Personal contract with
Scotty Moore
On July 12, 1954, a 19-year-oldElvis
Presley signed his very first exclusive, one-year
personal management contract with his guitarist, Scotty
Moore. Because Elvis was still a minor at the time,
the document was also approved and signed by his parents, Vernon
and Gladys Presley The contract was designed to protect the young
singer from unscrupulous bookers as his career began to take off.
The agreement featured two separate compensation structures for
management and live performances:
Contractual Terms & Compensation
- Management Commission:
The written contract officially appointed Scotty Moore as
Elvis's manager and booking agent, granting Scotty 10%
of all earnings from Elvis's live engagements
and bookings.
- The Performance Split:
Separate from the management deal, Elvis, Scotty Moore,
and bassist Bill Black agreed to an unwritten 50-25-25
split on performance profits (50% for Elvis, 25%
each for Scotty and Bill).
- Record Royalties:
Crucially, neither Scotty nor Bill signed recording
contracts with Sun Records. Their agreement was strictly
with Elvis, meaning they received no session pay
or record royalties for the historic tracks they
recorded
