Musicians beware: "Coldplay Opening Act" contest ain't kosher.
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Don't enter this contest! Spread the word!
The offer: "if you enter this contest and win, you'll get to be the opening act for Coldplay at one of their enormous upcoming concerts!"
The catch: entering the contest allows Capitol to take your work, sell it, keep the profits, and never give you credit (whether you win the contest or not). It also allows them to force you into a recording deal even up to two months after the contest has ended -- once again, regardless of whether you win or lose.
In short: Capitol is deceiving a lot of people and taking advantage of their lack of experience.
And they'd get away with it, too, if it weren't for us meddling kids. Want to meddle?
Mission (somewhat) accomplished
But there's still some fine print.
Thankfully, the rules changed for the better. All of the abuses listed below have changed or have been removed. This post for details.
However, I'm leaving them posted as a reminder that this is still Capitol Records you're dealing with. They may have a shinier looking contract on the table, but I still wouldn't make any deals with them. Musicians beware.
Quick Disclaimer
All page revenues are sent directly to the Nuci Foundation -- I'm not making a cent from this, but it will help a lot of musicians in need.
--Bert (creator)
Subscribe for Updates
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Subscribe to the RSS feed for more updates as we close in on our target. We're going to get Capitol to rewrite the contest rules -- you can watch it happen here.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byThe "contest rules"
Don't sign anything without reading it first.
The slippery trick they're playing is that submitting your YouTube video equals a signature. Tons of unsuspecting bands have signed up. Don't be one of them; Read the contest rules if you still think it sounds kosher.
Don't miss this little gem:
By entering this Contest, you agree:
(i) that Capitol has the right to use your submission in any and all media in and in connection with promotion, publicity, marketing and advertising for Capitol, Coldplay and this Contest or other promotions by Capitol as Capitol sees fit without any further attribution, notification or compensation to you;
(ii) that Capitol, in Capitol's sole discretion, may edit, adapt, composite, mix, remix, morph, scan, duplicate, alter and/or otherwise modify and commercially exploit your submission, in whole or in part, without any restrictions as to changes, for publication or for any other purpose which Capitol deems necessary or desirable, including, without limitation, in future publicity and advertising for Capitol's products and/or services, as well as on a compilation album...
Translation: by entering this contest (i.e. submitting a video), you give Capitol Records the right to edit, chop, copy, and sell your work without giving you a word of credit or a cent of the royalties -- even if you don't win the contest.
Read that again: even the contest losers have signed their rights over.
The trouble is that nobody knows this is happening. You may be one of the first to hear about it.
Best Ways to Get the Word Out
There's only one rule for raising awareness: you have to pass the word along.
Here are some ways to do it. Click the arrows to vote on the best methods. Click the links to take action.
1
Blog about it (banner provided)
Retell the story on your own blog. At this link you'll find a banner and the necessary code to put it on your MySpace, website, or blog.2 points
2
Sign the Petition and Share it
Remember to link to your website (and link your website to the petition).1 point
4
Share it on Twitter
Suggested message: "Please retweet: Capitol Records is trying to scam musicians. Click here to put a stop to it: http://tinyurl.com/5t8e9y" (the URL w...1 point
5
Put it in your Facebook status
You can do the same on Skype, Google Talk, and of course, Twitter.1 point
6
Discuss more solutions
If you've got an idea for how to get the truth heard by more people, come to the forums and let us know.1 point
Blog Watch
Search returns that might apply
- 2PzNaPpod: coldplay
- i randomly got a free ticket to go see coldplay in nashville on saturday at the sommet center (FAAANG FINGERRRS). opening act snow patrol was very charming and irish. another thing i discovered is that i dont need to defend why i like ...
- Coldplay to Audition Opening Acts Via YouTube Contest : Rolling ...
- Coldplay will watch the final trio and decide which band wins. The prize: 20 minutes of stage time as Coldplay's opening act, $2000 and ten tickets to the concert. To enter the contest, check out Coldplay's tour page. [Photo: Getty] ...
- The Coldplay Blog | Amanda Kaletsky
- 'The night featured two opening acts, hip-hop, electronica soul collective Santogold and radio station contest winner Amanda Kaletsky. The latter was especially well received by the crowd during a five-song outing sparked by her finale ...
- the motion sick are coldplay opening act contest finalists!
- friends! we have been selected as a finalist in the wfnx contest to find an opening act for coldplay in boston! our video for "30 lives" is now featured on coldplay's special web site for this purpose: http://www.coldplayontour.com/wfnx ...
What should be done?
Suggest a course of action.
It's not like the old days when you had to wait for somebody else to step up-- we've got the internet and a potentially huge audience. What can we about the whole ordeal? We've had some ideas, now tell us yours.
Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank the Academy.
I built this lens as a part of a web community for musicians and music-business geeks. We might be taking over the world, but don't tell.
We'd hate for the major labels to hear about us and get scared.
