Side Artist Agreement with Royalty

When a talented artist or producer comes to me who is really gaining ground in his career (or an independent label with talent) but is haunted by some kind of argument from the early days when he started. This is a general form that can be used in cases where a secondary artist is hired to contribute to the singing of a recording. This special agreement allows the secondary artist to retain ownership of all the texts he can write. Each of the scenarios of 1, 2 and 3 could take place without the appropriate agreement of the artist. I`ve seen it all. Disagreements between best friends, uncles and nephews, cousins, lovers, and even between the artist`s parents (the artist was a minor) and grandparents. Disclaimer: These documents are provided for informational purposes only and not as legal advice. The purchase of this model does not create an attorney-client relationship between the law firm of Adam C. Freedman, PLLC and the buyer. You should contact your lawyer for advice regarding a particular problem or problem. Usually, this is because they have worked on musical projects, either with a poorly written contract or without a contract at all. This is a general form that can be used in cases where a music producer works with an artist to create a recording.

This particular agreement shows that the producer creates the „beats“, and the artist performs both as a songwriter. Common disputes include the question of who owns the copyright in the recording and disagreements over the division of compositional property. I realized that the biggest problem is that when people start, they don`t have the money to pay an entertainment lawyer to set up these deals and contracts for them. I really encourage you to protect your work, no matter where you are, and to make these kinds of agreements to protect your music business. Well, let me tell you from experience. No matter how closely connected you are to your employees, you should always have a solid written agreement! This is a 5-page template-side artist contract designed for situations where you, as a label, release multiple songs from a single artist, but 1 of the songs contains another artist. Below are 6 important deals that you should make immediately, no matter what stage of your career in the music industry you find yourself in. These are all issues that should be decided at an early stage. In the event of a dispute, you will not be able to properly register the composition with your performing rights body (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) and they will not be able to pay you royalties! This agreement works with the hosting agreement template, it grants the secondary artist a 25% license fee (half of the artist`s license fee in the hosting agreement), and the secondary artist retains ownership of his share of the publication.

This is a simple one-page form that can be used to display the division of a musical composition (i.e. author shares and editor shares). It`s great if you register your compositions with ASCAP, IMC or SESAC. It is important that when working together, you have a formal agreement on ownership percentages. In my model of music cooperation agreements, the parties agree that each owns 50% of the final recording. And maybe you`ve worked with your best friend or family member. I`ve even worked with well-known artists and producers who have known each other for decades and are still vying for thousands of dollars (if one or both have millions) because they haven`t made solid deals. This is a general form that can be used in cases where two (or more) songwriters work together to write a musical composition. This particular agreement shows that the authors manage their own actions. But back to this article and the importance of making agreements. As if you don`t have a songwriter cooperation agreement, you can`t collect royalties in the event of a dispute over splits.

Often, writers/producers don`t know that a record company doesn`t pay mechanical royalties unless there`s a mechanical license. The time and money you invest now will be much better than trying to find someone like me in the future to clean up the contract. Having this one-page document completed and signed by all parties can help protect you from many headaches on the road. Without clearly defined divisions, there is a risk of dispute. For example, if you and a co-writer write a song, you may both have a different idea of what divisions are. There`s no way you`ll ever allow something like money to come between you, right? Does each author own 50%? Does an author get a larger share of ownership because he or she wrote the hook? Do you know what for me is still one of the hardest things I`ve worked on as a music lawyer over the years? At the time, it probably didn`t seem like a big deal because no money came in anyway, did it? This is a general and universal form that ensures that you don`t accidentally give up rights to people who contribute to your music. This form also includes a waiver in the event that the person hired is under contract with a company (i.e. production company, label, publisher). .