Understanding Contracts in the Music Industry

So as far as contracts go, there are certain things you can expect to see and certain things that you should be cautious of. The contract can either be with the producer or with the label if you're signed.

The Basic Agreement

• If you're signed to a label, then it's the label that will be doing the contractual agreement with the producer.
• It is an agreement because you're agreeing to do a particular thing at a particular time.

Songwriting vs. General Agreements

• If you're songwriting, it's a deed ? like owning a house. You've got to.
• It's different in every case because you have to try and work out, as an artist, what you've got to offer.
• That agreement should always be mutual.

Key Considerations in Producer-Artist Agreements

There are often elements in producer-artist agreements that are beneficial for the artist, not just the producer. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Question Uncomfortable Terms:
  Anything that you feel uncomfortable with as an artist, you should always just question and ask people.

• Seek Help:
  There are loads of solicitors and lawyers that will help you with that.

Standard Practices

Some standard practices include:

• Royalties:
  Although most of the time people stream music now, you should be looking at a royalty for the producer on that, which is really standard.

• Record Sales:
  You should also expect royalties on record sales.

• Publishing Shares:
  Quite often these days, there will be publishing shares as well, just because budgets have gone down. If an artist hasn't got enough money and they're not going to sell records, they can often say, "Okay, well, I'll give you some of the publishing because of your input onto this record."

The Producer-Artist Relationship

• It comes down to the relationship you've got with the producer and you need to feel safe from both sides.
• The producer shouldn't give you the feeling that they're out to rip you off.

Payment Structure

• It's quite standard to have 50% upfront and 50% when you've finished, but this can change all the time.

The Importance of Contracts

The main thing is that you should feel comfortable. If there's anything you look at as an artist, just ask the producer or ask the label, because it's there for both of you. It's there to look after both of you in case something goes wrong.

If things don't go wrong, you don't need a contract, but if they do, then you do.

Types of Contracts

• Contracts shouldn't be huge. You can start off with something called a heads of agreement or something that's very, very simple.
• It should set out some basic terms, such as, "We're going to make a demo and then we're going to tout it around to try and get a recording contract."

You can express these terms in very simple English; it doesn't have to be complex.

Performing Producer Royalty

In that process, I will tell whoever I'm working with right from the start that I will be claiming for my performing producer royalty because that's the kind of producer I am.

Understanding Performing Producers

• The term performing producer mainly applies to organizations like PPL. They are a collection agency that collects from anywhere wanting to play a record, such as a bar, restaurant, or caf?.
• In the UK, there are other organizations throughout different territories of the world, but in the UK, it's PPL that collects a license that gets distributed by the creators of the recording: the artist, musicians, and the producer.

Entitlement to PPL

• If you are a performing producer, you're entitled to PPL. If you're not a performing producer, you're not entitled to PPL.

• What does it mean to be a Performing Producer?
  It doesn't refer to playing an instrument or performing a dance; it's about whether they contributed to the audio during the recording process. If they have, then the term used is a performance on the recording.