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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 innovative approach to recording contracts, which is characterised by
- informality: no lawywers are involved, thereby reducing legal costs, and the contract is normally oral;
- high margins to the artist: 50% of profits after costs is the standard Touch and Go rate;
- high level of artist control;
- long contract lengths: where big labels normally fix a length of time before copyright returns to the artists, the Touch and Go keep the rights for as long as they continue to distribute the record.
Dispute with Butthole Surfers
This approach to contracts was challenged in a court case, brought by the Butthole Surfers in 1999, who wished to escape the long contract lengths, and argued they could not be held to such terms by means of an oral contract. 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. At issue was sec. 203 of the Copyright Act of 1976 which holds that that a grant of a copyright can be terminated after 35 years. The judges in the case had to determine whether 35 years was the minimum or maximum term that a copyright license can be in effect. The US Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit sided with the band, and ruled that 35 years was the maximum term and that it could be be terminated before that time. This case is seen by some to be a setback to establishing an independent music scene that follows different business practices to those of the big record labels. Others see the case as a clarification of copyright law that benefits an artist's ability to control their work.
Catalogue
Much of their catalogue is punk based, and includes both present and past artists:
External links
See also
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