Unlocking the Truth sign a million dollar contract with Sony

Wow! I remember hearing about these guys last year.

http://www.mtv.com/news/1875370/unlocking-the-truth-interview/

There's actually an article somewhere online breaking down their actual deal. Them making that "million dollars" is contingent upon them selling minimum 250,000 copies of the debut, paying back the initial advance in recoup (which is something like $50,000 to make the album), and getting picked up for future albums...they were not just handed a million dollars. Sony owns those kids' (and their parents') souls.

Here's the breakdown:

The band is actually only getting a $60,000 upfront advance (implying of course, the label will recuperate that money off album sales). If the first album sells 250,000 copies, the band could get upwards of a $350,000 advance for their second album. Sony has comitted to two albums, with the option to eventually release six. Since all three musicians are minors, the contracts had to be filed in a Manhattan supreme court. The deal which could possibly net them $1.7 million, assuming these guys actually sell. That's the one point everybody seems to not be paying attention to. These guys have not been handed a golden ticket by any means. If anything, they're actually $60k in debt at the moment.

http://www.metalinjection.net/its-just-business/8th-grade-metal-band-signs-1-7-million-record-deal-with-sony-but-theyll-have-to-work-for-it

I really want to root for these kids, but they'll never sell 250,000 copies of their debut album. They'll get chewed up & spit out by this time next year.

Fat Freddy wrote:

I really want to root for these kids, but they'll never sell 250,000 copies of their debut album. They'll get chewed up & spit out by this time next year.

Then the parents will cry "foul" and trumpet the woes of the record industry....to which generations of musicians will say "Yeah, no shit."

 

Same thing only different.

I was wondering what the deal really meant. I had a feeling that the kids would be in the deep on this. I think they have potential, but they need a few more years to get better at their writing. Right now it seems like a novelty. They play a lot of songs without any lyrics or soloing, so it tends to get old quickly.

I've watched a few videos. They are ok, but they aren't great either. They sound like your typical kids garage band. I'm sure Sony will put producers and writers in their path to help them out.

Any talent they have, or don't, doesn't even mater. They are a gimmick, just like the little Japanese girls. It'll make Sony some money, but I doubt they'll move that many copies of their debut album.

EVERYONE has been sharing articles about these kids on Facebook. So annoying. First, like Shawn pointed out, they're actually not making any money at all; they're being given a recording contract. That money is to make a record, not for their bank accounts. And it's not even all guaranteed.

They won't sell the 250K, and if Sony doesn't just drop them on the spot, they'll "reinvent" them like we saw with Black Tide. They own those kids. And if the parents can make money off of them, rest assured those kids will be doing whatever "the money" wants them to do.

The worst part of all this is: they're not very good. Talented, sure, but they need more time. They need to be in the garage or basement jamming, refining, growing as musicians and songwriters. But like every video you see of a young person playing music, the denizens of the Internet go: "OMG! THEIRY'RE AMAZEBALLZ!!!!11!!" And Sony has swooped in looking for a quick payday.

Sadly, as it is far too often, these kids are great for kids, but not really great at all.

I have to agree with eyesore, they are not terrible but certainly not ready for prime time. In this day and age when even established bands have a hard time selling x number of copies and most stores carry little to no inventory of CD's, these guys are going to have a hard time selling any albums let alone the amount they would need to recoup expenses.

They're no Bad4Good, that's for sure.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

They're no Bad4Good, that's for sure.

...or Haunted by Heroes

Not a fan of all this gimmick kids band crap.....

Which is what it is crap..... being a talented musician is no guarantee for musical success.... Can I get a Amen....

Had the misgiving of sitting through a band like this a few years ago who somehow managed an opening slot for Saxon ..... I could spot the proud parents easily but half way through the second song while my friends were saying "How cool!!" .... I was thinking "Yawn".......

Because when I'm listening to an album I not watching a 14 year old play guitar I'm listening for a melody or hook written by the musician.....

All of the above mentioned $$$$ stuff has been more then explained (thank you....)

Surely this can't be the first time something like this has happened?

It's not. And don't call me Shirley.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

It's not. And don't call me Shirley.

And Leon's getting LAAARGER.

Ah - the big push ! Parent's all in a uproar - push - push ( Robert Plant with hands on hips)
The kid is an o.k on guitar - in a cute and interesting way - dirty type 2009 sound -
drummer and bass player are just average - I mean - what's the big deal ?
basically there's no maturity - at all - hope a rapper doesn't sing with them -
they will probbly sell a song to a violent video game - maybe even a action movie -
I can see a movie, car chase - explosions - good guy wins - sneers at dead enemy -
remember when bands didn't have youtube - ha ha -
I wouldn't spend 2 dollars on a cd by them - when Dokken's " Tooth and Nail " is 4 bucks !

I don't think that their ages makes a lot of difference Death Angel weren't much older when they started out and they did okay.

It is complete bull all of the $1 million dollars stuff though. I'll bet they don't make a bean.

Boris2008 wrote:

I don't think that their ages makes a lot of difference Death Angel weren't much older when they started out and they did okay.

Good point Boris.

Boris2008 wrote:

I don't think that their ages makes a lot of difference Death Angel weren't much older when they started out and they did okay.

It is complete bull all of the $1 million dollars stuff though. I'll bet they don't make a bean.

Death Angel had some live club experiences under their belt and weren't signed to a big label with a million dollar deal. Big difference.

As far as record sales, good luck. 250,000? In this day & age? The Black Keys last album managed to sell only 328,000 and they're popular, filling arenas. These kids don't stand a chance.

corplhicks wrote:

Surely this can't be the first time something like this has happened?

How'bout "Old Skull," the late 80s punk band made up of grade-school kids?



I always wondered what happened to these kids. Shoot, they're probably still young enough to mount a comeback

Fat Freddy wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Surely this can't be the first time something like this has happened?

How'bout "Old Skull," the late 80s punk band made up of grade-school kids?



I always wondered what happened to these kids. Shoot, they're probably still young enough to mount a comeback

That's the perfect soundtrack for an old geezer who hates kids haha. How horrible!

250,000 albums sold is a huge number in 2014, it's probably the equivalent of going triple platinum in 1991. Not going to happen.

Fat Freddy wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Surely this can't be the first time something like this has happened?

How'bout "Old Skull," the late 80s punk band made up of grade-school kids?



I always wondered what happened to these kids. Shoot, they're probably still young enough to mount a comeback

Two of them are dead.

From Wiki:

Adult life[edit]
J.P. Toulon moved to New York City where he began playing with Planned Collapse, a crust punk band based out of C-Squat, a squat located in the East Village of Manhattan. In early 2010, he served jail time in Madison, and later moved to a drug rehab facility where he had apparently managed to beat a drug addiction. J.P. Toulon died on November 13, 2010, his brother Jamie's birthday. He had been living in Minneapolis[1] with his son at the time of his death. While the cause of death has yet to be made public, Toulon had previously been hospitalized for pancreatitis several times in the months before his death. A memorial was held for Toulon at C-Squat on November 21.

Jamie Toulon went on to play guitar for the Milwaukee band Doomsday Cauldron. He later moved to New York City and played in a punk band named Apox, which released an album titled Prevalence in 1998. He was also an original member of Star f*cking Hipsters, a side project of Leftöver Crack member, Stza. Jamie later joined his brother in Planned Collapse until both brothers left the band. Clay Pigeon, a WFMU DJ who often records conversations with random NYC street people, included a fifteen-minute interview with Jamie on his August 26, 2010, broadcast. In the interview, Jamie revealed that he was living on the streets of New York City and was battling an ongoing drug addiction. Jamie committed suicide in Lynchburg, Virginia on June 10, 2011, seven months after the death of his brother.[2]

Jesse Collins-Davies, now known as DJ Jesse Collins, continues to perform as part of the drum and bass/jungle music scene of Madison.

Graham Lindsey began a solo career as an alternative country artist. He released his first album, Famous Anonymous Wilderness, in 2003. A second album, Hell Under The Skullbones, followed in 2006. 2008 saw the release of The Mine EP and his third full-length album, We Are All Alone In This Together. Four of Lindsey's songs were used in the direct-to-DVD film, Fairview St., released in 2009. Lindsey is also a backup musician for The Perreze Farm, a band formed by Lindsey's drummer, Joe Perreze. They released their debut EP, Songs For The Birds, on May 26, 2009.

Vern Toulon, producer and father to the Toulon brothers, went on to appear in the Madison-based documentary film Streets Without Cars before passing away on May 31, 2001, at the age of 46. Several reports indicate that he had resorted to panhandling in the years before his death. The boys' parents had divorced early in the band's career. Several years after the divorce, the boys' mother died in a train accident.