Touch and Go Records

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Image:Touch and go.jpg Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA, which began life in 1979 in East Lansing, Michigan as a magazine put out by Tesco Vee. Tesco was bored with the punk sounds of the day, and captivated by the emerging hardcore movement in America. Inspired, he put out records by the Necros, Fix, Meatmen, and Negative Approach. Tesco's interest in the label waned around 1982 and he handed it off to Corey Rusk, the Necros' bass player.

They are well known, partly because of the influence of their catalogue, partly for their approach to recording contracts, pioneered (probably) by Factory Records. The deal was characterised by:

50/50 deals. 50% of profits to artists after label recoups promotion and production costs;
Oral contracts, a "handshake deal"

n.b. Currently they make bands sign a 1-2 page memo.

1 Dispute with Butthole Surfers
2 Catalogue
3 See also
4 External links

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Dispute with Butthole Surfers

This approach to contracts was challenged in a court case, brought by the Butthole Surfers in 1999, who purported that Touch and Go was not exploiting their catalog effectively. They argued that due to the silent nature of duration in T&G's contract, it could be terminated. Touch and Go argued that existing US copyright law held that they controlled the copyright to the band's recordings for a minimum of 35 years, due to sec. 203 of the Copyright Act of 1976 which they argued gave them 35 years of ownership of the copyright.

The US Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit ruled in favor of the band, determining that "when a contract is silent as to its length, it is implicit that it can be terminated by either side." And "that allowing terminations under Illinois law does not conflict with sec. 203, but rather is, in fact, in keeping with the intent of sec. 203."

This case is obviously a setback to independent labels, wishing to operate on handshake deals. Others see the case as a clarification of copyright law that benefits an artist's ability to control their work, and forces artists and labels to come to written agreements.

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