Record-deal reality check

By Cory Doctorow at 6:21 pm Monday, Mar 4

The Royalty Calculator lets you spec out your dream record deal -- advance, production and promotion budget, royalty rate -- and it calculates how many copies your band will need to sell before you break even. The results were predicatably depressing, I'm afraid. The industry standards for a first deal have been clicked for you. When you are done customizing your deal, click on "calculate." The slot at the bottom will reveal how much is made on each actual sale and how many sales one will have to make before the record company begins paying royalties. See the hints page for how much the Advance should be, as well as the other variables. Keep in mind that Link Discuss (Thanks, Eli the Bearded!)