？Read this text taken from an article about how the accountants influence the decisions.

？Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps.

？For each gap 9—14, mark one letter (A—H) on your Answer Sheet.

？Do not use any letter more than once.

How the Accountants Influence the Decisions

Accountants in industry are often asked to evaluate projects. H . Many people think it must be straightforward, but, like many publishing contracts, the devil lies in the detail.

(9) . There is a high level of front-end investment in trying to "break" (popularise) an artist which usually comprises a non-returnable advance on royalties, recording costs, promotional costs and tour support costs which sometimes even extend to large "buy-on" fees to support major artists on big tours; i.e. they pay to play. Usually the first department involved in a decision to sign an artist is the A&R (artistes and repertoire) department. Sometimes unfairly labelled the Urn & Ah department, they play a vital role in identifying potential stars. About 95% of the artists don't make the grade. (10) . This financial analysis is called a Deal Memo and it also assists in the negotiation process.

When A&R. have identified a signing then there are a number of key decisions to be made in which the business affairs and finance departments become closely involved. (11) . Will it be a direct signing, i.e., will the company be contracting directly with the artist, or has the artist been savvy enough to incorporate his own company and "loan out" his services to his own company？ If the contract is with the artist's company then it is vital that the record company get the artist to sign a letter (called an inducement letter) stating that he personally undertakes to fulfill his contractual obligations should his company be unable to do so； e.g., if it were wound up.

(12) . Pete Waterman% PWL with artists such as Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Rick Astley was a good example of a production house. Other examples are lease-tape deals and P&D (pressing and distribution) where the record company does not actually own the product but can sell it under its name for a limited period.

(13) . This will largely concentrate on the advances, royalty rates and contract term that should be offered to make it attractive to the artist to sign.

(14) . It should be product based i.e. on the number of albums to be delivered by the artist, (known as the "minimum commitment") rather than time based. Ideally the record company would want to sign the artist for just one album with multiple options for further albums at its sole and absolute discretion, so ff the artist is a flop, then the contract is terminated after one album, but if he or she is a success then options are exercised.

A The term of the contract is very important.

B Having decided on the form. of contract then, the finance department comes into the picture in assessing and analyzing the structure of the deal.

C Other possible forms of contract that could be considered are production house deals where a specialist company agrees to supply a number of artists to the record company.

D Firstly, it must be decided what form. the contract is going to take.

E However, for the very few artists that the record companies successfully "break" then there is big money to be made and it is therefore vital that any proposed deal undergo a thorough financial analysis to ensure that the company is not over-committed.

F Contrary to popular myth that it is easy to make money in the music business, most artists actually lose money for the recording companies.

G Importance should be attached to both the term and form. of the contract.

H In