Producer Agreements - What Music Artists and Producers Need to Know
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- Опубліковано 23 лис 2022
- In this video, we explain all about music producer agreements. We discuss the key points that all artists and producers should understand and agree on before they start recording music together. There is much confusion for independent artists and producers about what these agreements contain and exactly which copyrights and royalties it relates to.
We guide you through the essential knowledge required to understand and negotiate what is in a producer agreement, not just for major labels and signed artists, but for independent DIY artists and producers trying to create simple agreements themselves in the real world. This video will help you understand how producer fees, advances, royalties, and copyright ownership are handled.
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Been confused about this all my life. Best explanation I have ever heard. Thanks so much!
Glad our video helped. We appreciate your kind words, and thanks for your comment
you’re so well spoken and your voice is so soothing. thank you for the much needed advice!
Appreciate your kind comment and I'm pleased the video was useful to you. All the best
I can’t believe you out all this out here for free. Thank you!
Hope it is useful to you. Appreciate your kind comment. All the best
I’m grateful!!
Thank you for sharing this free game in the music law space! I found it very insightful and useful.
You're welcome. Thanks for your comment, it's much appreciated.
getting knowledge is always awesome....I appreciate the opportunity to learn much about music business
You're welcome. Thanks for your comment
Thank you so much for this lesson! I've learned so much in such a short time! Your explanations were succinct and thorough. Felt myself at uni again :)
Thanks for your comment, we really appreciate what you said and are happy to know it was useful to you. All the best with your music
Thanks for this good message and clarification.
I am from Kampala Uganda, there's a radio presenter in Uganda called DJ. Bantam who said exactly what you are saying, I happy that it's the same here
You're welcome. Thank you for taking the time to comment. It's great to hear from you in Uganda! I'm glad the video was useful, and that the information is relevant to how things work in your country. Best wishes
Thank you for sharing your knowledge 🙏
You're welcome. Hope it was useful
Great, thank you!!
You're welcome. Thanks for commenting
Great explanation. Can’t wait to share this with my artists
Glad you like it. Hope your artists find it useful
Gratitude
Thank you!
This is wonderful thank you I learned so much from This.
Thanks for your comment. It's good to hear it was useful to you. All the best
Truly excellent video!
Thank you so much for your very kind comment
Really helpful advice here, thank you!
I'm pleased that it was helpful to you. Thanks for your kind comment.
Thank you for this 🙏
You're welcome. Thanks for your comment
Thank you for this video
You're welcome. Thanks for your comment
Very well explained! Sharing this with some friends
Thanks for your kind words. Appreciate you commenting and sharing. All the best
Really helpful advice here, thank you! I tend to find a lot of information in text books mostly relates to the USA and so I am especially grateful to find some information which is also applicable to the UK. Thank you once again and look forward to watching more of your videos😄👍🏾
You're welcome. Pleased you found it useful. All the best
Yes, I really did find it extremely useful, so thank you once again. I would be very interested to see any further content that you have for Producers and songwriters, who are not Artists. As much of music law seems to mostly be geared towards the artists, but producers and songwriters can sometimes feel overlooked and not represented in the same way and Information regarding them protecting their interests, less readily available (well at least in my experience). Best wishes
my god this was GREAT. THANK U
You're welcome! Glad you liked it, and thanks for your kind comment
So helpful, thank you! I also would like to hear more about collaboration between artists
You're welcome, thanks for commenting. Thanks also for your suggested topic. We will try and cover this in a future video. All the best
Brilliant explanation. Thank you
You're welcome!
Indeed
Thank you. Very easy to follow, great explanations and performance in the clip. Can you please do band- merch- and musicians agreements (touring) + basic negotiation techniques.
Thanks for your kind comment Daniella. Those are good suggestions. I'll add them to our topics list. Thanks
@@theartistguides Thank you. I haven't seen any good clips of these topics and your view on band contra musicians agreements would be very interesting. 🙏
Very useful info 🤘🏼
We are happy to hear that. Thanks for your comment
🚨New Subscriber Alert! ... Such an amazing video. Gratitude much!!!
Thanks for subscribing, and for your kind comment. Glad you liked the video
This is useful advice
Glad to hear that. Thanks for commenting. All the best
🙏🏼
So there should be a 2 section splits under the contract? one for publishing royalties ( 50/50) and one for mechanical royalties aka points % (80/20)
Mechanical royalties are not "points". "Points" are a percentage share of the master recording sales income only, e.g. label income, streaming, sync, CDs etc. Publishing and Mechanical royalties are only paid to the songwriters. If the producer is not also the songwriter then they get neither of these two royalties. If the producer does happen to be the writer of a song they produce, then the contract should mention the split of the songwriting between artist and producer. In this circumstance, there is no need to mention or specify mechanical royalties because it's part of the songwriting split anyway.
@@theartistguides thank you sir 🙏 I got alot to learn
@@og951 You're welcome. All the best
Thanks so much for this video. But I have a question, if I purchase just a beat from producer and then do the recording by my self since I have equipment. Do I own the master record ( song recording))??
There is no single answer to this. It depends on the arrangement between you and the producer you purchased the beat from. Generally though, unless the producer has specifically assigned the beat to you, or offered it on a free license, I would assume that they still have the (sound recording copyright) master rights to their beat. With regards to the song rights, unless you have discussed otherwise I would assume the producer has no rights to your "song" publishing.
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does w9's come before producer agreements?
Thanks for this helpful video!! I'm a producer and beatmaker, so in most of my projects I am the person who made the beat. Do I get any royalties If someone buys an exclusive/non-exclusive version of my beat?
If someone is "buying" your beats, I would think they are probably assuming that you will not be getting further royalties. But there is no right or wrong answer here, it totally depends on the arrangement you discuss when selling your beats. You just need to be very clear and upfront about what deal you are offering
Great explanation, thank you for that. One question though. How can a producer be sure that the net. Royalties will be payed to him/her and how can he/she check this? Since the publishing and master copyrights are, in my case, taken care of by the Swedish national copyrights organisation, isn't it much easier and more safe for me to get a piece of both the publishing and/or the master instead of producer points? Of course in this case I did a substantial part of the songwriting.
Thanks for your kind comment. And, that's a good question. In reality, it is always difficult to know if you have been paid correctly after agreeing to any royalty deal. It is becoming more common for producers to have direct contracts with artists as much as with labels and this can involve you having to watch what happens with the recording after release. It is wise to have in your agreement a right to receive royalty statements and to audit the artist or label if you suspect an underpayment. I understand what you say about it being easier for the producer to be given shared rights to the masters and songs, but this could be unfair to the artist and it comes with other complications for the artist of having shared copyright ownership, so I don't think that is a practical solution unfortunately. I strongly believe that royalty collection and distribution will be modernised by blockchain development in the coming years. Hopefully, sooner rather than later
@@theartistguides Thank you so much for your answer.
This video has been AMAZING! Thank you! I have a question: I usually work as a session music but I am due to produce a friend’s single as favour. They won’t be paying me but do you think me asking 30% (originally i wanted 50%) on the sound recording is unreasonable or unfair? I genuinely think it is a good song and once it’s mastered could be potentially great for a sync deal. I haven’t spoken to the artist yet about royalties as we are currently in at the demo stage.
Thanks for your kind words. That's a difficult question to answer exactly for you. There are too many factors that effect the answer. But if you are not charging a fee, then it seems fair you should get higher than average percentage on the sound recording income. I don't know what each of you are contributing, or what previous level of success or experience each of you may have compared to the other, or what kind of release the track might have, but your suggested percentage doesn't seem outrageous.
@@theartistguides Thank you! I should have given a bit more context actually. This will be my friend's first release as an artist but she's a very talented vocalist (her and I have been friends for over 15 years) and I'm a smooth jazz saxophonist/artist with my track currently charting on International jazz radio. In terms of work in the industry I do studio session work and live events and after graduating music uni 5 years ago I am now trying my luck as a producer/composer too. :) In regards to my friend's single; she wrote the song but I will be the arranger and will play half the instruments on the song with other session musicians on the track that I will help source.
Your release was flagged due to the inclusion as a Featured artist on this release. As a result of this flagging, we will need you to please provide a Featured artist agreement ? Can you pls explain why this happen
thank you for this! Why only 15 to 20 percent for producer if it's a self release ?
You're welcome. The percentages mentioned are very approximate just to provide a guide. The producer's royalty percentage still seems to be based on the amounts that have historically been paid to producers in previous decades of the music industry, when it was mainly labels that hired producers and arranged contracts.
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Thank you
nut out the details & put it into good practice.
Thanks for your comment
WHAT IS THE AGREEMENT CALLED IF THE I JUST BUY A BEAT FROM A PRODUCER ? WHAT IS IT CALLED IF THE PRODUCER CO WROTE PART OF A HOOK ON THE SONG ?
I didn't fully understand the difference between the 3-6% and 15-20% (old vs new, label vs self-released?). Does the producer get more points nowadays?
No, the amount a producer gets should be approximately the same in both scenarios. Let's assume it's agreed the producer will be paid one-fifth (1/5) of the money an artist makes from the recording. All the percentage scenarios are then just different ways to express this because it depends on who is collecting the money in and deducting the costs. Therefore, this would equate to about 3%-6% if the artist is signed to a major label deal. However, If the artist is self-releasing then it equates to about 15%-20%. Hope that helps
Hey just because a producer is working with a artist doesn't mean they are recording them too, just putting that out there, there may be an engineer and the engineer may help with the song too, i know i do as a producer and engineer
Thanks for your comment. We have situations similar to what you have mentioned with the producer/songwriters we manage. If the producer is not recording the artist, and is only a co-writer on a song, then we don't need the type of producer agreement we discuss in this video.
what if I compose and writing a guitar riff part for an indie artist, and that part become the main part for the song. can I claim as part of the songwriter?
It's difficult to give a specific answer to your exact contribution, but generally, no, if you have provided a guitar part to somebody else's song, this would not entitle you to a share of the songwriting copyright/royalties.
Please i have a question, for royalties to be paid to the prod. will this still be the case even where the producer assigns his right for the sound recording to the artist for a fee, will he still get to be laid royalties for the work? Thanks look forward to your reply.
If the artist is paying for the recordings to be produced, then yes, it is usual for the producer to assign the recording rights to the artist and also still receive future royalties from the artist. Hope that answers your question
@@theartistguides okay but i gave a follow up please, on what ground then is he receiving royalties where he has assigned his right to the artist, how would be claim royalties, on what rights? Since he has nothing to do with the ownership of the recording of the songs having assigned to out to the artist for a few
@@Chime_Nwachukwu it is usual in a producer contract to agree a royalty to the producer on future income of the sound recording, and it is the artist's (or label's) responsibility to pay it. It doesn't matter that the producer has assigned the recording rights, they still receive a royalty. The assignment of rights does not affect the entitlement to any royalty that was agreed.
@@theartistguides alright. Thanks for the clarification.
Do you have examples to sell?
Thanks!
Hi Moneico, no, sorry we don't. Most of the Agreements we have are drafted by lawyers, so we can't really sell them to other people. However, you should be able to find free template examples online that are usable. Use one that has been written in your country. We do provide coaching sessions online if you want help on this or any other help in general. Visit theartistguides.net/coaching for info and booking
hi! i'm in a situation in which my producer produced the track, recorded my vocals and mixed the song. he's asking for 50% of the master rights as well as 80% of the composition rights (lyrics are remain fully mine, so 40% of copyright). is that standard? in which case would it be and in which case wouldn't it be? thank you for your opinion
maybe as an addition: we're both still newcomers, but i am the main artist. I handle the contact to labels, the preparation of the release, social media content, as well as a large financial share for promotion.
@@user-ju5ww6wt4m It's always difficult to provide advice on questions like this. Every situation is different. I would say that no, the scenario you have listed is not "standard" and does seem expensive. Unless the producer contributes to the writing (e.g. chords, lyrics, structure, creating beats, significant creative arrangement etc.) then no they wouldn't usually get any of the songwriting copyright, or song royalties. Also, 50% of the master royalties seems quite high as well. Having said all of this, there are deals where it is worthwhile for artists to pay more to the producer or share song copyright if the result is vital to your success. Some producers might be worth it. The numbers you outlined seem costly, but there is no one deal that sets a standard. Deals can be anything that two people feel happy to agree on. Sorry I can't be more specific, but I hope that helps.
Okay as an artist that’s a scam lol 😂
Where can we find free templates to use as a reference?
This can be a challenge. Generally, you want a template that is written in your own country. But by reading a few variations of different templates it will give you an idea of what is covered. There are lots online though that can get you started. If a producer and an artist are just starting out then writing up your own agreement in simple (non-legal) language that you both clearly understand and just covering some of the key points I have mentioned will be way better than having no agreement at all. The main thing is you both have a conversation and both understand what you are agreeing to.
Please sir my producer is demanding for 50% publishing right, he specific on mechanical & performance royalties. I wrote the song alone and he made the beat from the beat sample I gave him and also recorded me.. am I suppose to assign him mechanical and performance royalties? Which royalty is his right?
It's difficult to give specific advice, as we don't know your exact circumstance, and cannot provide legal guidance. Generally speaking, an artist would not give a producer a share of the songwriting (publishing rights). However, there are circumstances when this happens, e.g. the producer is contributing significantly to the song, or the producer is connected or highly successful and it is worth giving them a percentage of publishing. But otherwise, no, a producer has no automatic right to a share of publishing. Depending on what you have already agreed, it might be possible you can walk away and find another producer if you are not trusting of the situation you are in.
You said you gave him “the sample!?” As in a (finished) sample based beat that you made it paid for already!? And also wrote the lyrics (If so) then yeah, dudes tripping…
But if you just said you wanted a certain song cleared sampled and composed and left it up to him to make on his own (with his skillset and using the gear I assume he paid for to make it)!? Then that’s pretty straight forward!
You you wrote the lyrics he made the beat
-50/50-
This guy talking isn’t making beats! 😂 he’s an basically an audio engineer
In Your case you and the Beatmaker/producer are both considered artists! (it’s totally different than a studio session or having something mixed or mastered)
one person’s work isn’t anymore or less important than the others!?
Just learn to make your own beats play your instruments and record yourself with your gear in the future! Then you can earn all the money and not have to deal with splits! Since you did it all yourself!?
if you played the instruments synths chopped samples sequenced and it yourself or paid for the masters before the session and all he did was record your vocals on top then sure that was all you!
if not you you both contributed your time money spent on gear overhead for the studio and provide your own skillsets and should be rewarded equally…
Are you saying bpd or ppd?
PPD, “published price to dealer”. It's a European description. In the US they have something similar called SRLP. These are basically agreed prices a recording is being sold for, and upon which the artist's royalty from the label will be calculated. The producer's royalty (points) is a small share of the artist's royalty.
I have a question... I am a rapper and I am looking for templates or examples for music production and distribution contracts to improve my knowledge of the clauses in them and so that I can draft the contract myself. Can you help me with that and send me templates or examples for these contracts if you have them or make a video to explain them so that everyone can benefit... Thank you very much 🥰🙏
Unfortunately, this is something that we cannot do for you for a variety of reasons, even though we wish we could help you. You can find some examples of contracts online by searching. What you can find online tends to vary in how they phrase things and what they concentrate on, but by researching a few examples I find that it gives a pretty good idea of what you could include in your own version. Sorry we can't solve this problem for you. Good luck with it
So, if I understand correctly, ownership of the master can belong to the artist 100% but the producer can get a share otmf the royalties anyway? 🤔
Yes, that's correct. Anyone who owns the copyright to something can agree to pay somebody else, for any reason you are both happy with, a royalty relating to the income from the copyright. This doesn't mean the copyright ownership itself is shared. The artist would still own 100% of the copyright.
What if i pay for recording and mv but im not a writer?
There is no clear answer to what you have asked. There are too many possible scenarios. If you wish to give more information, then I will try and help you with an answer
Hi there, this is a great video. We sent you an email to get some help on a producer contract. But maybe it will help the community to post here too. The scenario is this:
I have written and recorded a song, including guitars, MIDI Bass, MIDI Drums, lyrics and vocals, backing vocals and I would like to employ my friend as the Producer to take the song to the next level. The intention of the collaboration is for him to bring his full arsenal of skills as an engineer, songwriter and musician.
At what point would a co-writing relationship start considering there is a full song written and recorded but he will record and add instruments i.e the Bass Guitar/Programme Drums, Backing Vox, other instruments and potentially rearrange or edit the composition, mix, and provide creative guidance to make the song the best it can be?
Who would own the master recordings?
Who would own the copyright to the musical composition?
Which royalties would the Producer Points be applied to?
How do we credit the songwriting involvement, if any?
My desire is to own the master's and the song copyright and give him a 20% share on the master recording royalties, and an upfront fee (that we've agreed on). He feels he should have ownership rights on the master recording, get a co-writing credit (I'm open to this) and a % of the musical composition royalties.
We both have a good negotiating relationship and know it comes down to what we decide is fair to each other but we can't seem to find clarity on the above.
Thanks!
Thanks. Glad you liked the video. This is an impossible question for us to answer with any certainty. There are too many factors involved, and also we cannot give you legal answers regarding how you should split copyrights. From what you have said though, there is no real definite point at which the producer becomes a co-writer. It is always down to the situation. If the producer is simply recording and arranging an existing song, then usually they would not be credited as a co-writer. If you feel that the producer has actually changed the song or significantly changed the composition then maybe you do credit them with a split/share, but you will have to both decide what you think is fair percentage of the songwriting (publishing income) to share.
With regards to the master (recording) rights, it is usually the artist who has ownership and control, because they are the ones who will release and promote it etc. and it is usual that the producer gets royalty on the master income. The 20% you suggested seems reasonable considering you are paying an up front fee as well.
@@theartistguides Thanks so much for taking the time to respond, albeit a complex scenario!
Hi I love how you broke down these terms and situations. Can I please email you? I have two scenarios where I would really know how the producer and artist agreement should go moving forward so everyone can get the credits and splits they deserve. I would love to hear your opinion about my situation and what I can do .