Recording Contracts
When it comes to recording contracts, before you sign anything make sure you have it looked over by a music attorney.
Music contracts can be extremely complicated and difficult to understand so always have a professional look over it before signing anything but in order to give you a bit of an idea of what to expect the main points have been written out below.
The Record Deal
The main points of a recording contract are:
- Exclusivity - The artist records exclusively for that company
- Number Of Albums - How many albums you may have to commit to, if it's a major record company it's usually a 5-7 album deal. Now this doesn't mean the artist will record 5-7 albums, it only means the record company has the option. After recording 1 album, it may or may not get released, if it is released and it’s unsuccessful the record company might "drop" the artist. Being "dropped" means the artist is no longer on the label and won't be recording any more albums. Please note; even if an artist is dropped the record label still owns the rights to whatever work the artist recorded under them.
- Development & Marketing - The record company invest in development and marketing
- Royalty Rate - For new artists this is usually around 10-14%.
- Creative Controls - What producer you will use, what studio you will use, album art, what songs are going to be recorded, what songs to be choosing as singles for radio etc... These are the types of things that will be decided by the label.