Flat-fee music law representation for recording artists, producers, songwriters, labels, publishers, and bands. Recording agreements, publishing deals, licensing, distribution, band partnership agreements, and the contracts that govern how music gets made and how the money flows.
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The music industry runs on a stack of contracts that govern who created what, who owns it, who can use it, and how the revenue gets split. The legal framework is shaped by two parallel copyrights in every recorded song: the composition (the underlying song — melody, lyrics, structure) and the master recording (the specific recorded performance). Each copyright has its own ownership, its own licensing rights, and its own revenue streams — mechanical royalties, performance royalties, sync licensing fees, master recording royalties, and (for streaming) per-stream payouts split across these rights. Understanding which contract controls which rights matters because almost every dispute in music traces back to ambiguity about who owns what.
Most working musicians and producers we represent come to us with one of a few specific needs: reviewing a recording or publishing deal someone offered them, drafting a band partnership agreement before issues come up, negotiating a sample clearance or featuring agreement, structuring a producer agreement for a project, drafting a sync license for placement in film or advertising, or handling the legal side of releasing music independently (distribution agreements, performing rights organization registration, work-for-hire structuring with collaborators). The work is contract-focused and matches a flat-fee model well — most music contracts have defined scope, defined deliverables, and clear endpoints.
What music attorneys typically don't handle on a flat-fee basis: contested copyright litigation (someone's suing over alleged infringement, or being sued), royalty audits where the work scope can't be predicted, or open-ended general-counsel relationships with major labels or large catalogs. The work that matches our model is the contract drafting and review work that most working musicians actually need — and most working musicians are dramatically better served by careful contract work than by litigation, because the contracts determine outcomes long before disputes arise.
For artists signing with labels (or labels signing artists), the recording agreement is the central document. It governs the term of the relationship, the number of albums or recordings the artist commits to, who owns the master recordings, the royalty rate the artist receives, advance amounts, recoupment provisions (how advances get paid back from royalties before the artist sees additional money), creative control, marketing commitments, and termination provisions. Recording deals vary substantially — major label deals, indie label deals, distribution-only deals, and various hybrid structures all exist. We review the specific agreement against industry-standard terms and identify provisions that warrant negotiation.
Publishing covers the composition copyright (the song itself, separate from any specific recording). Publishing deals come in several structures: traditional publishing (the publisher takes a share of compositions and handles licensing/exploitation in exchange), administration deals (the publisher handles licensing for a fee but doesn't take a share), and co-publishing (split ownership). The structure affects royalty splits substantially. We review and negotiate publishing agreements for songwriters, producers who write or co-write, and artists who own their compositions.
Bands operating without a formal agreement default to general partnership rules — equal ownership of everything created together, equal control, equal liability. This is often not what the members actually want, but it's what default rules produce. Common issues that band partnership agreements should address: ownership of songs (when one member wrote most of them), ownership of the band name (which sometimes outlasts the members' time in the band), what happens when a member leaves (does their ownership share survive, or does it get bought out), how new revenue gets split (touring, merchandise, recording, endorsements may all have different splits), decision-making rights, and intellectual property assignment for work created during the band's life. We draft band agreements early in a project's life to prevent the most common late-stage disputes.
Producer contracts allocate ownership and credit between the producer and the artist for tracks the producer worked on. Common structures: work-for-hire (artist owns everything, producer gets paid), production deal (producer owns or co-owns and receives royalties), and various hybrids. The right structure depends on the project's economics and what the producer is actually contributing. Producers who don't have proper agreements often discover years later that their contribution to a successful track wasn't documented and they have no enforceable claim to royalties.
Using existing recordings or compositions in new music requires permission from the rights holders — both the master recording owner and the composition owner. Sample clearance is a specialized negotiation; we handle clearances for indie projects and coordinate with clearance specialists for major-label projects. Featuring agreements (where one artist guests on another's track) cover similar ground: who gets credit, how royalties split, whether the guest can use the track for their own purposes, and how the relationship between the artists is structured.
Sync licensing is the use of music in film, TV, advertising, video games, or other visual media. The license terms cover the specific use, the term, the territory, the fee structure (flat fee, royalty, or both), and the rights granted. We draft sync licenses for music being placed in productions, and review sync licenses being offered to artists by film/TV producers and ad agencies.
For artists releasing independently, the legal structure spans multiple agreements: distribution (digital and physical), publishing administration or self-administration, performing rights organization registration (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC), and any related licensing for samples or features. We help artists structure independent releases in a way that preserves their ownership and revenue streams while still benefiting from professional distribution and administration services.
All work is flat-fee, set in writing before any work begins. Pricing scales with the agreement: simple sync licenses or single-purpose contracts price modestly; multi-album recording deals, complex publishing arrangements, and heavily-negotiated band partnership agreements price higher.
For working musicians who sign multiple contracts per year (touring agreements, sync licenses, featuring deals, etc.), we sometimes structure ongoing relationships with predictable pricing for routine review work, with project work priced separately as it comes up.
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Always have the deal reviewed before signing. Recording agreements affect substantial future income and creative control, and the standard terms in many deals are heavily favorable to the label. Common issues we identify in unreviewed contracts: long terms (multiple album commitments that can lock in artists for many years), unfavorable royalty rates, broad ownership claims (some deals claim ownership of recordings the artist makes outside the deal), and recoupment provisions that delay any actual income to the artist for years. Review costs are small relative to the financial impact of the agreement.
Every recorded song has two separate copyrights. The composition copyright covers the song itself — the melody, lyrics, structure. The master recording copyright covers the specific recorded performance. They're often owned by different parties (a songwriter might own the composition while a label owns the master), and they generate different royalty streams (mechanical royalties from sales, performance royalties from radio/streaming/live performance, sync licensing fees from media placement, and master royalties from the sale or licensing of recordings). Most music contracts deal with one or both of these rights, and understanding which rights are being assigned or licensed is fundamental.
Strongly recommended. The friendship makes the conversation easier, not less necessary. Without a band agreement, default partnership law applies — equal ownership of everything, equal control, equal liability for any band-related debts. This is often not what bands actually want, particularly when one member writes most of the songs, when revenue streams differ across band activities (touring vs. recording vs. merchandise), or when members eventually leave. Adding an agreement when everyone is aligned is dramatically easier than negotiating one when there's tension.
Get permission before release. Using a sample without clearance creates copyright infringement liability that survives in perpetuity — even if the song is years old, the rights holder can sue at any time. Clearance involves contacting both the master recording owner and the composition owner (often different parties), negotiating terms, and paying the agreed fees or royalties. Some samples clear easily; others (particularly from major artists) can be expensive or impossible to clear. We handle clearances for indie projects and coordinate with clearance specialists for larger projects.
Yes if you want performance royalties. ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC are the three major U.S. performing rights organizations (PROs). Each collects performance royalties when your music is played publicly (radio, TV, streaming, live venues) and pays them to registered songwriters and publishers. You register with one PRO; the registration is free for songwriters and modest for publishers. Without PRO registration, performance royalties simply aren't paid to you. We help artists understand the registration process and the differences between the three PROs.
Flat fee set in writing before any work begins. Pricing scales with complexity. Get a free quote in under an hour by submitting the contact form.
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