Read Online Michael Jackson by J. Randy Taraborrelli - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: J. Randy Taraborrelli
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they just signed.’ *
Joseph signed the agreement.
‘Well, congratulations,’ Ralph Seltzer said with a smile and a firm handshake for Joseph. ‘And let me be the first to welcome
you to Motown.’
In years to come, many would wonder why Joseph Jackson allowed his sons to sign Motown contracts – and why he himself would
sign an accompanying agreement – without first reading the documents? In litigation against Motown, years later, Joseph would
explain, ‘I did not read these agreements nor did my sons read these agreements because they were presented to us on a take-it-or-leave-it
basis. Since my sons were just starting out in the entertainment field, we accepted these contracts based on the representations
of Ralph Seltzer that they were good contracts.’
Ralph Seltzer would disagree, and in a way that was a bit unsettling. ‘I have no recollection of ever saying to Joseph Jackson
or The Jackson 5 that the agreement being offered by Motown was a good agreement.’
Later, after leaving Ralph Seltzer's office, Joseph telephoned Richard Arons, the man he had hired as his lawyer and the group's
unofficial co-manager. Arons would recall, ‘Joseph called me up and said he had signed with Motown. There wasn't much I could
offer at that point.’
It's easy to understand why Joseph would just sign the deal. It
was
Motown, after all. However, there were significant problems with the contract, many of which would cause trouble for the
family later on down the road.
Clause Five, for instance, stated that The Jackson 5 would be unable to record for any other label ‘at any time prior to the
expiration of five years from the expiration or termination of this agreement’. This was a standard Motown clause that applied
whether an act was signed for seven years, five years, or, as in the case of The Jackson 5, one. So Berry Gordy's concession
to Joseph Jackson proved meaningless; The Jackson 5 were still tied up for at least six years.
Furthermore, the third clause stated that Motown was under no obligation to record the group or promote its music for five
years, even though this was purportedly a one-year contract! Some other contractual stipulations that Joseph might have questioned
had he read the agreement: Motown would choose all of the songs that the group would record, and the group would record each
song until ‘they have been recorded to our [Motown's] satisfaction’. However, Motown ‘shall not be obligated to release any
recording’, meaning that just because a song was recorded, it would not necessarily be issued to the public. The group was
paid $12.50 per ‘master’, which is a completed recording of a song. But in order for the recording to be considered a master,
the song had to be released. Otherwise, they were paid nothing. In other words, they could record dozens of songs and see
only one issued from that session, and that would be the one for which they'd be paid. As for the rest, well, they would just
be a waste of time.
It's been written that the Jacksons received a 2.7 per cent royalty rate, based on wholesale price, a standard Motown royalty
of the 1960s. Actually, according to their contract, the boys would receive 6 per cent of 90 per cent of the wholesale price
(less all taxes and packaging) of any single or album released. It was the same rate as Marvin Gaye, and also The Supremes,
got. Marvin, as a solo artist, did not have to split his percentage, though. The Supremes had to divide it three ways. And
this amount had to be split five ways among the Jackson brothers. In other words, Michael would receive one-fifth of 6 per
cent of 90 per cent of the wholesale price – or a little under one-half of a penny for any single and $0.0216, about two cents,
per album released (based on an assumed wholesale price of $0,375 a single and $2.00 an album).
Also, as per the terms of the contract, Motown was obligated to pay the cost of
Joseph signed the agreement.
‘Well, congratulations,’ Ralph Seltzer said with a smile and a firm handshake for Joseph. ‘And let me be the first to welcome
you to Motown.’
In years to come, many would wonder why Joseph Jackson allowed his sons to sign Motown contracts – and why he himself would
sign an accompanying agreement – without first reading the documents? In litigation against Motown, years later, Joseph would
explain, ‘I did not read these agreements nor did my sons read these agreements because they were presented to us on a take-it-or-leave-it
basis. Since my sons were just starting out in the entertainment field, we accepted these contracts based on the representations
of Ralph Seltzer that they were good contracts.’
Ralph Seltzer would disagree, and in a way that was a bit unsettling. ‘I have no recollection of ever saying to Joseph Jackson
or The Jackson 5 that the agreement being offered by Motown was a good agreement.’
Later, after leaving Ralph Seltzer's office, Joseph telephoned Richard Arons, the man he had hired as his lawyer and the group's
unofficial co-manager. Arons would recall, ‘Joseph called me up and said he had signed with Motown. There wasn't much I could
offer at that point.’
It's easy to understand why Joseph would just sign the deal. It
was
Motown, after all. However, there were significant problems with the contract, many of which would cause trouble for the
family later on down the road.
Clause Five, for instance, stated that The Jackson 5 would be unable to record for any other label ‘at any time prior to the
expiration of five years from the expiration or termination of this agreement’. This was a standard Motown clause that applied
whether an act was signed for seven years, five years, or, as in the case of The Jackson 5, one. So Berry Gordy's concession
to Joseph Jackson proved meaningless; The Jackson 5 were still tied up for at least six years.
Furthermore, the third clause stated that Motown was under no obligation to record the group or promote its music for five
years, even though this was purportedly a one-year contract! Some other contractual stipulations that Joseph might have questioned
had he read the agreement: Motown would choose all of the songs that the group would record, and the group would record each
song until ‘they have been recorded to our [Motown's] satisfaction’. However, Motown ‘shall not be obligated to release any
recording’, meaning that just because a song was recorded, it would not necessarily be issued to the public. The group was
paid $12.50 per ‘master’, which is a completed recording of a song. But in order for the recording to be considered a master,
the song had to be released. Otherwise, they were paid nothing. In other words, they could record dozens of songs and see
only one issued from that session, and that would be the one for which they'd be paid. As for the rest, well, they would just
be a waste of time.
It's been written that the Jacksons received a 2.7 per cent royalty rate, based on wholesale price, a standard Motown royalty
of the 1960s. Actually, according to their contract, the boys would receive 6 per cent of 90 per cent of the wholesale price
(less all taxes and packaging) of any single or album released. It was the same rate as Marvin Gaye, and also The Supremes,
got. Marvin, as a solo artist, did not have to split his percentage, though. The Supremes had to divide it three ways. And
this amount had to be split five ways among the Jackson brothers. In other words, Michael would receive one-fifth of 6 per
cent of 90 per cent of the wholesale price – or a little under one-half of a penny for any single and $0.0216, about two cents,
per album released (based on an assumed wholesale price of $0,375 a single and $2.00 an album).
Also, as per the terms of the contract, Motown was obligated to pay the cost of
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