gotta girl... #
0:04:29 > 0:04:34When it was played in New York, we had an immediate reaction.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36We kept all the presses going.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39It sold well over a million records.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41# She walked to the west
0:04:41 > 0:04:43# But she's the girl that I love best... #
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Richie came back from California and said,
0:04:45 > 0:04:46"I got a contract, look,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49"my contract from Specialty Records."
0:04:49 > 0:04:50We all felt good.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53That was a big thing, though, then, to get a contract.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Our deal was sort of typical.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02He did start out at half a cent to start with,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04of each record sold.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09Half a cent per record is very, very, very, very low.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Richard's deal saw roughly half of the record's 59 cents
0:05:13 > 0:05:14go to the retailer,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18and after deductions for packaging and breakages
0:05:18 > 0:05:20and Specialty taking their cut,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23he was left with this much as a royalty.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27When he got out then, he talked to Fats Domino
0:05:27 > 0:05:29and people like Chuck Berry
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and all those people. He felt that he was being cheated.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35He had to sell two records to make a penny.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37- The record cost 59 cents, didn't it? - Yeah.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40There were 58 other pennies going somewhere.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Oh, boy!
0:05:45 > 0:05:51I will say this, one of the reasons we attracted artists, word got out,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Rupe at Specialty is not going to pay you much,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56but he'll pay you what he promises.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01HE LAUGHS
0:06:02 > 0:06:05And that got us a lot of artists.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09I slept well at night.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Meanwhile, back in Blighty,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20record sales from the early '50s to early '60s boomed.
0:06:21 > 0:06:26But record labels weren't generous to artists hungry for a deal.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29EMI's boss found these fresh-faced boys
0:06:29 > 0:06:32were thrilled with a record deal
0:06:32 > 0:06:35not much better than Little Richard's.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40One old penny for every record sold at six shillings and thruppence.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44But there was something The Beatles had
0:06:44 > 0:06:46that gave them a chance to make
0:06:46 > 0:06:48another kind of deal.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50They wrote their OWN songs.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58And like every other wannabe songwriter,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00they headed for the world of publishing.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05So now we're in Denmark Street,
0:07:05 > 0:07:10and this was the publishing hub in London.
0:07:10 > 0:07:11Tin Pan Alley.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16And you see all the stores down here and now they're restaurants
0:07:16 > 0:07:19and different things, a hairdresser.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22They used to sell all the sheet music here
0:07:22 > 0:07:23in these shop fronts,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26and then it was pianos and guitars,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28and all the publishers were above.
0:07:28 > 0:07:34And years ago, my dad had an office here, but it was so long ago,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36I can't remember what number.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Somehow I think it was 22 Denmark Street.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42And any time you would come down this street,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45it was full of writers, musicians,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48and they used to come up with their songs,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50go up to the publisher's office,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53usually play guitar or a piano that would be in the office,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57sing their songs and they would either sell them or they wouldn't.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Do you really think that's your song?
0:08:00 > 0:08:02The window up there on the first floor
0:08:02 > 0:08:05was the office of a very famous publisher,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Dick James Music, and in 1963,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12a very important deal was signed in that office.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Dick James, in a previous life,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21had sung the theme tune to TV's Robin Hood.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23MUSIC: The Adventures Of Robin Hood by Carl Sigman
0:08:23 > 0:08:24For their first single,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27John and Paul signed their publishing
0:08:27 > 0:08:29to Sir Joseph Lockwood's EMI.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32The competition is absolutely terrific,
0:08:32 > 0:08:34and anyone who thinks that this is an easy business
0:08:34 > 0:08:36should come and have a try.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39And that is exactly what Dick James did.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46He stole a march on EMI.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50He set up a new publishing company with John and Paul
0:08:50 > 0:08:53that saw them not only make royalties from their songwriting,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57but also gave them a chance to part-own their songs...
0:08:57 > 0:09:00MUSIC: Please Please Me by The Beatles
0:09:02 > 0:09:06..something that in that tug-of-war was unheard of.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10When you signed any publishing deal in those days, the publisher,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12not the artist, owned the song forever.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17At that time, all other songwriters were green with envy
0:09:17 > 0:09:19that John and Paul were writing their own songs,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21getting them recorded,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24making money from them and half owning them,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26because they couldn't have deals like that.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28It seemed like the golden deal.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Lennon and McCartney were gaining ground.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35They already had a royalty from the record deal
0:09:35 > 0:09:37and from their publishing deal,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40they got another slice of royalties.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43And a separate royalty every time
0:09:43 > 0:09:46the song was performed on TV or radio.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49And they weren't the only ones performing their songs.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51# Got a good reason
0:09:52 > 0:09:55# For taking the easy way out
0:09:55 > 0:09:59# He was a day tripper... #
0:09:59 > 0:10:02The job of a music publisher is to get other artists
0:10:02 > 0:10:05to record their songs.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07And I think we were pretty good at that.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Here it is. Korean-style Beatle music - verses in English,
0:10:11 > 0:10:12chorus in Korean.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16This results in a big increase in the royalties that they could earn.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Every time any of these songs was played on the radio,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25any time a school orchestra played All My Loving,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27they were in for a share of it.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32# And I'll send all my loving to you
0:10:32 > 0:10:34# All my loving... #
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Within 18 months of its release,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Yesterday had been covered almost 450 times.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42# Yesterday
0:10:42 > 0:10:45# All my troubles seemed so far away... #
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- That's Yesterday.- Sounds like a fortnight!
0:10:48 > 0:10:49LAUGHTER
0:10:49 > 0:10:53They had success on a level that had never been imagined possible.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56The Beatles had this vast sum of money
0:10:56 > 0:10:58that was coming in from all angles from their songwriting,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00from their record sales.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03But what that meant was, they had a problem.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06The moment you put your hands on it, the Government goes,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08"And where's my 91%?"
0:11:08 > 0:11:11# Taxman... #
0:11:11 > 0:11:15In bombsite Britain, still rebuilding after the war,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19tax was set at 41% basic rate,
0:11:19 > 0:11:23rising to 91% for high earners.
0:11:23 > 0:11:24# There's one for you
0:11:24 > 0:11:26# 19 for me... #
0:11:27 > 0:11:33But Dick and The Beatles came up with a way of making money tax-free,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37by getting into bed with the original men in suits.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43They floated their company on the stock market,
0:11:43 > 0:11:48and with the proceeds, John and Paul bought grand pop-star mansions.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51And they weren't the only ones splashing out.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Dick James rather ostentatiously had a Rolls-Royce.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00He moved to nice big offices on New Oxford Street
0:12:00 > 0:12:02above Midland Bank, which was appropriate.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07And I think they looked at it and thought, "Hey, that's our money."
0:12:07 > 0:12:09They were making the Let It Be film.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11And they were a little bit rude to him.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15There was references to him being a pig and fascist.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19My father picked up the phone to Lew Grade and said,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21"Maybe now's the time to sell."
0:12:23 > 0:12:27He, at this point, hadn't discussed it with Lennon or McCartney.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30They were extremely upset
0:12:30 > 0:12:34that they were never given the opportunity of buying it themselves.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Lew Grade mounted a takeover bid.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42But Paul and John couldn't agree on what to do,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and sold up to THE fat cat in a suit.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49The golden deal was gone.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54The deal that gave John and Paul ownership of their songs.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Ownership of pop songs,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00I think people thought would be a very ephemeral source of income
0:13:00 > 0:13:02and a very temporary source of income,
0:13:02 > 0:13:03and, of course, it turned out
0:13:03 > 0:13:05that classic pop songs are worth a fortune.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08You know, I think that would be upsetting for any artist
0:13:08 > 0:13:11to find that something that you felt was entirely yours
0:13:11 > 0:13:14because you'd made it, wasn't yours any more.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Those songs, like property, would rocket in value.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And after being snapped up by Michael Jackson and Sony,
0:13:23 > 0:13:28are now worth an estimated £500 million.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32No wonder Paul is still in a tug-of-war to get them back.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35- ARCHIVE:- 'Sir Paul McCartney is taking legal action against Sony
0:13:35 > 0:13:38'as he fights to reclaim ownership of The Beatles' hits...'
0:13:39 > 0:13:40In the early '60s,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44talent like The Beatles were so young and vulnerable,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47they'd often look for a heavyweight in a suit
0:13:47 > 0:13:50to put on their side of the tug-of-war,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53a bulldog style of manager who would take care of business.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57My dad was a manager in the '60s.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59- ARCHIVE:- 'For Don Arden,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02'the recording session is the most testing moment...'
0:14:04 > 0:14:06He was very strong.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09He would fight tooth and nail for what he believed in -
0:14:09 > 0:14:12many occasions physically fighting with people
0:14:12 > 0:14:14over his artist.
0:14:14 > 0:14:15He was larger than life.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19'I think everybody wants to make money.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22'If I've ever exploited anybody, it's for their own benefit.'
0:14:23 > 0:14:27The Small Faces came into my dad's office.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30They were lovable, naughty little boys.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33He loved them, loved their personalities.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35He's a fantastic guy to meet.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37He offered us a deal. He said,
0:14:37 > 0:14:41"We'll give you a wage of £20 a week each,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44"or you can have a royalty."
0:14:44 > 0:14:46So we said, "Hold on a minute.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48"So the first thing is, we're just going to go out of the room
0:14:48 > 0:14:50"and have a little chat, see what we want to do."
0:14:50 > 0:14:53So we went out of the room, come back in and said, "We want both."
0:14:53 > 0:14:55HE LAUGHS
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Who could it be but... The Small Faces?
0:14:58 > 0:15:04They were so fresh and so different from everything else at that time.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09# Girl, hold my hand... #
0:15:09 > 0:15:13My dad knew that this band were going to break huge.
0:15:13 > 0:15:14He just knew.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16# I've been waiting for a long, long time
0:15:16 > 0:15:19# Think everything's gonna turn out fine
0:15:19 > 0:15:21# Hey, hey!
0:15:21 > 0:15:22# It's all right... #
0:15:23 > 0:15:26This was a real personal management deal.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29My dad was betting on them being huge,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32and started out laying money on the band,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34thinking he would get it back
0:15:34 > 0:15:37from record and publishing contracts and concert fees.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Everything went through his office.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45So he would find them songs, he would find the producer,
0:15:45 > 0:15:46he got them signed.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49He moved them all to London,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52put them in a house together so they all lived together.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54# Wouldn't it be nice
0:15:54 > 0:15:57# To get on with me neighbours? #
0:15:57 > 0:15:59He said, "I think you should all live together
0:15:59 > 0:16:01"so you can write songs and stuff like that,"
0:16:01 > 0:16:03so we rented a house in Pimlico.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Next door was Honor Blackman,
0:16:05 > 0:16:06and she was great, because we all loved her,
0:16:06 > 0:16:08cos we were always giving her wolf whistles
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and saying how much we fancied her.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15But I didn't realise at the time she was as old as my mum.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18# Lazy Sunday afternoon
0:16:18 > 0:16:22# I've got no mind to worry
0:16:22 > 0:16:26# I close my eyes and drift away... #
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Whatever they needed came through my dad's office.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33He did everything from arranging payment for their clothes
0:16:33 > 0:16:37to their hairdresser, they were driven everywhere,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39to getting their clothes dry cleaned.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45There was only three shops in Carnaby Street.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Because they wanted us to look good, we wanted to look good as well,
0:16:48 > 0:16:50he got us an account in each three shops.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53One was Toppers, one was John Stephen
0:16:53 > 0:16:55and another one was called Lord John.
0:16:56 > 0:17:03# I thought you'd listen to my reason... #
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Don Arden, he worked us very hard.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10Sometimes we'd do three gigs in one day, like, we'd play, like, Leeds,
0:17:10 > 0:17:11Manchester and then Liverpool.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16# Try to make you see
0:17:17 > 0:17:20# How it's got to be...
0:17:20 > 0:17:24# Yes, it's all right... #
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Then we had a number one.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31We kept saying, "Don, where's all our money?"
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Because he never paid us any royalties.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37And he said, "Well, I'm looking after it, don't worry about it.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39"I've opened up a bank account for you,
0:17:39 > 0:17:40"and I'll make sure it's all right,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42"I'll look after it for you."
0:17:42 > 0:17:44And he certainly did look after it - for himself.
0:17:50 > 0:17:51It don't take the Brain of Britain
0:17:51 > 0:17:54to work out that you've done so many gigs at X amount,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58we would ask Don, "Where's the rest of the money, then?"
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Cos we knew there was got to be more.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03You know, because renting a flat in those days wasn't that expensive.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Hey, Steve. What are you going to do about it?
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Their PARENTS came into the office.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17# I want you to know that I love you, baby
0:18:17 > 0:18:19# Want you to know that I care... #
0:18:19 > 0:18:24The parents were like, "OK, my son's famous, where's the money?"
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Don Arden said, "They've spent it all."
0:18:29 > 0:18:31And they said, "What have they spent it on, then?"
0:18:31 > 0:18:34They said, "Well, they were all on drugs,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36"like, heroin and stuff like that."
0:18:36 > 0:18:38That would take your mind off money, wouldn't it?
0:18:38 > 0:18:40And, of course, all our parents were very concerned
0:18:40 > 0:18:42that we were all on drugs, which we weren't.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45I mean, we were, but not to the extent
0:18:45 > 0:18:47that Don Arden was talking about.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Once the band are pissed off with you,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58AND the parents, you've got no chance.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09So The Small Faces told my father
0:19:09 > 0:19:13that they were approached by another manager, Robert Stigwood.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Now, we are in Robert Stigwood's old offices now.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20So my father came up here
0:19:20 > 0:19:24to have a conversation about this situation with Mr Stigwood.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28The conversation didn't really end well,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31because at the end of the conversation,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35my father dangled Mr Stigwood
0:19:35 > 0:19:37out of this window here.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42- ARCHIVE:- 'Now, this is the story of The Animals
0:19:42 > 0:19:45'and the rock and roll scene in general.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48'They made some records that enabled them to travel far...'
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Don Arden was The Animals' booking agent.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57Tough, threatening, fierce,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59demanding.
0:19:59 > 0:20:00Not a bad guy, apart from that.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08My dad was only the booking agent.
0:20:08 > 0:20:14The band's manager was Mike Jeffery, owner of Newcastle's Club A' Gogo,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17who came up with a classic ploy of management,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20the offshore bank account -
0:20:20 > 0:20:25just as the band found fame with a folk song from the Deep South.
0:20:25 > 0:20:31# There is a house in New Orleans
0:20:31 > 0:20:35# They call the Rising Sun... #
0:20:35 > 0:20:39I'd bought the record and I passed it around to the band
0:20:39 > 0:20:41and said, "Learn this.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43"And let's do it."
0:20:43 > 0:20:45I always believed in it.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47I mean, as soon as I heard this song,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50I knew that if we did an electric version of it,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52it would be mega.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59# There is a house in New Orleans
0:21:00 > 0:21:04# They call the Rising Sun
0:21:06 > 0:21:11# And it's been the ruin of many of a poor boy
0:21:13 > 0:21:17# And God, I know I'm one... #
0:21:17 > 0:21:21I think that we were all led to believe
0:21:21 > 0:21:25that if you put your signature on something...
0:21:26 > 0:21:29..even if it's a scrap of toilet paper...
0:21:30 > 0:21:33..it can constitute a contract.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Michael Jeffery, businessman,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40as he pretended to be, said,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43"Look, there's no time to get a contract together."
0:21:43 > 0:21:47"And the money's coming in, quickly and hot and fast.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50"You've got the biggest selling record in the universe.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52"Until we can get a contract signed,
0:21:52 > 0:21:59"we'll take a 45 rpm copy, and we'll sign it with a Magic Marker.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01"And that will constitute...
0:22:02 > 0:22:05"a contract between us."
0:22:06 > 0:22:09It seemed to be the track to follow.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13We didn't know it was the road to hell.
0:22:15 > 0:22:16So we went for it.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20# Some old piece of rag
0:22:21 > 0:22:24# That's all faded and blue
0:22:24 > 0:22:28# Like some old piece of rag
0:22:28 > 0:22:30# That's all I am to you... #
0:22:32 > 0:22:36Mike Jeffery, and his choice of creative accounting in London,
0:22:36 > 0:22:42they formed a publishing deal to be administered out of the Bahamas,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44where the money couldn't be touched.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48The story was, they would set up this Bahamian bank account,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50we'll call it Yameta.
0:22:50 > 0:22:56"And when the touring's over, you can go make your movie, Eric,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00"because you'll have, like, 1 million to fling around.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03"At least. You know, the money's pouring in."
0:23:03 > 0:23:05So I went along with that.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08I always wanted to make a film.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10# And I know you want to destroy
0:23:10 > 0:23:12# And that's all I am to you... #
0:23:12 > 0:23:14And then I met this lawyer, who said to me...
0:23:16 > 0:23:18"What about the money from The Animals?
0:23:18 > 0:23:21"The Rising Sun?"
0:23:21 > 0:23:23He said, "It's about 4 million."
0:23:25 > 0:23:28"Well, it's in the bank account in the Bahamas.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30"That's what I was told."
0:23:30 > 0:23:33So I went down there and the bank...
0:23:34 > 0:23:37..wasn't there. It had disappeared.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39It was no longer a building.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Or it never HAD been a building.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45# Oh, Mother, tell your children... #
0:23:45 > 0:23:48I certainly found my head spinning.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52# Not to do what I have done... #
0:23:52 > 0:23:57It led me to deep depression.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00# Spend your lives in sin and misery
0:24:00 > 0:24:04# In the House of the Rising Sun. #
0:24:04 > 0:24:05I'm alive.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09I'm alive. I walk into people's offices
0:24:09 > 0:24:11that I haven't seen for years
0:24:11 > 0:24:15and they go, "Man, you're still alive?!"
0:24:17 > 0:24:18Yes.
0:24:18 > 0:24:19I'm still alive.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30By the end of the '60s...
0:24:30 > 0:24:33- ARCHIVE:- 'In Elysian Park, Los Angeles,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37'these are the hippies who've opted out of American society
0:24:37 > 0:24:39'and have chosen to live by their own rules...'
0:24:42 > 0:24:45..the music business changed.
0:24:45 > 0:24:46I was hanging out with Hendrix.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50It was not about the money, it was about creation.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52People in the '60s,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55the hippy flower child consciousness or just wanting to just...
0:24:57 > 0:24:59..groove, right?
0:24:59 > 0:25:00The music belonged to everyone.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02A lot of people felt that way.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08I saw every band I loved at love-ins.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10They played for free.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14They would just, you know, dance and groove.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17# Well, I stand up next to a mountain
0:25:17 > 0:25:20# And I chop it down with the edge of my hand... #
0:25:20 > 0:25:22But soon a certain breed of operator
0:25:22 > 0:25:24moved in to make money on the hippy culture.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31And a tug-of-war started between bands and promoters
0:25:31 > 0:25:34who liked to keep musicians in their place.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40Out of the ticket price, they would deduct overheads like venue hire,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43security, equipment, and the rest was split,
0:25:43 > 0:25:48up to 65-35 between artist and promoter.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53But promoters were renowned for inventing overheads
0:25:53 > 0:25:56and finding other ways of increasing their profits.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00One man confronted these promoters head-on,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and changed the world of live performance forever...
0:26:04 > 0:26:07..the enormous Peter Grant.
0:26:09 > 0:26:10I went to his house once.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15"Let's go out onto the balcony and we'll get a machine gun
0:26:15 > 0:26:16"and shoot bottles in the moat."
0:26:20 > 0:26:22HE IMITATES MACHINE GUN
0:26:22 > 0:26:23Yeah, that was great.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24He was rock and roll.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27- ARCHIVE:- 'What does Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant do
0:26:27 > 0:26:29'when he finds bootleg recordings of HIS group?'
0:26:29 > 0:26:32I personally go and confiscate the records.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35- And how do you do that?- I just walk in and take them.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Do some of the groups employ heavies, to er...?
0:26:38 > 0:26:42They're not going to get anybody heavier than me, are they?
0:26:45 > 0:26:48A lot of times the bands or the singers, you know, pop singers,
0:26:48 > 0:26:49they'd never even see their managers.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51We travelled with them.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53He was with them all the time.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Very few managers did that.
0:26:55 > 0:26:56Peter Grant was out for his band.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Don't fucking talk to me. It's my bloody act.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01He just had a way of dealing with people.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05- HE IMITATES HIM:- "He'd speak, you know, a little bit like this, see.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08"And YOU...had better do what I'm telling you."
0:27:13 > 0:27:14I'm sure that a lot of people watching this
0:27:14 > 0:27:16have seen the Led Zeppelin film...
0:27:16 > 0:27:19It doesn't matter, so long as there's an extra nickel
0:27:19 > 0:27:22to be drained, by exploiting Led Zeppelin, it's great.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25Promoters were always his pet hate.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27That happened more or less every day.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32You rented it. You rented it and you control it.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35It isn't selling fucking pirate posters.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38# Ah...
0:27:39 > 0:27:41# We come from the land of the ice and snow
0:27:41 > 0:27:44# From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
0:27:44 > 0:27:47# How soft your fields so green... #
0:27:47 > 0:27:50I recall one incident in Chicago.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52We were doing a club.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55And I think the ticket price was 7.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58And a roadie had spotted the promoter
0:27:58 > 0:28:01outside one of the side doors
0:28:01 > 0:28:04letting kids in, and just taking the money.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Peter Grant got in the back of the queue.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09He didn't notice it was Peter Grant in the queue
0:28:09 > 0:28:11until he saw these Zuni Indian rings
0:28:11 > 0:28:13that he used to have on his fingers.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15And I'll never forget, Peter said,
0:28:15 > 0:28:17"I'll have that, thank you very much,"
0:28:17 > 0:28:20and snatched the bag off the guy's hand,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23but he was there defending his artists.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27# To find a queen without a king.
0:28:27 > 0:28:33# They say she plays guitar and cries and sings...#
0:28:34 > 0:28:37Good evening. It really was the biggest crowd
0:28:37 > 0:28:39ever assembled for a single performance
0:28:39 > 0:28:43in one place in the entire history of the world.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46The name of the group, Led Zeppelin.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48Audiences grew so massively.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50I mean, back then, even playing an arena was remarkable.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54I think Peter Grant was one of the first people
0:28:54 > 0:28:56to realise that the artist had a lot more power
0:28:56 > 0:28:58than had previously been recognised.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00You didn't have to do what promoters said.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02You didn't have to give them 50%.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04You could say, "No, we don't need you.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06"We'll give you a lot less and get away with it."
0:29:06 > 0:29:07And he did.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12So they said, "OK, you can give us 90% of the net income."
0:29:12 > 0:29:16Astonished a lot of people, but that was their deal.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19If you wanted to book Led Zeppelin, that's what you had to pay.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22And eventually, that became the model.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29Zeppelin's '73 tour of America was the first to go stadium scale.
0:29:29 > 0:29:34It grossed 4 million, 22 million in today's money.
0:29:34 > 0:29:40# Been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true... #
0:29:40 > 0:29:44But you can bet they fought for every penny
0:29:44 > 0:29:48and Grant questioned every dodgy scam.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Cos seven years later, me and Ozzy
0:29:51 > 0:29:54were still dealing with the same people.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57It was Ozzy's solo tour of America.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03And the first six weeks sold out the first day they all went on sale.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10As Ozzy would go on stage, I would then go and sit with the promoter
0:30:10 > 0:30:14at the box office and do the accounts for that show.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18And I'm handed six weeks of advertising bills.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20We sold out the first day,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23so you wouldn't have taken six weeks of advertising.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26These bills aren't mine.
0:30:26 > 0:30:31# I know that things are going wrong for me... #
0:30:32 > 0:30:35In those days, everything was cash.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38So he's holding 50,000 back from us,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41charging us for this advertising that he never took.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43He wasn't going to give me a break.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48He gets up to leave,
0:30:48 > 0:30:52and I get up and then I kick him in the crotch.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57And then I grabbed hold of his ear.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59He didn't have hair, so I couldn't pull his hair,
0:30:59 > 0:31:01so I grabbed hold of his ear,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04and I kept kicking him in the crotch,
0:31:04 > 0:31:06and he couldn't believe what I was doing.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09You like going crazy, huh?
0:31:09 > 0:31:14But I was so infuriated at the way he was treating me,
0:31:14 > 0:31:19like I was some idiot and I didn't know that I was being fucked.
0:31:19 > 0:31:20It's like, "Are you stupid?!"
0:31:28 > 0:31:33By the late '70s, the industry was making BIG money out of rock.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37Record labels gave large advance payments
0:31:37 > 0:31:40to rock bands in record deals,
0:31:40 > 0:31:42although in tug-of-war tradition,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45they'd take it all back out of the band's royalties.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49There was an established order.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52Until...
0:31:52 > 0:31:55- Complacent and apathetic old- BLEEP.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01And many labels refused to invest in the style of music
0:32:01 > 0:32:04openly hostile to the industry.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06What about bands like Rod Stewart?
0:32:06 > 0:32:08- He's an old- BLEEP.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11So punk came up with its own version of a record deal...
0:32:16 > 0:32:18..starting with the Buzzcocks
0:32:18 > 0:32:21borrowing money from friends and family
0:32:21 > 0:32:26to press their first single, and selling it straight to record shops.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28Of course, making your own records was very successful,
0:32:28 > 0:32:30because apart from the pressing costs,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33you wrote the records, so you didn't have to pay
0:32:33 > 0:32:35any publishing royalties, apart from to yourself.
0:32:35 > 0:32:36You got all the money.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43I think it sold 17,000 copies, in the end, over six months.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47It never got in the charts, but the impact it made was huge.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49It inspired so many other acts to do the same.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57OK, we are at Sunset Strip,
0:32:57 > 0:33:02and we are at the part of the Strip that is legendary for rock music.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07Down here, we have the Rainbow Bar and Grill, the Roxy,
0:33:07 > 0:33:10and right behind me here, we have the Whisky.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14So many legendary bands, especially from England, played here,
0:33:14 > 0:33:19and I've seen everybody from Zeppelin to Deep Purple,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Black Sabbath's first gig in LA.
0:33:22 > 0:33:28And in March '79, a new wave band made their debut at the Whisky,
0:33:28 > 0:33:32a trio who had a very different attitude to deals
0:33:32 > 0:33:33and how to make it.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Going back to the days of The Police,
0:33:37 > 0:33:39there was really not a lot of activity
0:33:39 > 0:33:41from the major record companies to sign
0:33:41 > 0:33:43what they called punk bands at the time.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48I had nothing I could sell the group on.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51I couldn't show they were selling out concerts.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Anything really that would be positive for a record company
0:33:53 > 0:33:56that would substantiate a large advance.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02So, I said to my brother, "Let's record an album,"
0:34:02 > 0:34:05so he immediately called Sting and says, "Good news,
0:34:05 > 0:34:06"we're going to record an album."
0:34:06 > 0:34:10And I, as it happened, found a studio run by a doctor.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13There was a good doctor, out there in Surrey somewhere,
0:34:13 > 0:34:17who just got an idea that he wanted to be, to record music.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20And he had an ongoing practice as a doctor
0:34:20 > 0:34:22and he was kind of doing this as a hobby.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24And he had made a deal that would mean...
0:34:24 > 0:34:27He said, "Look, for £1,000 I'll record
0:34:27 > 0:34:29"whatever you bring me for a month."
0:34:29 > 0:34:31After one month, I went into the studio, listened to it,
0:34:31 > 0:34:32I wasn't that impressed.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38You know, we played him all the stuff that we thought he'd like.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41The stuff that goes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
0:34:41 > 0:34:42I said, "OK, guys, I mean...
0:34:44 > 0:34:46"It's OK, but what else have you got?"
0:34:46 > 0:34:49The engineer said, "Well, there is this one other song."
0:34:49 > 0:34:51And the group said "No, no, no, don't play him that, he'll hate it.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53"It's a ballad, you're going to hate it."
0:34:53 > 0:34:54It was low tempo.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57We were supposed to be an up-tempo, aggressive,
0:34:57 > 0:34:58angry band and here was this kind of...
0:34:59 > 0:35:03- ..sad song.- Finally the engineer just stuck the song on.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08It was Roxanne. And I'm hearing this song and I'm thinking...
0:35:08 > 0:35:10"Man, that's a game changer."
0:35:10 > 0:35:12And I looked at the group and I said, "You guys have done a classic,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15"it's a game changer." They all looked at me, like, shocked.
0:35:15 > 0:35:16"What?! You like that?!"
0:35:16 > 0:35:19I said, I said, "That's going to change everything.
0:35:19 > 0:35:20"That's bigger than me."
0:35:20 > 0:35:23And that prompted me to go into EMI Records the next day.
0:35:23 > 0:35:29# Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light... #
0:35:30 > 0:35:33So I basically made an offer that they couldn't refuse...
0:35:33 > 0:35:36# You don't have to sell your body to the night... #
0:35:36 > 0:35:40..which was "I'm going to give the band to you for free."
0:35:40 > 0:35:41No risk.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45But I want your highest royalty.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48# Walk the streets for money
0:35:48 > 0:35:52# You don't care if it's wrong or if it's right
0:35:52 > 0:35:54# Roxanne... #
0:35:54 > 0:35:57It wasn't like, "Give us money and we will record an album
0:35:57 > 0:35:58"and buy a house."
0:35:58 > 0:35:59It was just, "Give us...
0:35:59 > 0:36:01"We already got the album.
0:36:01 > 0:36:02"Just give us royalties."
0:36:04 > 0:36:06And we asked less from them,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10and we also demanded that they take less from us.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15So from a record company standpoint, this was, well,
0:36:15 > 0:36:16"What have we got to lose?"
0:36:16 > 0:36:1918% was considered high.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23"If they don't sell, I don't have to pay a high royalty, anyway.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25"How bad could that be?"
0:36:25 > 0:36:28So the deal was an easy yes.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33So we get back to England and we had a tour,
0:36:33 > 0:36:37but supporting Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias
0:36:37 > 0:36:39who were like a comedy group of the day.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45First night of the tour, the manager is telling our manager,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48"Oh, we should have charged you money to be on this tour.
0:36:48 > 0:36:49"The whole tour is sold-out.
0:36:49 > 0:36:50"Best tour we've ever had.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53"You know, we should charge you money to be on this."
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Well, it was soon revealed who sold that tour out.
0:36:56 > 0:36:57We get on stage and...
0:36:58 > 0:37:02- CHEERING - It's time...FOR THE POLICE.
0:37:02 > 0:37:03# So lonely
0:37:03 > 0:37:05# So lonely
0:37:05 > 0:37:07# So lonely... #
0:37:07 > 0:37:09You know, teeny bop. We started out as a boy band.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16Take a look at Sting at age 24...
0:37:16 > 0:37:18Kidding me? How could that fail?
0:37:22 > 0:37:27The Police got an 18% slice of that record deal.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30And after their first album sold millions,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33they got bigger slices of the next albums,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36as they re-negotiated the deal.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39And on their publishing,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42they did a deal where, after seven years,
0:37:42 > 0:37:43it all reverted to them.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48They, unlike The Beatles, would own their own publishing.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53And on the road,
0:37:53 > 0:37:55the Police offered another example
0:37:55 > 0:37:58of how bands could stake their financial independence
0:37:58 > 0:38:00from labels and publishers.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03One of the best deals in pop is the merchandise.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08The T-shirt is the best product in show business.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Way better than the record.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11Records are complicated.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13You've got to record them, to figure out the publishing.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15You've got lawyers. You've got deals.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18You've got a huge corporation that has to market for you.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22T-shirts, if it costs you ten bucks, you get nine out of it.
0:38:22 > 0:38:23It's all money.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25You know, when you play a show that's nice money, too,
0:38:25 > 0:38:27but you've got to have a crew, have a tour,
0:38:27 > 0:38:29you've got an agent. You know, money going everywhere.
0:38:29 > 0:38:34But that T-shirt, you sell T-shirts and it's just all cash money.
0:38:34 > 0:38:35We were playing these stadiums.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39The merch guys are in these one-piece suits with no pockets.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Cos people are throwing cash at them,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44and they're throwing T-shirts - "Here's 10,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47"there's a T-shirt, here's 20 bucks, there's two shirts..."
0:38:47 > 0:38:48And it was just like...
0:38:48 > 0:38:50And the money's all going into these trash bins.
0:38:50 > 0:38:56And so when we'd leave the show, the trash bins all...
0:38:56 > 0:38:59You know, they'd tie up the thing and throw them on the plane.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01And so as we fly out,
0:39:01 > 0:39:03we're there, and we empty the bags of cash
0:39:03 > 0:39:07and it was like Ebenezer Scrooge's money, you know,
0:39:07 > 0:39:11it's a green hail and it's just like we're throwing the money around,
0:39:11 > 0:39:13and I've got this on film.
0:39:13 > 0:39:14It's snowing money.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27We're at the merchandising booth,
0:39:27 > 0:39:32and we are at one of the last shows of Black Sabbath at the NEC.
0:39:34 > 0:39:39Merchandising today is so important to every touring band.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43And it's amazing how it has evolved over the years.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50The Beatles were one of the first
0:39:50 > 0:39:53to have a whole range of merchandise,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56although their manufacturers took most of the profit.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01And nowadays, everyone wants a cut of the merchandise.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08One thing is, that when you sell merchandise,
0:40:08 > 0:40:10especially a venue like this,
0:40:10 > 0:40:14the price is higher than what you would buy in a store
0:40:14 > 0:40:20because the venue will charge you anything from 35% commission
0:40:20 > 0:40:22for everything you sell.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26And that's why they're overpriced, but at the same time too,
0:40:26 > 0:40:31the fan wants to get a memento from that gig, that night.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33You will remember where you were,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36what was going on when you bought that shirt.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40The best marketing you can ever have for any artist
0:40:40 > 0:40:42is for people walking around the world,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45wearing your shirt with your name on it.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47There's nothing like it.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54Speaking of advertising,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57for decades, big brands approached songwriters
0:40:57 > 0:41:01with big-money deals to use their music in ads.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03With limited success.
0:41:03 > 0:41:08# Ooh, I bet you're wondering how I knew... #
0:41:08 > 0:41:10The reality of the music business had been,
0:41:10 > 0:41:15it was sort of a standard rule that you don't sell out to the man,
0:41:15 > 0:41:16basically, the big corporations.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18# ..The two of us guys
0:41:18 > 0:41:20# You know I love you more... #
0:41:20 > 0:41:22You saw companies like Levi's would do commercials
0:41:22 > 0:41:25but they were always old, known songs.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29You never saw a new song being used in a commercial.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31And you never saw a credible act
0:41:31 > 0:41:35allowing its music to be used in a commercial sense,
0:41:35 > 0:41:38because people would say, "Oh, you're selling out."
0:41:38 > 0:41:43We were precious about ourselves and the way we saw ourselves as artists.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47And I do remember distinctly that my buddy Stingo
0:41:47 > 0:41:49was offered a lot of money
0:41:49 > 0:41:52from a deodorant company for Don't Stand So Close To Me,
0:41:52 > 0:41:54as you can imagine.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57The synergy there... He said "No."
0:42:00 > 0:42:02But by the late '80s,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05with artists starting to own their own songs,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07some took the money...
0:42:07 > 0:42:09Go ahead.
0:42:09 > 0:42:10Make a wish.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14..as in Madonna's 5-million deal to license
0:42:14 > 0:42:16Like A Prayer for Pepsi.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18# When you call my name
0:42:18 > 0:42:20# It's like a little prayer... #
0:42:20 > 0:42:22But most artists still thought twice.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27On the classic case, Blue Monday, New Order.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31Bernard Sumner had a banner put up in front of him in the studio
0:42:31 > 0:42:33that said "200,000."
0:42:33 > 0:42:36And he had to look at it, to make him sing
0:42:36 > 0:42:38the different line that was the tweak of Blue Monday.
0:42:38 > 0:42:43- MELODY OF BLUE MONDAY:- # When you're drinking in the sunshine
0:42:43 > 0:42:45# Sunkist is the one... #
0:42:47 > 0:42:53But there was one person who would take music licensing to a new place.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57And he came from the most unlikely corner of the music scene.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05When I was working on the album Play, to all extents and purposes
0:43:05 > 0:43:08my career had kind of come to an end.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11By the end of the '90s, I had sort of become a has-been.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13I thought maybe I would release it,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16it would disappear into obscurity,
0:43:16 > 0:43:20and I would go back to school and get my doctorate in philosophy,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22and go teach community college.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26# Oh Lordy, trouble so hard... #
0:43:26 > 0:43:28I had made the record in my bedroom,
0:43:28 > 0:43:30with a few thousand dollars' worth of equipment.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32And it featured vocals
0:43:32 > 0:43:35from long dead African-American singers.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39# ..Don't nobody know my troubles but God... #
0:43:39 > 0:43:41So it was not a recipe for success.
0:43:41 > 0:43:42Especially...
0:43:42 > 0:43:46It was the late '90s when Limp Bizkit and Britney
0:43:46 > 0:43:50and Backstreet Boys were kings and queens.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53When Play was released, no-one cared.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56I wasn't even getting bad reviews, I was getting no reviews.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03The breakthrough was when Danny Boyle
0:44:03 > 0:44:06licensed the song Porcelain for The Beach...
0:44:06 > 0:44:09You hear that? You hear that?
0:44:09 > 0:44:11That was when it felt like the record
0:44:11 > 0:44:14went from being an obscure failure...
0:44:15 > 0:44:17..to a less obscure failure.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24Like, all of a sudden it was being included
0:44:24 > 0:44:27in all these end of year journalist compilations,
0:44:27 > 0:44:30like Best Of '99, and suddenly,
0:44:30 > 0:44:32it just reached a broader audience.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40Through licensing, Play became successful.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44It was this leapfrogging thing where it would get licensed...
0:44:44 > 0:44:46# You'd better leave that woman alone... #
0:44:48 > 0:44:51..which would help it to reach a bigger audience...
0:44:51 > 0:44:54'It's the place where chocolate comes from.'
0:44:54 > 0:44:56..which would then enable it to get licensed...
0:44:59 > 0:45:02..which enabled it to reach a bigger audience...
0:45:02 > 0:45:05'Lease a new Pathfinder SE for just 369 a month.'
0:45:05 > 0:45:07And then into 2000,
0:45:07 > 0:45:10it suddenly became a number one record around the world,
0:45:10 > 0:45:12ten months after it had been released.
0:45:14 > 0:45:20I became the poster-child whipping-boy for licensing.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24I mean, I remember when I released the follow-up album to Play,
0:45:24 > 0:45:26which was called 18, the NME,
0:45:26 > 0:45:28which has never really been very fond of me,
0:45:28 > 0:45:30didn't review the record,
0:45:30 > 0:45:34they just wrote an article about how terrible I was for licensing music.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38And then it became this almost, like,
0:45:38 > 0:45:40exorcism of, like, comrade Trotsky,
0:45:40 > 0:45:41like erasing me from things.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44It got to the point where I was headlining Glastonbury...
0:45:46 > 0:45:49..and NME didn't mention that I was playing.
0:45:49 > 0:45:54It even had an article, Bald Performers At Glastonbury,
0:45:54 > 0:45:57and I wasn't listed, and I was the headliner on the main stage.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59Because they hated me that much.
0:46:02 > 0:46:03Go!
0:46:03 > 0:46:05It's 2017 now.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07To put it in this context,
0:46:07 > 0:46:11when every musician is bending over backwards to license their music,
0:46:11 > 0:46:15I just had the misfortune of doing it very visibly
0:46:15 > 0:46:18and sort of at the beginning.
0:46:18 > 0:46:23Moby was the first to license all the tracks on one album for ads
0:46:23 > 0:46:28or film, over the years, making an estimated 10 million from licensing.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37And Moby's success came in a decade
0:46:37 > 0:46:40that saw music sales hit an all-time high.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42Thank you, thank you, thank you.
0:46:42 > 0:46:43Have a wonderful night!
0:46:43 > 0:46:45Good night!
0:46:45 > 0:46:50But of course, artists weren't the ones making the really big money.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54The '90s was a boom time for the business,
0:46:54 > 0:46:59and a lot of it was about the rise of this '80s invention,
0:46:59 > 0:47:01which meant you had to buy your favourite albums
0:47:01 > 0:47:04all over again.
0:47:04 > 0:47:05Ka-ching!
0:47:06 > 0:47:09This new long-playing record - all the same songs,
0:47:09 > 0:47:11but a fraction of the size.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13- JOHN CLEESE:- 'Take the new Compact Disc.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15'One hour of Mozart out of a beer mat.'
0:47:16 > 0:47:18Here was an opportunity for record companies
0:47:18 > 0:47:22to actually put the price point wherever they felt like it.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24- ARCHIVE:- 'It's dust-proof, scratch-proof,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27'digitally recorded, read by a laser...'
0:47:27 > 0:47:30I think, at that point, the vinyl album was £7.95.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34But the CD, record companies had started to peg it at around £15,
0:47:34 > 0:47:37on the basis of this being new, shiny technology.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39It is really durable.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42I'm now going to make a digital jam sandwich.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Who wants to have the first bite?
0:47:44 > 0:47:46- You?- Me!- Go on...
0:47:46 > 0:47:47I'm a historian,
0:47:47 > 0:47:49and I go around interviewing people in the music business,
0:47:49 > 0:47:53and I was talking to a senior lawyer from EMI a couple of years ago,
0:47:53 > 0:47:55now retired, who volunteered to me,
0:47:55 > 0:47:58because I wasn't even asking the question,
0:47:58 > 0:48:01that record companies absolutely fleeced the public.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04They were just lining the pockets of record companies.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07There was money like you wouldn't believe.
0:48:09 > 0:48:14The way record executives lived, the amounts of money they were earning,
0:48:14 > 0:48:18the yearly bonuses they were all on, their expense accounts,
0:48:18 > 0:48:22their chauffeurs, the way they travelled, private planes,
0:48:22 > 0:48:25it was a whole different world then,
0:48:25 > 0:48:28and they would all go bidding for a band.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30They'd outbid each other just to see
0:48:30 > 0:48:32who could come up with the most money.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35In those days it was like, "Who's got the biggest dick?"
0:48:35 > 0:48:37And they didn't care whether the artist sold or not,
0:48:37 > 0:48:41it was like, "Well, we beat you." It was personal.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43# What's the frequency, Kenneth?
0:48:43 > 0:48:46# Is your Benzedrine, uh-huh... #
0:48:46 > 0:48:51The '90s saw record companies advance, not tens of thousands,
0:48:51 > 0:48:54but millions to sign big acts.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57Like financial institutions,
0:48:57 > 0:49:01labels were trying to increase the value of their brand,
0:49:01 > 0:49:04even if they were paying more than ever before.
0:49:06 > 0:49:07When a band became successful,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10it was a safer bet to buy a known commodity,
0:49:10 > 0:49:11and pay through the nose for it,
0:49:11 > 0:49:14than it was an unknown commodity,
0:49:14 > 0:49:16because let's not forget that on a good day,
0:49:16 > 0:49:19nine out of ten signings were complete failures,
0:49:19 > 0:49:21and the record company lost all the money.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24# I never understood the frequency... #
0:49:24 > 0:49:28So when you had an act like REM, what a bonanza.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30I can buy this act, I pay the money,
0:49:30 > 0:49:33I can almost bank what's going to happen.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36It's a much safer risk than signing Joe Blow
0:49:36 > 0:49:38who nobody's ever heard of,
0:49:38 > 0:49:40and who has a 90% chance of failure.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44But at the end of the decade,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47something happened that record companies didn't see coming.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51CD sales were already falling.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54It's all because of internet technology called MP3.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58They were getting hit with piracy, and so they were worried.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00Suddenly they realised all that money
0:50:00 > 0:50:04that they invested was going to make artists money
0:50:04 > 0:50:06in other areas, and they weren't sharing it.
0:50:07 > 0:50:08And sales fell.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10In the old tug-of-war,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13record companies started to look at other ways
0:50:13 > 0:50:15of making money out of artists,
0:50:15 > 0:50:19and floated the concept of the 360 deal,
0:50:19 > 0:50:24where labels would take a share of other areas of artist's income.
0:50:24 > 0:50:25You know what a 360 deal is?
0:50:25 > 0:50:30We get a percentage of 360 degrees of what you do.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33So there's only 360 degrees, so we get a percentage of everything.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35So, if I go on the road,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38the record label who actually put my record out,
0:50:38 > 0:50:39that helped me get on the road,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42is now collecting a percentage of my tour royalties.
0:50:42 > 0:50:43That never happened in the past.
0:50:43 > 0:50:48Typically, a record company will expect anything
0:50:48 > 0:50:51from 25% of live revenue,
0:50:51 > 0:50:52for instance, for merchandise.
0:50:53 > 0:50:59Robbie Williams' 2002 deal looked very generous on the label's part.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04What I remember is him walking outside the office here
0:51:04 > 0:51:07and saying something like, "I'm rich beyond my wildest dreams".
0:51:07 > 0:51:11I'm rich, beyond my wildest dreams!
0:51:11 > 0:51:15The deal was reportedly worth 80 million, I think, wasn't it?
0:51:15 > 0:51:16I think that was...
0:51:16 > 0:51:19Somebody fed that out, I've no idea who.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22But EMI's 80 million was offset by them
0:51:22 > 0:51:25getting a share of the live income
0:51:25 > 0:51:27of an artist who was THIS big.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33And, of course, Robbie Williams held the record
0:51:33 > 0:51:36for selling more tickets in a week than anyone.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40I think it was 1.6 million tickets in a week,
0:51:40 > 0:51:42which was pretty stunning.
0:51:43 > 0:51:44# Hell is gone and heaven's here
0:51:44 > 0:51:47# There's nothing left for you to fear
0:51:47 > 0:51:48# Shake your ass, come over here
0:51:48 > 0:51:50# Now scream... #
0:51:52 > 0:51:57The industry has not become more favourable for the artist.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05They developed just another form of ownership.
0:52:05 > 0:52:09And ownership is what the record industry was built on
0:52:09 > 0:52:11back from the '50s on.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14Not much has changed, in other words.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19'You don't have zero problems, big fella.'
0:52:19 > 0:52:23These days, there is a new breed of young musician
0:52:23 > 0:52:27who is beginning to think, "Do I need a deal at all?
0:52:27 > 0:52:30"Do I need all that hassle and heartbreak?
0:52:30 > 0:52:31"I can do this on my own."
0:52:33 > 0:52:36# If one more label try to stop me
0:52:36 > 0:52:40# It's gon' be some dreadhead niggas in ya lobby, huh huh
0:52:40 > 0:52:44# You don't want no problem, want no problem with me, bih...! #
0:52:44 > 0:52:47Chance the Rapper won multiple Grammys this year,
0:52:47 > 0:52:51and yet he has no deal.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54And he isn't the only rapper doing it.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57Rap is pointing the way forward,
0:52:57 > 0:53:01and maybe that is to do with where rap has come from.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11I've seen a lot of stories about a lot of artists over the years,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14and it's like, we're not the first to get took.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16# Straight Outta Compton
0:53:16 > 0:53:18# It's a crazy brother named Ice Cube
0:53:18 > 0:53:20# From the stupid dope gang with an attitude... #
0:53:20 > 0:53:24Straight Outta Compton debuted Billboard pop chart,
0:53:24 > 0:53:26so this is not a rap chart.
0:53:26 > 0:53:31It was the biggest thing of all time, and we all knew it.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34All my friends sold a million records.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38Can you say all your friends sold a million anything?
0:53:40 > 0:53:43'Yo, man, that's a lot of brothers out there flaking and perpetrating
0:53:43 > 0:53:45'but scared to kick reality.'
0:53:45 > 0:53:47In '87...
0:53:47 > 0:53:48'Oh, yeah, right about now...'
0:53:50 > 0:53:55..NWA were just a collection of South Central neighbourhood rappers.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58Right before I joined a group, I didn't have a job.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00You know, I was 17,
0:54:00 > 0:54:05contemplating going into the army at the beginner stages,
0:54:05 > 0:54:07trying to make it. I was like the best.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11At that time, we didn't know we were going to blow up.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14We just had dreams to blow up.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17# I'm expressing with my full capabilities
0:54:17 > 0:54:19# And now I'm living in correctional facilities
0:54:19 > 0:54:22# Cos some don't agree with how I do this
0:54:22 > 0:54:25# I get straight, meditate like a Buddhist... #
0:54:25 > 0:54:29Their potential was spotted by veteran rock manager Jerry Heller.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32Jerry engineered their success
0:54:32 > 0:54:35by introducing them to a national distributor,
0:54:35 > 0:54:39as portrayed in the 2015 film...
0:54:39 > 0:54:44Ryan runs Priority Records and he wants to sign you.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47What do you say, fellas? Do you want to go and make a record?
0:54:49 > 0:54:50- ALL:- Yeah!
0:54:52 > 0:54:56But the group's everyday dealings were still with Ruthless Records,
0:54:56 > 0:54:58part-owned by Jerry.
0:54:58 > 0:54:59There was Priority,
0:54:59 > 0:55:03which was the parent company and then there was Ruthless,
0:55:03 > 0:55:06which was the subsidiary, but where the artists were.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09So they had a distribution deal with Priority.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11So the big cheque comes to Priority, cheque goes to...
0:55:13 > 0:55:16..Ruthless, cheque goes to everybody else, right?
0:55:16 > 0:55:18So, when it got to Ruthless is when it got murky.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22You understand what I mean?
0:55:24 > 0:55:28Once we started making the music and the music started selling,
0:55:28 > 0:55:30that's when we started thinking about
0:55:30 > 0:55:32the business aspects of everything.
0:55:32 > 0:55:33# All the ladies
0:55:33 > 0:55:36- # All the ladies - If you're good to go
0:55:36 > 0:55:37# Come on, say, ow... #
0:55:39 > 0:55:42And we were selling out arenas at that time.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44We hadn't seen any money.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48Maybe like a couple of Gs here, a couple of Gs there.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51You know, you can't do nothing with that.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53# The rules no longer apply... #
0:55:53 > 0:55:57The fact that, not only did Jerry Heller manage the group,
0:55:57 > 0:56:00his relative was leasing him the cars,
0:56:00 > 0:56:02his other relative was leasing him the house,
0:56:02 > 0:56:04it was a whole lot of Hellers.
0:56:04 > 0:56:09At one time, I tried to hire, like, my own lawyers, my own accountants.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12You know, Jerry found out.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16Next thing I know, he'd taken them out to dinner, and all that,
0:56:16 > 0:56:19trying to get them in his pocket, and I was like, "Man, that sucks."
0:56:19 > 0:56:21It was just all messed up over there.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27And as a group who wrote their own material,
0:56:27 > 0:56:29and for other artists on Ruthless,
0:56:29 > 0:56:33there was the question of their publishing.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36Straight Outta Compton, we don't own any publishing, nobody in the group,
0:56:36 > 0:56:38so we see no publishing from that.
0:56:40 > 0:56:41Somebody is seeing it, just not us.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45You want to rub it in on me?
0:56:46 > 0:56:50The chaos of NWA's deals split the group.
0:56:51 > 0:56:52SHOTGUN FIRES
0:56:52 > 0:56:54But away from Jerry...
0:56:56 > 0:57:02..Ice Cube became a rap superstar and A-List actor.
0:57:02 > 0:57:07And Dre changed the face of America, producing Snoop and Eminem.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10# Excuse me, my name is... #
0:57:10 > 0:57:13And made hundreds of millions from Beats Electronic.
0:57:17 > 0:57:23Dre set an alpha example of business-minded independence.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25# I baited my whip in the vid like a prick
0:57:25 > 0:57:27# Now I'm carless Cold, cold
0:57:27 > 0:57:28# Now it's a Uber ting
0:57:28 > 0:57:30# I've still got this regardless Cold... #
0:57:30 > 0:57:32Nowadays, in a tech-minded world,
0:57:32 > 0:57:36urban has multiple cases, from Chance...
0:57:37 > 0:57:39..to Skepta,
0:57:39 > 0:57:43to Stormzy, of artists rebelling against traditional deals.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50Starting with the record deal.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53The advice I would give somebody getting a deal today...
0:57:53 > 0:57:55Just don't sign a record deal.
0:57:55 > 0:57:56Say no.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59You don't need to have a record deal.
0:57:59 > 0:58:01Labels are in a slight panic.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05For a long time, they had a monopoly on presenting music to the public,
0:58:05 > 0:58:07and that's no longer the case.
0:58:07 > 0:58:11There's only two things that matter in our industry.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13It's the artist and the fan.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15You can promote yourself.
0:58:15 > 0:58:17All these different social media sites.
0:58:17 > 0:58:18You could record something today,
0:58:18 > 0:58:21put it on the same day and start selling it.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24You know, back then, you had to wait to have them pressed,
0:58:24 > 0:58:27they had to be shipped. It's a totally different game today.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30This is a completely different ball game.
0:58:32 > 0:58:35This new approach is all about ownership.
0:58:35 > 0:58:38Think about where we've come from.
0:58:38 > 0:58:43Little Richard sold his birthright for half a cent a record,
0:58:43 > 0:58:47and now you can own your recordings and license them to a label
0:58:47 > 0:58:50for distribution, and own your publishing
0:58:50 > 0:58:52and get a publisher to collect
0:58:52 > 0:58:55royalties for a small cut.
0:58:55 > 0:58:57If Stormzy and Chance can do it,
0:58:57 > 0:59:01and make big money from live and merchandise,
0:59:01 > 0:59:03is this the future?
0:59:04 > 0:59:07Could this be the end of the war -
0:59:07 > 0:59:10the dawn of the new deal...
0:59:10 > 0:59:12or the no deal?
0:59:12 > 0:59:14Partnership, not ownership.