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8th Grade Metal Buskers Snag $1.7 Record Deal From Sony


July 14, 2014 | Sophie Weiner

Unlocking The Truth, a metal trio from Brooklyn, was recently signed to Sony with a lucrative deal: $60,000 up front on their first and a $350,000 advance for their second album. They’re also getting a 16-17% of royalties for the records they sell, incredibly high for a major label. Oh, and two of them are thirteen years old and one is twelve.

The band was noticed busking in Washington Square in 2012 by Eric Clapton’s drummer (at which point one of them was only ten), and since then have opened for Guns N Roses, performed at Coachella and are scheduled to open for Queens Of The Stone Age next weekend. Consequence Of Sound wrote that “Alan Sacks, the band’s manager, told The NY Post that the deal gives a group of young, black musicians a chance to redefine the perception of metal music, a genre typically dominated by white artists.” Their deal is impressive, but the band is going to have to exceed people’s expectations to make the money they’ve been promised. Before they start making royalties they must sell over 250,000 records. (Photo: The Source)