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Exclusive: Record label pays double royalties during Covid

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norman lebrecht

April 13, 2020

The BIS owner Robert von Bahr has sent this letter to his artists:

Dear BIS Artists, dear friends,
we all know about the total mess that the Corona virus has put us all in. However, if the sales side of the recording business is crumbling, the situation for free-lance artists is even worse. I have been reached by several troubling testimonies about this, testimonies that have made a deep impression upon me. And they have made it abundantly clear that the situation is urgent – something must happen, now.

This, then, if ever, is the time to show loyalty towards you. As BIS Artists you are part of the BIS family, and families take care of each other.

Here is what we will do:

We have calculated your royalties, accrued in the period July 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.
We will double these royalties and call the extra 100% an advance on future royalties.
We will pay them out as soon as we can after you have accepted this and given us the exact bank account, to which they should go, incl. IBAN, BIC and all the rest…. We will deduct the advance part from your future royalties. We will stand the risk of future earnings not reaching the advance; in no case will we demand a pay-back of the advance other than through earned royalties. Of course we will not charge any interest.

You will regardless receive the usual Statement per June 30, 2020, followed by the usual payment…

Again: we do this to try, as far as we can, to contribute to your well-being in these trying times. For some the sums will not be very significant, but for others they will hopefully be a helpful contribution in a difficult situation.

Now is the time to stay together. It should be good to belong to the BIS Family.
Keep safe!