#Music contract examples full#

My advice: think big picture and long term, and donвЂ™t undervalue your catalog in the long term in exchange for a short-term break in producer fees. The same goes the other way, if you are short on funds, you might be able to offer more on the other end. In other words, if you want to keep more of your royalties and SoundExchange (and can afford it), you can offer a higher per-song producer fee. Insider tip: the producer fee and producer points/SoundExchange entitlement are definitely intertwined. A typical timeline in terms of payment of the producer fee is half before recording starts and half upon completion. In other words, half the producer fee is considered a recoupable cost, and half is not. Typically, half of the producerвЂ™s fee is considered a recoupable advance against royalties payable to your producer. My advice: go with per song, otherwise you might be surprised by the bill at the end of the project. The Music Producer Agreement should clearly define how much you are paying the producer, either per song or via an hourly rate. Otherwise, the court will assume that your producer is not a co-writer. The takeaway from the courtвЂ™s decision: if an artist and producer intend to co-write together, that must be agreed to before the recording process commences. Insider tip: this exact issue was taken to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in the late 90s, when Sarah McLachlan was sued by her former producer Darryl Neudorf, who claimed he was a joint author of four of McLachlanвЂ™s early compositions. This will allow you to use and exploit the compositions without having to obtain the producerвЂ™s signature in each instance. My advice: If the producer is indeed a co-writer, you need to ensure that they assign administrative rights in the compositions to you. I realize that sometimes co-writing just happens in studio, whether you plan for it or not, but itвЂ™s wise to discuss this ahead of time to ensure mutual expectations going in. I recommend that you have this discussion as to whether you intend to co-write with the producer before recording commences. This is perhaps the most important point to consider: is your producer a co-writer? See my article here for guidance on such a determination. Obviously, lower is better for you as artist.Д¤) Is Your Producer a Co-Writer of the Compositions? I would cap the producerвЂ™s SoundExchange/Flat Fee entitlement at a specified amount, nothing over 25%. My advice: if you donвЂ™t know what the label royalty is or donвЂ™t have a label involved, the standard practice is to use a вЂњdeemed royalty,вЂќ which is simply a royalty that you and the producer agree on thatвЂ™s based on industry standards (somewhere between 15 and 20%). So in this example, 4 divided by 20 gives a 20% SoundExchange/Flat Fee percentage to the producer. Typically, a fraction is used: whatever producer points you agree on (letвЂ™s say 4 as per above) divided by the artistвЂ™s record royalty flowing from the record label (letвЂ™s say 20%). Not all producer agreements include SoundExchange/Flat Fee revenues, but if yours does, make sure the language is clear and the percentage is fair. This is mostly a reflection of the modern realities of the music biz, as вЂњpointsвЂќ arenвЂ™t worth what they used to be. The same goes for other so-called вЂњdirect moniesвЂќ or вЂњflat feeвЂќ uses of the masters (film/tv placements, etc.). I find that more and more producers are demanding a percentage of SoundExchange revenues on songs they produce. PPD.ДЈ) Should Your Producer Get SoundExchange and Other Revenues? Industry standard is 2-5% for points, either on the suggested retail price (SRLP) or published price to dealer (PPD). In other words, until you recoup all of your costs in relation to the masters, the producer doesnвЂ™t start getting revenue. My advice: make sure that there is language inserted that allows you to recoup all expenses related to the production and exploitation of the masters before these points kick in. For example, 4 points equals 4% of net record revenues from the masters produced by your producer. A point is simply a percentage of record sales. It is industry standard for your music producer to receive вЂњpointsвЂќ on the songs they produce. Almost always, you should own the masters. In rare circumstances, the producer might own the masters or have some co-ownership interest, but that is definitely not the norm. Before you enter the studio, here are some key points to look for and understand:ДЇirst and foremost, you should own the master recordings once the producer fee is paid.

#Music contract examples full#

Now the producer sends over a 10-page contract full of legalese regarding record royalties, songwriting splits, SoundExchange revenues, producer advances and more. So, youвЂ™ve found the perfect producer for your upcoming recording project.