A Minor Snag

[Phillip Banks]

Miss Edison.  It's come to my attention your label is playing hardball.  It seems they'd threatened to bury your latest album without release until you signed a new contract.  Trust my meeting with them this morning was... heated to say the least.

[Elizabeth Edison]

They can do that? Didn't I already leave the label? I thought I was already off the contract?

[Phillip Banks]

Your current contract with the label doesn't end until the release of your 3rd studio album. A studio album in which you have already recorded, mixed, and produced. A studio album that they control the release of. They've pushed back the official release date until March and threatened to push it back further until you've signed back on.

It may not be an illegal move but it's a grossly unethical business practice. Something I freely pointed out during the meeting.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Thanks for the information. Is there any way we can remedy this? I don't want this to go to court or whatever. I mean, I'm in Kalispell for a reason. I can't go back to that label again. I already made a name for myself, and I'm not about to drag myself and Beau my old label's name through the mud because of something this small.

[Phillip Banks]

Small, Miss Edison? I fear you underestimate the situation. If this was merely a minor contract negotiation I wouldn't be seeing to it personally.

To answer your question, though, yes. I managed to get them to restore the album's original release date and turnover the master recordings to you without requiring you to sign a new contract.

There is just a minor snag in the deal. They have a lone condition they seemed very adamant on.

[Elizabeth Edison]

I probably am. Three years in this business and I'm still not as adept at the background stuff as I should be. But thank you for having my back.

I'm almost afraid to ask. What are they asking of me?

[Phillip Banks]

That's why you pay people like me. To pay attention to the small details.

They want you to pay back a portion of your signing bonus. $1.5m of it, to be exact.

[Phillip Banks]

Are you there, Ms. Edison? I need to know how you want me to proceed with the negotiations.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Yes, sorry. Had a minor accident. What is your opinion on this? And shouldn't we be talking face to face about this? It feels a little weird discussing business via text. Anyway, what do you think would be the logical step after this? I prefer I didn't lose half my money over this.

[Phillip Banks]

I'm only discussing this via text because I'm preparing to leave the country tomorrow morning. You're simply going to have to decide if getting out of your current contract is worth the loss. If you're so certain this new album of yours is going to do so well it should be an easy decision, right?

[Elizabeth Edison]

You're right. This is why I hired you. I will need a contract done up as soon as you get back here. I would like to go over it before I part ways with my hard-earned money.

[Phillip Banks]

One step at a time, Ms. Edison. Let's get you out of your current contract before you start thinking of the next one. We need to know what we're dealing with once you get away from you label in order to get as much as we can out of your new label.

They ARE fairly stern on the return of your bonus. I'm not sure much they're going to budge on that.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Right. Yeah, that's what I meant. And yeah, I know how they are when they've got their claws on something. I just want out. Thank you so much for taking up my case. I didn't think a high profile lawyer like you would take up such a small matter.

[Elizabeth Edison]

Compared to your other cases, I assume