Contract signing

Ethan sat in the parlor of his house, surrounded by his family. This was it—he had made the decision to pursue his dreams, and now it was time to take the next step. If he was going to do this, he had to do it right. He needed an agent, and he and his family were going to make that decision now.

"So, you say Bill has sent over the contract?" Adam asked, leaning forward with a concerned look on his face.

"Yes, Dad," Ethan replied, nodding. He could see the concern written all over his dad's face, but he wasn't about to let that discourage him.

"Well, what does it say?" his mom asked, her voice a bit more cautious.

Ethan hesitated for a moment. "I haven't had the time to check it out yet," he said, his eyes flicking to his phone. "I was uploading another song."

His parents were caught off guard. "What? You released another one?" Emily exclaimed, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Yes, Mom. I helped on this one. The song turned out really good," His sister said, she looked ready to continue talking but was quickly cut off.

"Mom, this isn't the time for that," Ethan said, his voice firm as he tried to keep the focus on what was important right now. "Let's focus on the contract."

Ethan's words silenced the conversation, as even his dad gave him a nod of agreement. "Yeah, Ethan's right. Son, bring out the contract. Let's take a look," Adam said.

Ethan sighed, relief flooding him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Quickly finding the email, he opened it and scrolled down to the attachment. "Here it is," he said, tapping the file to download it.

As he went through the contract, he read out loud. "It says Bill gets 10 percent from any deal he makes and from any money I make using my name." He paused, raising an eyebrow. "10 percent isn't that much?" Precious asked

"Not sure, not really knowledgeable about this stuff," he added, looking up at his family.

"Pass the phone here, son," Adam chimed in. Although Adam worked as an auditor and had some experience with contracts, he was still unfamiliar with entertainment contracts, especially one involving music and an agent. "Let me take a look."

As Adam scrolled through the contract on his own, his wife, Emily, looked to him, an anxious expression on her face. "Well, dear, is it good?"

Adam's brow furrowed. "Yeah, I think so. But there are some terms I don't fully understand."

"Should we call Bill and ask him?" Emily suggested, her voice filled with concern.

"Mom, it's him Ethan wants to sign with. We can't fully trust him yet, what if he just lies and confuses us?" Precious, Ethan's sister, said, shaking her head in doubt.

"I don't think Bill would do that, but I see your point," Emily said, still not quite convinced. Her protective nature as a mother didn't allow her to trust people easily, especially when it came to business dealings involving her son.

The family sat there, reading through the contract in silence, until Adam finally broke the tension.

"I've got it. We can ask David for his advice."

"Dad, isn't Uncle David a corporate lawyer?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow. It seemed like an odd suggestion, but he trusted his father's judgment.

"Yeah, but it's all connected," Adam explained. "David knows the ins and outs of contracts like this. He'll be able to give us a better idea than we can on our own." Adam paused for a second. "I'll send it over to him now and get his take."

"Thanks, Dad," Ethan said, feeling a little more confident. His father made the call to David, explaining the situation and asking him to review the contract. A few minutes later, Adam ended the call.

"David's going to check it over," Adam said. "Ethan, send the contract to him now."

"Okay, Dad," Ethan said, his fingers moving quickly as he attached the file and sent it off.

"Well, what do we do now?" Ethan asked, looking up from his phone.

"Now we check out the song you posted while we wait," his mom said, already standing and heading upstairs to grab her laptop. It was clear she wasn't going to let anything stop her from supporting Ethan's music career.

Meanwhile, David Smith, a seasoned corporate lawyer, was at home reviewing some files when his phone pinged. It was a message from Adam. He quickly opened the text and saw that it was the contract him and Adam his friend just talked about from an agent named Bill, who was interested in representing Ethan. 'Since when does Ethan sing?' David thought, surprised. But then again, he knew how driven Ethan was. Shrugging, he decided to go ahead and review the contract as best as he could. If it meant helping his friend's family, he was in.

Back at Ethan's house, the family gathered around as his sister, Precious, played the song on their mom's laptop for everyone to hear. "Wow, Ethan, that song is really good!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yes, son, it's really great! You really are talented," Adam said, his pride clear in his voice.

"Get this—his video already has 28 million views since he released it!" Precious added, a glint of pride in her eyes that made it seem as if she had written the song herself.

"28 million?" Emily gasped, looking at her son in disbelief. The number was staggering. But before anyone could comment further, the phone rang. It was Adam's phone. "It's David," Adam said, standing up to answer the call.

"Hello, David," Adam greeted.

"Hey, Adam, I've gone through it," David replied, but before they could continue, the family crowded around, eager to hear his thoughts. Emily whispered to Adam to put it on speaker, and he reluctantly complied.

David's voice boomed from the speaker. "Well, to cut a long story short, the contract looks very good. It provides a lot of benefits for Ethan."

"Benefits like what?" Ethan asked, genuinely curious.

"Full control over your music and personal life," David explained.

"Well, isn't that a given?" Ethan asked, still not fully understanding what David meant.

"You'd be surprised," David chuckled. "A lot of artists don't have control over their own lives, let alone their music. That's a huge benefit."

"Wow," Ethan murmured, shocked by this revelation. He had no idea that many artists didn't have this basic level of control.

"What about the percentage? Isn't 10 percent too much?" Precious asked, still uncertain.

"No, 10 percent is actually a fair rate. It's one of the best offers an agent can make," David said confidently.

After a few more questions, the whole family was satisfied. "Thanks, David. We really appreciate it," Adam said, ending the call.

"Well, you heard him, Ethan," Adam said, turning to his son. "He says this is the best contract you can get in the business. So, what are you going to do?"

Ethan paused, taking in the moment. He looked around at his family, all of them trusting him to make the right decision. Then he pulled out his phone, his expression hardening with determination. He had already made up his mind. This was just one of the many steps on his journey. He was going to be a superstar, and nothing was going to stop him.