CONTRACTS!                DO 283A                   10/73

         1. You've got to sell your soul to the System to get them to do it for you! I don't want to lose the rights to our songs or anything we have where we cannot produce & sell & distribute them ourselves. I don't want to lose our rights at all. If the System wants to do it their way through their outlets which we don't have, what they do is up to them.--BUT I DON'T WANT ANY KIND OF CONTRACT THAT LIMITS US FROM EITHER PRODUCTIONS, SALES OR ANYTHING!
         2. Frankly, I think WE CAN DO OURSELVES MORE GOOD through our own stuff. We have a totally different market from theirs. They don't have to worry about it. We're not peddling them in drugstores, paperback stands, dime-stores, bookstores or anywhere else. THEY CAN HAVE THE BOOKSTORES & THE WORKS, BUT WE WANT THE STREETS & THE MAIL!
         3. WE WANT TO GET INTO WHATEVER WILL REACH THE MOST PEOPLE WITHOUT LEAVING US TOTALLY OUT OF THE BENEFITS. WE'RE GOING TO KEEP ON MINISTERING! I wouldn't be surprised at all if some of those publishers & producers would like to get all the eggs in one basket if they can & to hell with the goose!--The best thing for THEM is SOLE rights & sole distribution & sole ownership!
         4. We don't want anything that's going to take away our rights! What it comes down to with the present standard System contracts is that if we want to promote it through THEIR channels, worldwide distribution with their professional expertise & everything, it amounts to completely signing over anything that could be done with the material so far as production, recording, sales, distribution, everything. It's a question of: Do we want to sacrifice that material to them, leaving us only the right to distribute the version which THEY produce?--And in the case of our music, all they'll leave us is the right to sing it!--Then you can only sing it under certain conditions, as long as you aren't singing it to make money or in a professional sense!-Ha!
         5. If we're going to distribute it we may not be able to get as many distributed, but with our Spirit-filled kids being led by the Lord, they will get it to the right people!
         6. The only deal we should consider signing a contract FOR WITH ANY OF THEM IS THAT WE STILL RETAIN OWNERSHIP RIGHTS, COPYRIGHTS & PUBLISHING RIGHTS! WE'RE the boss!--They serve US & WE WON'T SIGN ANY CONTRACT WHERE THEY TELL US WHAT TO DO, but only where WE tell THEM what to do!--How many they can have, where they can sell it, how many they can sell & how much we're willing to let them get out of it. In exchange for their use of our product, we get a COMMISSION, ROYALTY & we also get a deal, if possible, where we can buy their particular issues at a REASONABLE SUM, which ought to be at least as cheap as what we could pay for it to get printed. IF IT'S NOT AS CHEAP AS WHAT WE CAN PRINT IT FOR OURSELVES, THEN WHY GIVE THEM ANYTHING?
         7. In other words, it's like paying them to have them print it for us! We want a royalty on all of their sales & would want no limitations on our own production & sales. If they don't want to take it on that basis, forget it!
         8. The owner of the copyright is the author. What we're doing is to AUTHORISE THEM TO PRODUCE IT FOR US & TO MARKET IT ACCORDING TO OUR SPECIFICATIONS, BUT THEY WOULD NOT CONTROL THE PUBLISHING RIGHTS OR CONTROL ANY OF OUR DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS! WE WOULD HAVE TOTAL LIBERTY OF DISTRIBUTION & TOTAL OWNERSHIP! They would simply pay us a royalty for its use with their outlets.
         9. We should only sign a contract that is totally favourable & exactly the way WE want it! We control it & we own it & we want it the way WE want it, otherwise forget signing anything!--We'll handle our own! WE HOLD THE COPYRIGHT & WE CONTROL THE CONTRACT & WE KEEP THE OWNERSHIP & ALL THE RIGHTS & ALL WE SIGN OVER TO THEM IS THEIR RIGHT TO REPRODUCE & DISTRIBUTE UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS!--And with plenty of remunerations! But THAT'S NOT TO LIMIT OUR OWN PRODUCTION, OUR OWN DISTRIBUTION.
         10. We're not going to give them any ownership of copyrights or control of copyrights, just authorisation for their publication under certain conditions & with remuneration & a favourable deal on the purchase of copies if possible. WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO SIGN OVER TO ANY AGENCY ANY RIGHTS TO COPYRIGHT OR ANY TOTAL RIGHTS TO PUBLICATION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I'm not about to begin to sign over all of our rights to anything, & anybody that does is a fool! And anybody who does in our outfit without authorisation--we'll disown them!
         11. If they're not willing to meet our terms, something which our lawyers can go over with a fine-tooth comb & make sure it's all right, then I wouldn't sign anything! I mean, WHEN IN DOUBT--DON'T! If I had the SLIGHTEST doubt about it or hesitancy about any kind of a deal at all, let me tell you, I wouldn't sign one jot or one tittle, NOTHING!--Amen? Better watch it!--Don't let the DEVIL'S children steal the BREAD from GOD'S Children!--Amen? And CERTAINLY don't let'm steal our rights to even USE it! God bless & keep you & give you WISDOM to be wise as SERPENTS but harmless as DOVES.--USE it!--Don't ABUSE it--& don't let them abuse YOU or God's WORDS! If they can be a HELP, fine!--But if they want it ALL & to CONTROL & LIMIT it, FORGET it!--Who needs'm?--They may want the LION'S SHARE, but don't LOSE the LAMB'S!--Amen? PRAY before you LEAP!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family