There are actually several points neatly rolled into one post here but they’re all essentially based around the initial signing of that elusive first contract and even slightly before that.When a label A&R guy turns up to a gig and likes what he hears he generally brings the equivalent of a pre-contract agreement with him. He tells the band that this agreement enables him to speak to the label about them and vice versa. All is not at it seems, even at this early stage. Most unsigned bands, though, would jump through hoops at this point and understandably sign the agreement. This pre-contract agreement in actual fact ties the band or musician to that particular label. It prevents them from contacting any other label or signing any agreements with another label. Essentially, unless the band agrees to the deal offered by the music label, they are left with no deal and no possibility of signing another deal. Eventually, the band will sign whatever the label has to offer. Usually this is a long contract requiring the band to commit to at least 5 albums and numerous videos. Obviously, if the first album is successful they’re still stuck with the same deal despite being a much more marketable prospect. What makes this worse is that while the band have essentially no way of getting out of the contract without being sued by the label, the reverse is not true. The label essentially have the right to cancel the agreement whenever they choose. Slow album sales or poor progress on an album will often see the label cancel their agreement. Bearing in mind how soon this occurs in the relationship between label and musician the early signs are not good.