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Accounting Accountability: Should Record Labels Have a Fiduciary Duty to Report Accurate Royalties to Recording Artists?
by Corrina Cree Clover
For years, recording artists have questioned record label accounting practices. Many performers and musicians believe record companies use unfair accounting tricks to reduce their artist royalties, and, subsequently, their healthcare and pension benefits. The world’s five major music conglomerates say they pay artists accurate royalties, in accordance with their contracts, and based on standard industry accounting practices. Because current record industry accounting systems are so complex, improper royalty accounting has become part of the norm. Aside from the simple underpayment, such practices can put an artist in an unrecouped position for longer periods of time. They can also affect the leverage between artists and record companies and deprive or reduce the amount of healthcare and pension benefits owed to recording artists in their later years. This Comment explores current recording industry accounting standards, gives an overview of the auditing process for those artists who are contractually allowed to audit their record company, and examines the AFTRA Code and its relation to the royalty accounting process. This Comment also reviews current case law and the availability of remedies to the recording artist. Ultimately, the author concludes that a fiduciary duty should be imposed on record labels to report accurate royalties to their recording artists.
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Ron Barber Recounts:
Benefit for The Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding
The January 8th Tucson Shootings
The HealingBy Mariah Fleming
Images by R. A. Bowen"Maybe now people will use their kind words" responded Ron Barber's four year old granddaughter Ailsa when his wife Nancy tried to explain the January 8th Tucson shootings to her. And as Barber, who is Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' District Director, began the process of learning to walk again after being shot in his leg and face, he thought "There must be a way to bring some good from this horrid event."