Brendan Harvey
Period 4
11/19/13

Declaration of Independence from Record Labels

I, Brendan Harvey, on this 19th day of November 2013, declare my Independence from Contracts given by Record Labels with CC Licensing.

It is necessary for a person to want to get rid of a force controlling them. Also, it is commonly known that with artists coming up, Contracts should be expected in order to receive a record deal. This meaning, every artist for a 2 year period is supposed to make royalties a priority, and then receive hardly any at the end of said term. While I accept this, every artist should have the right to pursue other means of agreement which they will benefit from more in their career. That being said, contracts have caused a great problem in our day to day lives.
My wanting to rid my life of contracts truly is justified. For example, I try immensely hard to maintain focus on my music and keep good charisma as an artist; therefore I don’t think it’s necessary to have to sign certain written agreements to be considered “an artist”. The original Declaration of Independence states I have a right to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” as an American citizen. Therefore, I should also have the right to have my music sold and promoted without having to sign my rights to my music over in a contract. I acknowledge the fact that some may find my request “naive”, but the large amount of contracts I receive cause problems in my life as a musician. For