What were Mikes problems with Virgin?
They were twofold; firstly, Richard Branson signed Mike to a not-very-favorable contract (to deliver 13 studio albums, not including OTB, Boxed, Exposed, The Complete or even The Killing Fields) at a time when he was in no fit state to sign anything. Legend has it that the deal was done at Mike’s kitchen table, and it would seem that no lawyers were consulted – but then, Mike saw Richard as his friend. To be fair to Branson, I’m sure that he didn’t deliberately do anything underhanded, but Mike eventually came to realize that he was locked into a contract that paid him a low royalty and from which Virgin refused to release him early. Money-wise he was a millionaire several times over, but had he been given a more realistic royalty rate, he’d have been a millionaire several more times over! He eventually sued Virgin for loss of earnings some time in the early 80s, which didn’t help the relationship. Allied to the contractual problem was the fact that as the 80s wore on, Virgin didn’t se
They were twofold; firstly, Richard Branson signed Mike to a not-very-favourable contract (to deliver 13 studio albums, not including OTB, Boxed, Exposed, The Complete or even The Killing Fields) at a time when he was in no fit state to sign anything. Legend has it that the deal was done at Mike’s kitchen table, and it would seem that no lawyers were consulted – but then, Mike saw Richard as his friend. To be fair to Branson, I’m sure that he didn’t deliberately do anything underhanded, but Mike eventually came to realize that he was locked into a contract that paid him a low royalty and from which Virgin refused to release him early. Money-wise he was a millionaire several times over, but had he been given a more realistic royalty rate, he’d have been a millionaire several more times over! He eventually sued Virgin for loss of earnings some time in the early 80s, which didn’t help the relationship. Allied to the contractual problem was the fact that as the 80s wore on, Virgin didn’t s
