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Posted by SystematicX1 on May-01-2023 22:17:

Labels...

I was curious for those of you currently with either releases on a Label or signed in contract to.
I was approached and corresponded with a label in regards to certain tracks I produced and the details were kind of alarming. Needless to say, I was curious if it truly is the day and age we live in or are these guys hanging around the bong to much.

What is the average "deal" today. I can only assume in the Electronic genres it is nearly all singles and so, in assumption that it is, are you based of of those singles they ask for or the ones you provide.

Is there a % of Royalties you agreed to?

Do they have the license retention or do you still own the rights?

Posted by Storyteller on May-02-2023 06:14:

Many labels have shit contracts. Basic dont's:

Never sign away your personal name or artist name exclusively.

Never sign away your rights for merchandise. If you do well at some point this is a cashcow.

Don't go for exclusive publishing related to your artist/personal name. it's often poor at best. Unless its a renown party it is often not worth considering.

Never sign for offering first rights on following tracks for a period of time or amount of tracks. This limits your options in the short run.

---

Basic do's:

Exclusive title based contracts. Super common. Note that any new remixes/remakes produced later usually fall under same agreement.

50/50 for anything digital when working with small labels. Bigger ones use lower percentages but often yield more exposure and reward. It's a personal decision.

Royalties through licensing vary wildly per party.

Title-based publishing agreement. Freedom to work with others as well as potential additional income on the track(s)

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Some of the above I have from hearsay, others from personal experience. Is there anything in particular you're curious about?

Posted by SystematicX1 on May-03-2023 02:50:

quote:
Originally posted by Storyteller
Many labels have shit contracts. Basic dont's:

Never sign away your personal name or artist name exclusively.

Never sign away your rights for merchandise. If you do well at some point this is a cashcow.

Don't go for exclusive publishing related to your artist/personal name. it's often poor at best. Unless its a renown party it is often not worth considering.

Never sign for offering first rights on following tracks for a period of time or amount of tracks. This limits your options in the short run.

---

Basic do's:

Exclusive title based contracts. Super common. Note that any new remixes/remakes produced later usually fall under same agreement.

50/50 for anything digital when working with small labels. Bigger ones use lower percentages but often yield more exposure and reward. It's a personal decision.

Royalties through licensing vary wildly per party.

Title-based publishing agreement. Freedom to work with others as well as potential additional income on the track(s)

---

Some of the above I have from hearsay, others from personal experience. Is there anything in particular you're curious about?

Thanks for that Story,
All in all, it isn’t a great feeling with these guys. 50% profit sharing, retention of song rights and , from what I’ve seen, seemingly is more of a SoundCloud promotion is not even close to what I would agree to.
With that said, if this is any way what most deals are like, I can live without it. I mean, it would be cool to be recognized for your music, sure but at a cost like that…no thanks

Posted by Storyteller on May-03-2023 04:38:

Yeah.

Nowadays artists have plenty of options themselves through distributors like Distrokid. It just means you'll have to do your own promotion or you'd need to be satisfied with no promotion at all.