Mission Statement:
I. To help foster a more healthy environment for all inmates who are incarcerated in the state’s prison system. This plan will accomplish this by promoting hope, opportunity and good behavior to many of America’s greatest musicians, who are currently incarcerated in our prison system and who have no way to market their talents;
II.
A. To assist qualified inmates currently incarcerated in the state’s prison system by providing a mobile recording studio that will regularly visit each of the state’s facilities and provide inmates with a professional atmosphere and equipment, as well as qualified musicians who will assist them in producing a high quality recording of their original music;
B. Provide each prison with the appropriate ongoing training and tech support, as well as the appropriate professional editing equipment (a dedicated computer and headphones) that inmates in good standing can use for a limited amount of time to self-edit their recordings;
C. Allow inmates the opportunity to market their music to the general public, through an online streaming subscription system, where individual songs can be purchased and downloaded, and where they can sell complete CDs of their work. Given the high quality of musicians available in America’s jails and prisons, we predict this will create an additional revenue stream for the state that can be used to pay for the cost of incarceration, and can be used to compensate victims;
III. By providing all of the state’s qualified inmates with the opportunity to learn digital audio editing skills, they will be more motivated to follow the rules during their incarceration, and will be more likely able to find employment following their release back into our digital society. They even may have a small amount of money available, based on their sales, that can specifically be use to transition back into the world.
Further, inmates who have work available through the online service and who happen to pass away while incarcerated are no longer obligated to share the profits from their work with the state. This means, by not removing the artist’s work from the streaming service, APRDC will make sure that 75% of any future profits from sales would go directly to the inmates family.
Earnings and Income Distribution chart:
Note: This chart only refers to the sales of downloaded songs, or CDs purchased by the general public through APRDC.
1. Twenty per cent of the revenue from sales generated through the online streaming service will be returned to the American Prison Recording and Distribution Company as profit. An additional ten per cent will be collected by APRDC and specifically used to repair, replace and improve the recording equipment used by inmates during the recording process.
Explanation:
These funds, along with any money from grants, contributions, or any direct cash payments from any government entity, will be used to pay for staff who will provide training sessions and other logistical support; the cost of operating the mobile studio; and in some rare cases, the money will be used to compensate any additional studio musicians who are not under APRDC’s contract.
Specifically, these funds would be used to hire staff to upload any recorded music to a streaming audio service, expected to be operational one year after the recording and training begin. This public web service will provide links to the artist’s bio, links to purchase and download any individual songs, and provide a link where the listener can order an artist’s entire CD, if available.
2. Twenty per cent of the revenue generated from the sales of music through the online streaming service would be provided directly to the facility where the recording was made, until the time at which the inmate is no longer being incarcerated by the state.
Explanation:
This would be a flat payment made to the supporting facility where the recording was made, and would not be used to off set any other charges or expenses related to housing, food, or any other services provided to inmate during their incarceration. By doing so, facilities are likely to be more accommodating to the sort of special arrangements that would have to be made in order for this program to be successful, as described under the section labeled “Security and Safety Plan”..
While digital training classes would be available to all qualified inmates in good standing with the facility, the recording and distribution services would require that inmates first qualify, by demonstrating basic recording skills. Inmates would also have to agree to the plan described here. This plan includes a clause in the contract with APRDC requiring they agree to arbitration in the settling of all disputes. It would also include an agreement to accept the scheduled distributions described here of any profits generated from sales during their incarceration.
And while inmates would retain copyright ownership of any songs they write and record, and would have no future obligation to share the profits from any future recordings of the same songs, the original recording would remain the exclusive property of American Prison Recording and Distribution Company. APRDC would have the exclusive right, with the consent of any incarcerated inmate, to release any compilations featuring certain genres, topics, or certain facilities, such as “Rappers of the ? Institute.” APRDC would maintain the right to publish any work generated once an inmate is no longer a part of the program, and is no longer incarcerated.
Once released, not withstanding any remaining debt, recording artists and authors, or their families, would receive quarterly dividend checks equal to 75% of any profits from downloads or sales of their original recording made through APRDC’s online service. This agreement would remain in effect indefinitely.
3. Twenty-five per cent of the revenue generated from the sales of music through the online streaming service would be credited to the account of the designated author or authors of the work.
Explanation:
Before recording any work, artists and performers would have to determine the author of the work before starting the recording process. While other names can be added later, no names can be removed from this section once the recording begins.
While inmates will be credited with these earnings, the facility and/or the state can require that 60% of these moneys be used to pay for the cost incarceration, or to compensate victims identified in their adjudication.
At least 20% of the money earned in this section of the chart must be allocated by the state to an inmate’s individual cash account, which allows inmates to purchase some additional personal items, such as shampoo, coffee or in some facilities , inmates can purchase folk guitars, small musical keyboards and radios.
The final 20% of the money earned under this section of the chart would go into a special savings account under the state’s correction department. This money would be returned to the inmate once they are no longer incarcerated, within thirty days of their release.
4. The final 25% of any revenue generated from the sales of music through the online streaming service would be credited to the account of the identified performers responsible for the recording.
Explanation:
Similar to item three of the earnings chart, Before recording any work, artists and performers would have to determine the author of the work before starting the recording process. While other names can be added later, during the recording process, no names can ever be removed from this section of “contributors”, once the recording process begins.
While inmates will be credited with these earnings, the facility and/or the state can require that 60% of these moneys be used to pay for the cost of incarceration, or to compensate the victims identified in their original adjudication.
At least 20% of the money earned in this section of the chart must be allocated by the state to an inmate’s individual cash account, which allows inmates to purchase some additional personal items, such as shampoo, coffee or in some facilities , the inmates can purchase folk guitars, small musical keyboards, and radios.
The final 20% of the money earned under this section of the chart would go into a special savings account under the state’s correction department. This money would be returned to the inmate, or their family, once they are no longer incarcerated, within thirty days of their release.
Addendum to the Earnings and Income Distribution Chart:
Under items three and four, the state is allowed to keep up to 60% of inmate’s earnings. There is one situation where this amount can be reduced, and where the inmate can force the state to place some of these earnings into their personal APRDC savings account.
It may be rare, but under this situation inmates can file a grievance with the state, if the earnings from sales of their work through APRDC happen to exceed the amount owed to the state for the cost of their incarceration, and also exceed any moneys owed to the identified victims of their original offense.