Dave Chappelle gets no Royalties from

[The Lonious Monk]

I don't think Viacom did Dave wrong, and I think it's kinda wack that he's complaining about them. That's the short version.

They had all the power when the original contract was signed and they used it to cut him out future profits for the show. You believe that was just business and wasn't wrong, fine.

Now Dave is simply pointing out that he's not getting any royalties, and he doesn't like the fact that he's not getting anything from what is essentially his intellectual property. He's not forcing anyone to do anything. He's basically just giving his opinion and making requests, so why is that wack?

I don't see why it's ok for a company to make a deal where they know they are getting over a bit but not ok for a person to speak out on how they are impacted by such deals.

 

[Bow to Royalty]

They had all the power when the original contract was signed and they used it to cut him out future profits for the show. You believe that was just business and wasn't wrong, fine.

Now Dave is simply pointing out that he's not getting any royalties, and he doesn't like the fact that he's not getting anything from what is essentially his intellectual property. He's not forcing anyone to do anything. He's basically just giving his opinion and making requests, so why is that wack?

I don't see why it's ok for a company to make a deal where they know they are getting over a bit but not ok for a person to speak out on how they are impacted by such deals.

I feel like you're ignoring what everyone's bringing to the table and viewing them as equals when they're not. Does Dave split money for his shows evenly with his lesser known opening acts? No, because he built his brand and that's what's bringing people out. And him/his team (who he plays) are the ones setting up the tour/venues. Is that him taking advantage of his power to cut them out of profits? Naw it's him

Well here Viacom built itself to to be one of the biggest media companies in the world. They built a giant platform, that Dave used, and they bankrolled his show.

He won't take ownership is largely what's annoying. His first deal he blamed his situation. Then they gave him a deal that I think included royalties. He signed that deal, then just quit one day. He should acknowledge he fucked his own money up by doing that. And acknowledge that him just quitting in an extremely unprofessional way played a big part in him and Viacom not getting along. Instead he tries for a pity party. That's why it's wack.

Real talk. He went from "I'm broke with a kid on the way, and nobody will give me a chance" to "I'm one of the most famous comedians on the planet, with all these successful ventures, and I'm able to walk out on a $50 million dollar deal and be alright" in a 2-3 year period thanks to Viacom. Cut that crybaby shit out.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

I feel like you're ignoring what everyone's bringing to the table and viewing them as equals when they're not. Does Dave split money for his shows evenly with his lesser known opening acts? No, because he built his brand and that's what's bringing people out. And him/his team (who he plays) are the ones setting up the tour/venues. Is that him taking advantage of his power to cut them out of profits? Naw it's him

Well here Viacom built itself to to be one of the biggest media companies in the world. They built a giant platform, that Dave used, and they bankrolled his show.

He won't take ownership is largely what's annoying. His first deal he blamed his situation. Then they gave him a deal that I think included royalties. He signed that deal, then just quit one day. He should acknowledge he fucked his own money up by doing that. And acknowledge that him just quitting in an extremely unprofessional way played a big part in him and Viacom not getting along. Instead he tries for a pity party. That's why it's wack.

Real talk. He went from "I'm broke with a kid on the way, and nobody will give me a chance" to "I'm one of the most famous comedians on the planet, with all these successful ventures, and I'm able to walk out on a $50 million dollar deal and be alright" in a 2-3 year period thanks to Viacom. Cut that crybaby shit out.

Bruh, you're doing a few things that are really annoying.

1) You're acting like Dave or I am suggesting that he gets equal profit sharing to Viacom. No one has said anything like that. It's understood that Viacom should get the lion's share of the royalties. What is being argued is that Dave should get some of the profits that are coming from use of his intellectual property. I acknowledge that he did sign away those rights fair and square on that first contract. I also acknowledge that Viacom had him in a position where he didn't have much choice but to do that and he knew it. There is nothing wrong with Dave letting that fact be known and saying he doesn't like it.

2) You're exaggerating how much Dave is playing the victim role. You're acting like he's getting on TV and crying and telling everyone that Viacom was so mean to him. He's not doing that. He making it known he's not getting any royalties off the show and basically asking platforms not to stream the show until that changes. Again, there's nothing illegal or unethical about that. If you're ok with Viacom using there position in the beginning to cut him out of royalties, why are you so against Dave using his position now to try and get some of that back?

3) You keep bringing up the fact that he walked away from the second contract. Did they offer him royalties for all seasons of the show in that second contract? If not, what does that even have to do with anything? You keep saying he should acknowledge that he fucked up his own money. He's never once blamed anyone for the fact that he missed out on the money coming from that contract. All of this has to do with the show as it was produced not what was planned.

4) Bruh real talk, you sound like one of those white racists that say athletes shouldn't ever complain about their treatment because the leagues make them millionaires. FOH with that shit. Viacom didn't invest in Dave because they wanted to help a young black man out. They did so because they believed he would make them a lot of money and he did. Now he's using his name and rep to try and get back some of what he felt he deserved from the beginning, and you are calling it crybaby shit. I find it really weird that you're so insistent on siding with the corporation that has undoubtedly done some foul shit over the course of it existence over the guy just trying to get what he feels he deserves. Nobody wants to watch the Viacom show on Netflix. We want to see the Dave Chapelle show, and yes, he deserves to get paid for that.

 

[Bow to Royalty]

Bruh, you're doing a few things that are really annoying.

1) You're acting like Dave or I am suggesting that he gets equal profit sharing to Viacom. No one has said anything like that. It's understood that Viacom should get the lion's share of the royalties. What is being argued is that Dave should get some of the profits that are coming from use of his intellectual property. I acknowledge that he did sign away those rights fair and square on that first contract. I also acknowledge that Viacom had him in a position where he didn't have much choice but to do that and he knew it. There is nothing wrong with Dave letting that fact be known and saying he doesn't like it.

2) You're exaggerating how much Dave is playing the victim role. You're acting like he's getting on TV and crying and telling everyone that Viacom was so mean to him. He's not doing that. He making it known he's not getting any royalties off the show and basically asking platforms not to stream the show until that changes. Again, there's nothing illegal or unethical about that. If you're ok with Viacom using there position in the beginning to cut him out of royalties, why are you so against Dave using his position now to try and get some of that back?

3) You keep bringing up the fact that he walked away from the second contract. Did they offer him royalties for all seasons of the show in that second contract? If not, what does that even have to do with anything? You keep saying he should acknowledge that he fucked up his own money. He's never once blamed anyone for the fact that he missed out on the money coming from that contract. All of this has to do with the show as it was produced not what was planned.

4) Bruh real talk, you sound like one of those white racists that say athletes shouldn't ever complain about their treatment because the leagues make them millionaires. FOH with that shit. Viacom didn't invest in Dave because they wanted to help a young black man out. They did so because they believed he would make them a lot of money and he did. Now he's using his name and rep to try and get back some of what he felt he deserved from the beginning, and you are calling it crybaby shit. I find it really weird that you're so insistent on siding with the corporation that has undoubtedly done some foul shit over the course of it existence over the guy just trying to get what he feels he deserves. Nobody wants to watch the Viacom show on Netflix. We want to see the Dave Chapelle show, and yes, he deserves to get paid for that.

1. It's contract negotiations though. Dave needs to negotiate a good contract instead of a shitty one. And we don't know how they landed where they did honestly. And Dave won't say anything not fitting the "woe is me" narrative. Did they lowball Dave, and he just accepted without countering? That'd be bad negotiating on him. Did he give up royalties in exchange for a higher guaranteed amount just for filming? Like "You can have $7 mil with x% of royalties, or you can have $10 mil with no royalties." Well if he didn't think he'd get $3 mil worth of royalties, he'd take the 10. That's not on Viacom. And that's possible given he had a show that bombed before. Guy may have just taken the bird in the hand. If Dave wants to let a fact be known, let them all be known. Give us some transparency.

2. We just disagree on this. I think he's playing the victim role hard. He put out an 18 minute video about it, and let you know how it related to his childhood trauma. You said he signed the deal fair and square. He said "if you're streaming that show you're fencing stolen goods. They stole that from me. They just took it". He said they (or the press) "ruined his life". That's not playing up the victim role?

I think the messed up part about trying to renegotiate now is he's negotiating in hindsight as a megastar when Viacom had to take a risk on the unknown.

3. I bring up his new contract because his complaint is about money. "Boycott Chappelle show. Do not watch it unless they pay me". He ran out on the money they tried to give him, then complained about not getting money! Also, after 2 seasons Dave was doing fine. So if royalties weren't in the contract what's his excuse? He wasn't negotiating at a time when he was desperate or ignorant to the business side of things. And if he had royalties he'd be getting money. Netflix wasn't going to only buy seasons 1 and 2 of a 4 or more season show. I think he did negotiate for a cut of DVD sales that included seasons 1 and 2 though. So he could have gone back for royalties. I dunno.

4. Naaah don't try the race reach because that's not a white racist thing. Plenty of black people that work normal jobs don't want to hear an athlete making $20 mil/ year complain about his job. I'm not siding with the corporation. I'm siding with the contract. If the deal was that Dave owns all rights to the show, I would say Viacom's on some bullshit if they tried to get a cut.

 

[Bow to Royalty]

I get why you think Dave should be getting paid. It's definitely understandable. This was his brainchild and other people are benefiting off it, while he can't. But he signed the deal. And I read up on it... looks like he signed 3 deals with them. Season 1 deal. Season 2 deal. Season 3-4 deal. Let's say they did take advantage of him for the season 1 deal. What happened with season 2 deal? and seasons 3-4 deal? He had 3 chances to negotiate in 3 years, and never walked away or got he wanted. At what point is it "Dave you fucked up, and you just gotta accept it. Take it as a learning experience."?

 

[The Lonious Monk]

1. It's contract negotiations though. Dave needs to negotiate a good contract instead of a shitty one. And we don't know how they landed where they did honestly. And Dave won't say anything not fitting the "woe is me" narrative. Did they lowball Dave, and he just accepted without countering? That'd be bad negotiating on him. Did he give up royalties in exchange for a higher guaranteed amount just for filming? Like "You can have $7 mil with x% of royalties, or you can have $10 mil with no royalties." Well if he didn't think he'd get $3 mil worth of royalties, he'd take the 10. That's not on Viacom. And that's possible given he had a show that bombed before. Guy may have just taken the bird in the hand. If Dave wants to let a fact be known, let them all be known. Give us some transparency.

2. We just disagree on this. I think he's playing the victim role hard. He put out an 18 minute video about it, and let you know how it related to his childhood trauma. You said he signed the deal fair and square. He said "if you're streaming that show you're fencing stolen goods. They stole that from me. They just took it". He said they (or the press) "ruined his life". That's not playing up the victim role?

I think the messed up part about trying to renegotiate now is he's negotiating in hindsight as a megastar when Viacom had to take a risk on the unknown.

3. I bring up his new contract because his complaint is about money. "Boycott Chappelle show. Do not watch it unless they pay me". He ran out on the money they tried to give him, then complained about not getting money! Also, after 2 seasons Dave was doing fine. So if royalties weren't in the contract what's his excuse? He wasn't negotiating at a time when he was desperate or ignorant to the business side of things. And if he had royalties he'd be getting money. Netflix wasn't going to only buy seasons 1 and 2 of a 4 or more season show. I think he did negotiate for a cut of DVD sales that included seasons 1 and 2 though. So he could have gone back for royalties. I dunno.

4. Naaah don't try the race reach because that's not a white racist thing. Plenty of black people that work normal jobs don't want to hear an athlete making $20 mil/ year complain about his job. I'm not siding with the corporation. I'm siding with the contract. If the deal was that Dave owns all rights to the show, I would say Viacom's on some bullshit if they tried to get a cut.

1) You're contradicting yourself. You keep saying Dave should have negotiated a better contract while also acknowledging he didn't have much going in his favor at that point. Neither of us were there so we don't know how his contract negotiations went. You seem pretty confident that he just took the first thing that came his way and didn't even try for anything better.

2) I didn't see an 18 minute video. I've just seen snippets of him explaining why he's doing what he's doing. It's not anything that I would characterize as crying or playing the victim, but maybe you've seen more than I have.

3) He's complaining specifically about royalties and residuals. Unless you have some evidence that his second contract was offering some of that retroactively, the second contract has no bearing on this discussion.

4) It's not a race reach. It's the truth. A lot of white people criticize black players for trying to get what they feel they are worth using the same exact logic you're using to defend Viacom. A contract is just a piece of paper. Yes, Dave signed it. That doesn't mean that everything that went into the signing was fair and balanced. Next you're going to tell me that every person in jail how made a confession deserves to be there and that you're not siding with the crooked cops, you're siding with the confession.

 

[Bow to Royalty]

1) You're contradicting yourself. You keep saying Dave should have negotiated a better contract while also acknowledging he didn't have much going in his favor at that point. Neither of us were there so we don't know how his contract negotiations went. You seem pretty confident that he just took the first thing that came his way and didn't even try for anything better.

2) I didn't see an 18 minute video. I've just seen snippets of him explaining why he's doing what he's doing. It's not anything that I would characterize as crying or playing the victim, but maybe you've seen more than I have.

3) He's complaining specifically about royalties and residuals. Unless you have some evidence that his second contract was offering some of that retroactively, the second contract has no bearing on this discussion.

4) It's not a race reach. It's the truth. A lot of white people criticize black players for trying to get what they feel they are worth using the same exact logic you're using to defend Viacom. A contract is just a piece of paper. Yes, Dave signed it. That doesn't mean that everything that went into the signing was fair and balanced. Next you're going to tell me that every person in jail how made a confession deserves to be there and that you're not siding with the crooked cops, you're siding with the confession.

1. It's not a contradiction. He could bet on himself without much leverage. Ask for less money, and a higher % of royalties. We don't know what went on in that room. Just the outcome. So we don't know who to blame. Like I said it's possible Dave gave up royalties for guaranteed money up front. That wouldn't be on Viacom.

2. All this came from a set he recorded and put out. I don't agree with his point but the storytelling is A+. Guy's amazing. Here it is.



3. He signed 3 contracts it turns out. Let's say they did get over on him because of his situation in the Season 1 deal. Why didn't he fix it in his season 2 negotiations? Or his season 3-4 contract negotiations? He had opportunities to fix it, after he was in a better place. Why'd he keep signing bad deals? Hold that man accountable.

4. A lot of people of every race feel that way. I could probably find people on here criticizing athletes for holding out or complaining about their contracts. Dak probably caught shit from black people for turning down some of the rumored Cowboys offers.

The confession is a TERRIBLE comparison. People are mentally broken down by police and threatened with having their freedom taken away from them. So they do what they feel they hand to do to minimize their punishment (take 2 years rather than risk getting 12). Dave is a free man, that if he says no they just let him go on about his life. Viacom negotiating with Dave (at his request) is NOTHING like cops coercing a confession. But some confessions really are just guilty people cutting their losses.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

1. It's not a contradiction. He could bet on himself without much leverage. Ask for less money, and a higher % of royalties. We don't know what went on in that room. Just the outcome. So we don't know who to blame. Like I said it's possible Dave gave up royalties for guaranteed money up front. That wouldn't be on Viacom.

2. All this came from a set he recorded and put out. I don't agree with his point but the storytelling is A+. Guy's amazing. Here it is.



3. He signed 3 contracts it turns out. Let's say they did get over on him because of his situation in the Season 1 deal. Why didn't he fix it in his season 2 negotiations? Or his season 3-4 contract negotiations? He had opportunities to fix it, after he was in a better place. Why'd he keep signing bad deals? Hold that man accountable.

4. A lot of people of every race feel that way. I could probably find people on here criticizing athletes for holding out or complaining about their contracts. Dak probably caught shit from black people for turning down some of the rumored Cowboys offers.

The confession is a TERRIBLE comparison. People are mentally broken down by police and threatened with having their freedom taken away from them. So they do what they feel they hand to do to minimize their punishment (take 2 years rather than risk getting 12). Dave is a free man, that if he says no they just let him go on about his life. Viacom negotiating with Dave (at his request) is NOTHING like cops coercing a confession. But some confessions really are just guilty people cutting their losses.

It's not a terrible comparison. Have you ever been involved in a negotiation that could mean everything to your life? That shit can be nerve racking. If you grew up poor and dudes are talking a bunch of legal shit that are going over your head and all you can think about is the possibility that you might blow your one and only chance at success, it's not crazy that you might back a bad decision. Again, Viacom like the cops in an interrogation have all the power and can turn up the heat to get what they want. Dave like a suspect might know what the best move is but also feel like it's the one that could ruin him if he makes it.

 

[Bow to Royalty]

It's not a terrible comparison. Have you ever been involved in a negotiation that could mean everything to your life? That shit can be nerve racking. If you grew up poor and dudes are talking a bunch of legal shit that are going over your head and all you can think about is the possibility that you might blow your one and only chance at success, it's not crazy that you might back a bad decision. Again, Viacom like the cops in an interrogation have all the power and can turn up the heat to get what they want. Dave like a suspect might know what the best move is but also feel like it's the one that could ruin him if he makes it.

The man being interrogated is facing having his freedom taken away. Freedom taken, can't see/be there for your family, could get fucked in the ass, can't find future employment. Dave was just gonna go his ass home man, haha. HBO told him no. He went on to the next one and kept chasing the dream.

And again. He negotiated before season 1. Then he negotiated before season 2. Then negotiated before season 3. How long we gonna give him a pass saying he was nervous? Prisoners don't get to annually decide if they want to renew their confession. Dave sounds difficult honestly. Complaining about contracts 1 and 2, and walking out on contract 3.

He's getting a Chappelle pass because everyone likes him so much. Y'all ride like this for Chris Tucker when he left the Friday franchise?

 

[WilberDMillz]

why are we getting titan graphs when its really this simple(see quote below)?

Streaming didnt exist when he signed so he's not getting paid for that. He wants a cut of the streaming revenue, he's not wrong.

It's not that he didnt receive royalties, it's that streaming as a technology didnt exist when he signed his contract.

He received royalties for DVD sales and re-airings, but not for this and that's the fucked up part, that a corporation can block you out of something unforeseen in the future.

 

[Bow to Royalty]

why are we getting titan graphs when its really this simple(see quote below)?

Streaming didnt exist when he signed so he's not getting paid for that. He wants a cut of the streaming revenue, he's not wrong.

So you're saying anyone that made a show prior to Netflix isn't getting paid for any streaming service they're on unless they came back post-Netflix and renegotiated for it? Doesn't sound right.

 

[Bender Rodriguez]

Nobody who made a show prior to streaming is getting backpay for it, I would be 99.9% correct

 

[Bow to Royalty]

Nobody who made a show prior to streaming is getting backpay for it, I would be 99.9% correct

Huh? I'm not talking backpay. I mean up- to-date payments when Netflix gets the show. Friends is a huge show on Netflix that stopped filming about the same time Chappelle show started. I imagine the cast is getting money from the Netflix deal.

Only the cast of shows/movies made in the past 10-ish years get paid for streaming deals?

 

[The Lonious Monk]

The man being interrogated is facing having his freedom taken away. Freedom taken, can't see/be there for your family, could get fucked in the ass, can't find future employment. Dave was just gonna go his ass home man, haha. HBO told him no. He went on to the next one and kept chasing the dream.

And again. He negotiated before season 1. Then he negotiated before season 2. Then negotiated before season 3. How long we gonna give him a pass saying he was nervous? Prisoners don't get to annually decide if they want to renew their confession. Dave sounds difficult honestly. Complaining about contracts 1 and 2, and walking out on contract 3.

He's getting a Chappelle pass because everyone likes him so much. Y'all ride like this for Chris Tucker when he left the Friday franchise?

Bruh, I don't know why ya'll don't understand how analogies work. I swear ya'll would look at foot is to sock as hand is to mitten and be like "Well fingers are longer than toes and mittens are thicker than socks so that's a bad analogy."

Anyway, we can just agree to disagree.

 

[Bow to Royalty]

Bruh, I don't know why ya'll don't understand how analogies work. I swear ya'll would look at foot is to sock as hand is to mitten and be like "Well fingers are longer than toes and mittens are thicker than socks so that's a bad analogy."

Anyway, we can just agree to disagree.

I respect and understand your stance on it. Just view it differently.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

He's getting a Chappelle pass because everyone likes him so much. Y'all ride like this for Chris Tucker when he left the Friday franchise?

Let it been Kevin Hart. It would've been a bunch of "tough break nigga"

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

Huh? I'm not talking backpay. I mean up- to-date payments when Netflix gets the show. Friends is a huge show on Netflix that stopped filming about the same time Chappelle show started. I imagine the cast is getting money from the Netflix deal.

Only the cast of shows/movies made in the past 10-ish years get paid for streaming deals?

I'm guessing the Friends cast renegotiated new contracts w/ the production company that owns the show. Just like CS, there was no streaming during it's run.

The question is did Dave and Viacom said no. Or did he just see that he wasn't getting paid off steaming like the DVD sells and just went public w/ it.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

I'm guessing the Friends cast renegotiated new contracts w/ the production company that owns the show. Just like CS, there was no streaming during it's run.

The question is did Dave and Viacom said no. Or did he just see that he wasn't getting paid off steaming like the DVD sells and just went public w/ it.

If it's the bold, what's the problem? The man has been in the industry for decades. He knows the game. If he understands that swaying public sentiment is more effective than boardroom negotiations, why shouldn't he go that route? I have a hard time understanding why ya'll are so against Dave doing what it takes to get his money in an industry notorious for cheating black people out of money.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

If it's the bold, what's the problem? The man has been in the industry for decades. He knows the game. If he understands that swaying public sentiment is more effective than boardroom negotiations, why shouldn't he go that route? I have a hard time understanding why ya'll are so against Dave doing what it takes to get his money in an industry notorious for cheating black people out of money.

Cuz it's painting some BS narrative that y'all stans are eating up.

Before he went public did Viacom tell him, "no, we ain't paying you" or did he just assume like y'all are doing.

 

[Bow to Royalty]

Cuz it's painting some BS narrative that y'all stans are eating up.

Before he went public did Viacom tell him, "no, we ain't paying you" or did he just assume like y'all are doing.

Even if they did tell him no, I'm cool with it. He burned that bridge when he went MIA on the show. I wouldn't do you a favor and give you my money after that.

That's like if you quit your job by just not showing up to work anymore. Then you go to HR a month later on some "I know it's policy you only get your leave time paid out if you give a 2 weeks notice. But I was hoping you'd do me a solid and pay me for mine."