Kanye West took to Twitter on Sunday to share his vision about what record deals should look like going forward amid his own ongoing legal battle to obtain rights to his music.
In a series of tweets titled ‘NEW RECORDING AND PUBLISHING DEAL GUIDELINES,’ the rapper listed seven guidelines that labels should follow.
The first guideline, according to West, is that the ‘artist owns the copyright in the recordings and songs and leases them to the record label / publisher for a limited term’.
West then shared that the ‘record label / publisher is a service provider that receives a share of the income for a limited term. The split can be 80/20 in the artists favor’.
He wrote that artists ‘must be dependent on no one but themselves to manage their catalog’.
West encouraged the need for lawyers to ‘IMPROVE deals’ by creating ‘Plain English’ contracts. He said that the music industry should do away with ‘blanket licenses’.
Kanye West took to Twitter on Sunday to share his vision about what record deals should look like going forward amid his own ongoing legal battle to obtain rights to his music
In a series of tweets titled ‘NEW RECORDING AND PUBLISHING DEAL GUIDELINES,’ the rapper listed seven guidelines that labels should follow
‘NO MORE blanket licenses. It should be clear from day one… what shares you get NOW and when you leave. If your song helps a deal over the line you invested in that store / app same as they did,’ he tweeted.
West said artists should stop signing advances and stop paying to ‘see your money’.
After listing out his guidelines, West said: ‘This is a call for all artist to unify … I will get my masters, I got the most powerful lawyer in music and I can afford them but every artist must be freed and treated fairly.’
That tweet was followed by another that reads: ‘There are 5 main pillars in a professional musicians business Recording Publishing Touring Merchandise & Name and likeness.’
Sunday’s tweets come just days after the 43-year-old promised to bring change to the structure of the music industry and record labels, which he has criticized for taking ownership of artists’ work, including his own.
West told followers he would ‘personally’ ensure former nemesis and now friend Taylor Swift ‘gets her masters back’ from record label executive Scooter Braun, suggesting he would take the issue up with Braun himself.
‘I’M GOING TO PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT TAYLOR SWIFT GETS HER MASTERS BACK. SCOOTER IS A CLOSE FAMILY FRIEND,’ he tweeted.
‘WE’RE GOING TO MOVE THE ENTIRE MUSIC INDUSTRY INTO THE 21ST CENTURY.’
West said artists should stop signing advances and stop paying to ‘see your money’
Swift, 30, became embroiled in a feud with former record label boss Scott Borchetta last year after he sold Big Machine records to Braun, giving him ownership of all music recorded under the label.
Neither Swift nor Braun have commented publicly on Kanye’s offer.
The rapper also went on to take a jab at Drake, saying he will help bring change to every album, publishing, merchandise, and touring deal for all artists but him.
‘JUST KIDDING … I LOVE DRAKE TOO … ALL ARTIST MUST BE FREE,’ West tweeted.
West first launched his attack on the music industry and his fight for his masters earlier this week.
That Twitter storm on Wednesday, during which he shared a video of himself urinating on one of his Grammy Awards, resulted in his account being suspended for 24 hours.
He had also posted a string of messages with record labels Universal and Sony – including screenshots of his contracts with the former.
On Friday, West said he would ‘personally’ ensure former nemesis and now friend Taylor Swift ‘gets masters back’ after record label executive Scooter Braun (right) gained ownership to all her music last year
The rapper suggested he would take the issue up with Braun, who he said was a ‘close family friend’
West posted and deleted this message on Twitter early on Friday morning
On Wednesday, Twitter removed one post featuring the phone number of Forbes’ Chief Content Officer, Randall Lane.
Once the suspension was lifted, the rapper was tweeting again on Thursday, taking aim at the music industry and calling on artists to unite to change the system.
Earlier on Friday, West sparked concern for his health and safety after he shared a disturbing tweet about being murdered and having his eldest daughter taken away from him.
He posted and then deleted the worrying message which was addressed to seven-year-old daughter North.
‘NORTHY I AM GOING TO WAR AND PUTTING MY LIFE ON THE LINE AND IF I AM MURDERED DON’T EVER LET WHITE MEDIA TELL YOU I WASNT A GOOD MAN… WHEN PEOPLE THREATEN TO TAKE YOU OUT OF MY LIFE JUST KNOW I LOVE YOU,’ West wrote.
Along with the message West shared a photo of North looking playful and throwing up two peace signs.
Although the Faded hitmaker quickly deleted the post, concerned fans rallied round to express their fears for the star.
West has shared shocking footage of himself urinating on a Grammy Award as he ‘goes into battle’ against labels Universal and Sony to retrieve the rights to his own music
West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, has not commented publicly about his bid to free himself of his music contracts. They are pictured together last November
‘We saw your deleted tweet. You need help from doctors, family and friends. this is not going to end well without that. first doctors,’ One user wrote.
‘He needs help ya’ll. Real Help. Stop feeding into this.:(‘ came another concerned message.
Another fan re-posted West’s tweet and wrote: ‘@kanywest just posted & deleted this, I’m worrrieddd’.
West’s tweet was one of many on Friday morning, when he took to Twitter to talk about God, Adidas and the music industry.
In one tweet he wrote: ‘A CREED FOR ALL WARRIORS WHO FIGHT IN THE NAME OF JESUS TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN AT ALL COST WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF DEATH WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF HUMILIATION WE ARE NOT AFRAID BANKRUPTCIES WE ONLY FEAR GOD.’
He also declared: ‘I am the head of adidas… I will bring adidas and puma back together and bring me and jay back together… all pumas designs are embarrassingly trash but I will personally design puma and adidas and make everything ok.’
A source told PEOPLE that West is ‘off his meds’ and wife Kim is ‘at the end of her rope – again’.
‘The last time, part of his negotiation with Kim was that he’d get back on his medication and he would work very hard to control his impulses,’ the source told the outlet.
‘He made a lot of promises. And now those promises are broken, less than a month later.
‘It’s the same thing over and over and over again. He’s on very thin ice with her right now, and she’s truly trying to decide what to do to protect the kids, but also her own sanity.’
The source added that Kim ‘wants to be a supportive partner, she’s doing everything she can do to support him’. However, they add that West has to support himself and take care of his own health.
‘For such a powerful woman, she feels very powerless, and she hates it,’ the source said. ‘She loves Kanye very much, and he just doesn’t realize how much pain he’s causing her.’
West first acknowledged his bipolar disorder in 2018, a condition that is associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs and can be controlled with medication.
Kim hinted last month that his struggle with bipolar disorder was to blame for his recent erratic behavior, that has seen him embark on the unlikely bid for presidency and get emotional at his first campaign rally in South Carolina while discussing abortion.
Two months ago, the Runaway hitmaker ruthlessly lambasted Kim and her famous family on Twitter.