Popular Nigerian lawyer Stan Alieke has issued crucial advice to artistes regarding contract and record label deals.

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‎In a post on his Instagram story, he emphasized his stance with the oppressed while noting that, based on his experience representing both artistes and labels, the trend of artistes signing contracts and later complaining should stop.

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‎He stressed that labels often provide artistes the opportunity to review contracts thoroughly before signing, but many neglect legal counsel, sign out of desperation, and later seek public sympathy or legal redress. He clarified that courts uphold signed contracts under the principle of pacta sunt servanda.

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‎"I'll always be on the side of the oppressed & speaking as someone who has represented a lot of artists & record labels, this act of artists after signing record contracts & coming back later to cry foul should be stopped. You were given a contract to sign, in some cases the label asked you to take the contract home & consult your lawyer/guidance before coming back to sign but due to your desperation for the record deal, you signed it without paying attention to the wordings of the contract only to come back later to cry foul, seeking public sympathy or even going to court to amend the contract. Fyi, the court will always respect & enforce the contents of a contract which you willingly signed even if you think it's unfair to you or not, this is the principle of pacta sunt servanda."

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‎Alieke further explained that record label deals are business investments, noting that in Nigeria today, labels spend an estimated ₦160 million to promote an artiste. He added that no label would make such an investment without expecting returns.

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‎Advising artistes, he urged them to scrutinize contracts, assess long-term implications, and negotiate terms or opt for investment-based deals if necessary.

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‎"Y'all forget that this is a business. It is estimated that you need 100k USD (N160m) to blow an artiste in Nigeria today. A label investing that much into you definitely expects some ROI & this is a blind investment as there's no guarantee that the artiste will blow so that the label will recoup their sweat. Next time before you sign a contract pay attention to the details like the sharing ratio, the duration & in general, the deliverables. You are always at liberty to renegotiate those things & if the label really wants to work with you they will make a compromise. In the alternative ask for an investment deal where the label will merely invest in you for an ROI & not a label deal with a 360 management.

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‎"Don't sign a contract out of desperation without paying attention to the details and later on when the contract is to be enforced you start crying fowl or feeling cheated. If you are feeling cheated, do it the honourable way by either going back to the label to renegotiate the terms or you can always activate the buy-out clause. Every good label contract has a buyout clause whereby you pay some certain amount to the label and honourable exit the label. The most important take is to always consult a lawyer and listen to your lawyer's advice before signing that contract."

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