Eastern Conference Records, Inc. and its principals, DJ Mighty Mi and Eon, are disturbed by Cage’s recent published comments about us. His remarks are particularly disturbing because we had a personal as well as a professional relationship with him.
We’re known in the business as an open, honest, and tell-it-like –it-is operation. In that vein, we want to state the facts about our dealings with Cage:
1) Cage recorded for EC from 1998 to 2004. When he signed on as a solo artist with EC in 2002, he knew it was a small-sized company with limited resources. Nevertheless, he was paid a signing bonus.
2) EC made Cage’s Movies for the Blind in 2002 and paid him an advance.
3) At the time that album was made, EC records were being distributed through Caroline/EMI with High Times acting as the intermediary distributor. In other words, High Times collected and distributed all the royalties for the album.
4) Unfortunately, EC didn’t receive additional royalties from High Times for MFB and, as a result, Cage didn’t receive additional royalties either. Cage knew about the High Times royalty arrangement when he signed his initial contract with EC. It says if the distributor doesn’t pay, then the record company and the artist don’t get paid either.
5) When EC realized it would be difficult, if not impossible, to collect royalties from High Times, it negotiated a payout settlement with the owner of that company.
6) High Times made its first payment on the negotiated settlement in 2004 and Cage received half of the amount collected as specified in his contact. (The 50/50 deal– very rare in the industry – has been EC’s practice with all its artists from the beginning. It’s more a joint venture than a company-artist arrangement.) Unfortunately, despite EC’s past and present efforts to collect money, High Times has yet to make any additional payments on its debt and its owner can’t be found.
7) After MFB, Cage recorded additional projects with EC. By that time, EC had its own deal with Caroline/EMI which didn’t involve High Times. On these projects, Cage has been and continues to be paid royalties.
8) EC expended thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours producing Cage’s music, arranging for personal tours, promoting his name, and furthering his career.
We hope Cage will take the time necessary to reevaluate his thoughts about us. Regardless, we wish him the success he deserves in the future.
Milo & Eon
