# How to negotiate with a given contract?



## Pixelee (Jan 29, 2016)

I've been given a contract by a PMA library. Their sync fee is 25% and most people I've hear gives 50%. How do I negotiate for a higher percentage? I've never done this before


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## Rctec (Jan 29, 2016)

Get a lawyer. Seriously. You don't want to set a bad precedent for the rest of your career...


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## afterlight82 (Jan 29, 2016)

Well, how good a deal that is depends on the other terms of the contract...you don't negotiate these things in isolation...


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## afterlight82 (Jan 29, 2016)

If they're giving you a million dollars a track, then it's an awesome deal 
Seriously though, if the placements could mean decent money, a lawyer on an hourly basis reading that contract over for half an hour can give you pointers, but you do need to know the basics yourself, as they cannot tell you whether it is right for YOU...they can spot the bad contract drafting (it's usually bad wording, not nefarious things). How much do they want you? How much is the track worth to you? Exclusive or non-exclusive? etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

too many points affect the deal to tell you whether you can get a higher sync fee or not...


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## Rctec (Jan 29, 2016)

afterlight82 said:


> If they're giving you a million dollars a track, then it's an awesome deal
> Seriously though, if the placements could mean decent money, a lawyer on an hourly basis reading that contract over for half an hour can give you pointers, but you do need to know the basics yourself, as they cannot tell you whether it is right for YOU...they can spot the bad contract drafting (it's usually bad wording, not nefarious things). How much do they want you? How much is the track worth to you? Exclusive or non-exclusive? etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
> 
> too many points affect the deal to tell you whether you can get a higher sync fee or not...


No, a good lawyer will help you negotiate, froma position of knowledge. Yes, you do need to educate yourself, but some people (me included) are very bad at negotiating for themselves....


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## rottoy (Jan 29, 2016)

Rctec said:


> No, a good lawyer will help you negotiate, froma position of knowledge. Yes, you do need to educate yourself, but some people (me included) are very bad at negotiating for themselves....


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## afterlight82 (Jan 29, 2016)

That's completely right. My point was more that there's a small part of the equation they can't answer for you, which is your own personal desire to make it happen or not (which often means one might get lower than one's market rate for a particular project or fee, especially when the client genuinely doesn't have the capital to pay - in which case other terms can come up) and your own circumstances. But in terms of the market and everything else they can tell you what the true value of a deal is, hopefully from a position of great knowledge, and can be a BS barrier, which often helps with newer companies who have general counsels with less music law knowledge...or indie productions with one massively overworked attorney who isn't trying to screw you but just left a bunch of stuff out.


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## Daryl (Jan 29, 2016)

Pixelee said:


> I've been given a contract by a PMA library. Their sync fee is 25% and most people I've hear gives 50%. How do I negotiate for a higher percentage? I've never done this before


Chances are the answer will be that you either take it or leave it. In any case there are many other questions that are equally if not more important to ask. Without knowing the library I can't really advise you on which questions you should ask, but a quick search of this forum should give you a good idea, as these questions come up very often.


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## afterlight82 (Jan 29, 2016)

That said, if they want 75% of sync for no up front money, especially if exclusive, that probably is a sign of a sucky deal, imho.


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## Pixelee (Jan 29, 2016)

Thank you all for your feedback. This is my second exclusive pma library so I was unsure how to handle it.


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## madbulk (Jan 30, 2016)

None of this is really about negotiation per se. You're not describing an arcane clause. You're not even talking about rights or indemnification. If you want 50% of the sync, ask for it. You're right. It's standard. They don't have to give it, but it is standard. You've no reason to be shy in asking for it. You've all the right in the world.
Then again, they have the nerve to say 25% for reasons of their own, chief of which, I suspect, is they get it most often without having to negotiate it.

What you've described leads me to point you to something like this...
http://www.wikihow.com/Negotiate


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