A recording contract (commonly called a record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law Offer and acceptance analysis is a traditional approach in Contract law used to determine whether an agreement exists between two parties The mailbox rule (called the " postal rule " or "postal acceptance rule" in the UK Australia and New Zealand or "deposited acceptance rule" is In the law of Contracts the mirror image rule states that an offer must be accepted exactly without modifications Invitation to treat (or "bargain" in the US is a Contract law term In the United States, a firm offer allows merchants to make offers to buy or sell irrevocable for up to three months provided that the offer be put down in writing or otherwise Consideration is a central concept in the Common law of Contracts and Contract theory: it is value paid for a promise Discussion As an aspect of the Social contract between a state and its Citizens the state adopts a role of protector to the weaker and more vulnerable members Duress in the context of contract law is a Common law defense and if one is successful in proving that the contract is vitiated by duress the contract may be rescinded since Undue influence (as a term in Jurisprudence) is an equitable doctrine that involves one person taking advantage of a position of power over another person In Contract law, an illusory promise is one that courts will not enforce The statute of frauds refers to the requirement that certain kinds of Contracts be made in writing and signed Non est factum Latin for "it is not deed" is a doctrine in Contract law that allows a signing party to escape performance of the agreement The parol evidence rule is the legal application of a rule of evidence in Contract cases that prevents a party to a written contract from contradicting (or sometimes adding A standard form contract (sometimes referred to as an adhesion contract or boilerplate contract is a Contract between two parties that does not allow for In the Contract Law, an integration clause, or merger clause (sometimes particularly in the United Kingdom, referred to as an entire Contra proferentem is a rule of Contractual interpretation which provides that an ambiguous term will be construed against the party that imposed its inclusion in the In Contract law a mistake is an erroneous belief at contracting that certain facts are true Misrepresentation is a Contract law concept It means a false statement of fact made by one party to another party which has the effect of inducing that party into the contract In the Law of Contracts frustration of purpose is a defense to enforcement of the contract In Contract law, impossibility is an excuse for the nonperformance of duties under a contract based on a change in circumstances (or the discovery of preexisting circumstances The doctrine of impracticability in the Common law of Contracts excuses performance of a duty where that duty has become unfeasibly difficult or expensive for the An illegal agreement, under the Common law of Contract, is one that the Courts will not enforce because the purpose of the agreement is to achieve an illegal Unclean hands, sometimes clean hands doctrine or dirty hands doctrine is an equitable defense in which the Defendant argues that the Plaintiff Unconscionability (also known as Unconscientious dealings) is a term used in Contract law to describe a defense against the enforcement of a Contract In contract law accord and satisfaction is the purchase of the release from a debt obligation The doctrine of privity in Contract law provides that a Contract cannot confer rights or impose obligations arising under it on any person or agent except the parties An assignment (Latin cessio) is a term used with similar meanings in the Law of Contracts and in the law of Real estate. Delegation (Latin intercessio) is a term used in the Law of Contracts to describe the act of giving another person the responsibility of carrying out This article is on the legal term For the keyboard company see Novation Digital Music Systems; for the former modem manufacturer see Novation CAT. A third party beneficiary, in the Law of Contracts, is a person who may have the right to sue on a contract despite not having originally been a party Breach of contract is a Legal concept in which a Binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance Anticipatory repudiation (or anticipatory breach) is a term in the Law of Contracts that describes a declaration by one party (the promising party to a Cover is a term used in the Law of Contracts to describe a remedy available to a Merchant buyer who has received an Anticipatory repudiation An exclusion clause is a term in a Contract that seeks to restrict the rights of the parties to the Contract. Efficient breach refers to an intentional Breach of contract and payment of damages by a party who would incur greater economic loss by performing under the contract A fundamental breach of a Contract, sometimes known as a repudiatory breach, is a breach so fundamental that it permits the distressed party to terminate In the law of Remedy, an order of specific performance is an order of the court which requires a party to perform a specific act usually what is stated in a contract Liquidated damages (also referred to as liquidated and ascertained damages are damages whose amount the parties designate during the formation of a contract for the injured Penal damages are best seen as quantitatively excessive Liquidated damages and are invalid under the Common law. In contract law rescission (to rescind or set aside a contract has been defined as the unmaking of a contract between the parties Estoppel is a legal doctrine recognized both at Common law and in equity in various forms Quantum meruit is a Latin phrase meaning "as much as he has deserved" Conflict of laws (or private international law) is that branch of International law and intranational interstate law that regulates all Lawsuits involving Commercial law (sometimes known as business law) is the body of Law which governs Business and commercial transactions Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of Contractual duties Property law is the area of Law that governs the various forms of Ownership in Real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions In Common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the Testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her Property The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of Law which governs the management of personal affairs and the Disposition of Property of The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a Artists under contract are normally only allowed to record for that label exclusively; guest appearances on other artists' records will carry a notice "By courtesy of (the name of the label)", and that label may receive a percentage of sales.
Labels typically own the copyright in the records their artists make, and also the master copies of those records. Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for A master recording is an original Recording, from which copies may be made An exception is when a label makes a distribution deal with an artist; in this case, the artist, their manager, or another party may own the copyright (and masters), while the record is licensed exclusively to the label for a set period of time. A distribution deal is a legal agreement between one party and another to handle distribution of a product The verb license or grant license means to give permission The noun license is the document demonstrating that permission Promotion is a key factor in the success of a record, and is largely the label's responsibility, as is proper distribution of records. Promotion involves disseminating information about a product, Product line, Brand, or company Distribution (or place) is one of the four elements of Marketing mix.
While initial recording deals usually yield a relatively small percentage of royalties to artists, subsequent (or renegotiated) deals can result in much greater profit, or profit potential. Royalties (sometimes running royalties) are usage-based payments made by one party (the "licensee" to another (the "licensor" for ongoing use of an A few performers, such as Madonna, Michael Jackson and U2, among others, have signed multimillion-dollar contracts. Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16 1958 known as Madonna, is an American Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29 1958 is an American musician entertainer and businessman Whitney Houston, for instance, currently has the biggest recording deal in history, paying her $100 million for recording just five albums, on which she would also earn royalties. Whitney Elizabeth Houston' (born August 9 1963 is an American Singer-songwriter, Actress, Film producer, Arranger and former For many other artists, though, for the millions to become tangible, hit records meeting or exceeding their previous sales figures must follow. A Hit record is a Sound recording, usually in the form of a single or Album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or Recording contracts may include opt-out clauses for the label in the event an artist's popularity dips or they release non-hit albums under the deal; for instance Mariah Carey's $80 million deal with Virgin Records was canceled by Virgin and she was dropped from the label after her album released by the company sold poorly. Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell
Unless worded otherwise, any advances or upfront money paid to a recording artist is owed back to the label, whether the recordings to follow sell well or not. Capitol Records suspended Linda Ronstadt's contract in the early 1970s, but she continued to tour partly to pay Capitol back for her 1960s deal, which cost Capitol more than it had yielded. Capitol Records is a major United States -based Record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood California and New York City as Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15 1946 in Tucson Arizona) is an American popular vocalist and Entertainer whose vocal styles in a variety (Her string of hits in the mid-1970s allowed her to finally clear the debt. ) Labels expect to make a profit, and little concern themselves with a given performer's lack of business or financial savvy, as artists such as George Michael have discovered. Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (Γεώργιος Κυριάκος Παναγιώτου (born 25 June 1963 best known as George Michael, is a two-time Grammy Award winning "Walking out" on a deal is very difficult, as is attempting to strike a new deal without completing an old one; recordings released by Donna Summer and by members of Boston (calling themselves "Orion the Hunter") were pulled from distribution after their former labels took legal action. Donna Summer (born LaDonna Adrian Gaines December 31, 1948) is an American Singer-songwriter and Musician who gained Boston is an American rock band from Boston Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s The Mamas and the Papas were forced into a reunion years after their 1968 breakup, by the letter of their Dunhill Records contract, which required one more album to be completed (1971's People Like Us). The Mamas & the Papas (credited as The Mama's and the Papa's on the debut album cover were a Vocal group of the 1960s. Dunhill Records was started by Lou Adler, Al Bennett, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts in 1964 as Dunhill Productions
Record companies will generally increase royalties or give artistic freedom to get acts to re-sign contracts with them, and generally must offer the best deal to retain an artist. Sometimes, however, established acts will go where they see better opportunity. Diana Ross for instance, released her 1980 album "diana" which fulfilled her contract with Motown Records. Diana Ross (born March 261944 is an American twelve-time Grammy and Oscar -nominated singer Record producer and actress whose musical repertoire Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) "Motown" redirects here For the city see Detroit Michigan. The album featured three Billboard pop hits with a #1 and two top tens. Ross, however, felt she never was fairly compensated by Motown for any of her solo work or her work with The Supremes, one of the biggest groups in history. The Supremes were an American female singing group that first formed as a quartet called The Primettes When RCA Records offered her $20 million to sign a contract with them, Ross gave Motown the chance to match the deal, or at least offer something favorable. RCA Records (originally The Victor Talking Machine Company, then RCA Victor is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. Motown, believing Ross' solo career at the time was too up-and-down and saw no reason to now compensate her for her Supremes work, offered $3 million. Split with the decision to remain loyal to the label that made her famous but never properly paid her, or sign a deal with another company to get what she felt she was worth, she ultimately signed with RCA.
When recordings go out of print, this typically happens because either the label has decided that continuing to sell (or distribute) the record will not be profitable, or the licensing agreement with the artist has expired. (Labels may also stop distribution as a punitive measure, if an artist fails to comply with their contract, or as a strategic measure if negotiations for a new one prove difficult. ) Record labels can also become bankrupt like any business, and their masters and copyrights sold or traded as part of their assets. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their Creditors Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against (Occasionally these are purchased by the artists themselves. )
Recording artists signed to a failed label can find themselves in limbo, unable to record for anyone but a company that is out of business (and thus cannot sell or distribute their records), and with their existing works unavailable for sale. When one label "buys out" another (or a label is purchased by an outside party), any existing copyrights and contracts held (and masters, if owned by the label) normally go with the sale. This often benefits recording artists, but not always.
Distribution deals are often renewed, but occasionally the label and whoever owns the copyright cannot come to terms for a renewal. The reason is usually that one party expects too much money, or too large a percentage of profits, to suit the other.
Breakdown of a typical Recording Contract
(i) Definitions
The first few pages of any recording contract usually deals with the definitions of words to be found in the body of the agreement.
Words such as "record", "compact disc", "territory", "A&R", "delivery" will be defined, as well as "the artist" etc.
(ii) The Term and Minimum Commitments
"The Term" is how long the contract can last for. This is an important clause because it prevents a label from binding a particular artist to them for extremely long periods.
The minimum commitment is, simply put, the least a label has to do whilst sticking to the contract. In most cases the minimum commitment is one album, with a "two album firm" being a rare deal that suggests that the label had previously engaged in a bidding war for a much sought after artist.
When you hear of a "six album deal" generally the label will only be committing to facilitating the recording of a single album but there will be the option of future products.
In many contracts there is no commitment of the label to actually release the finished product. Whether it's released or not depends on "acceptance" by the company. The label can reject delivery of an album by relying on quite precise conditions contained in the contract. The company will want the contract to say that each album must be "commercially acceptable" and a good lawyer acting on behalf of the artist should tone this down to "technically acceptable".
If the album is accepted then most labels agree to a "release commitment" which will provide that they release the album in as few major territories as they can get away with.
(iii) Exclusivity, Grant of Rights and Copyright
Record companies will ensure that the artist is restricted to making records and videos only for them. Artists will usually be permitted to appears as guests on other artists records as long as the company receives a ". . . appears by kind permission of. . . " credit and sometimes a fee or so-called "override" royalty from whichever record company is releasing the record upon which their artist guests.
The contract state that the artist is allowed to have his "performances", which may be defined as including speech, recorded by TV or radio as long as the recordings are not made available commercially without the record company's consent.
The copyright in all recordings made under the provisions of the contract will, in nearly every case, be granted to the company by the artist, as well as the rights for the company to use the artist's name and image in exploiting the recordings. The company will be granted unlimited and exclusive rights to manufacture, distribute and sell records derived from the recordings, and the right to license other companies to do so. The company will also be granted the right to do none of the forgoing if it chooses not to.
(iv) Advances, Royalties and Recording Costs
The financial side of any recording contract is extremely complex. Some of the money may be "recoupable" which means that it can be earned back from record sales, some of it is money that the label is simply expected to pay out.
In very basic terms, the record company is like a bank giving the artist a very very big loan with which to create a record. The loan is paid back slowly through sales.
For every sale the artist received a royalty, which itself has a very complex formula by which it is calculated. Some of the money goes to the record company, some to the publishing company, some to the artist's manager, some to the distributor, some to the record shop, some to the producer(s) and engineer(s) etc etc.
Also packaging deductions are made, i. e. money is taken off the royalties to factor in for the manufacture of the actual CDs, jewel cases etc.
(v) Publishing
Music publishers own, control and exploit compositions written by songwriters. Record companies have to pay publishing companies (or unpublished writers whose works are "copyright control") for the use of these compositions. Realistically, the label must actually receive permission to reprint lyrics in album booklets, record the material in question, and distribute it, among other uses.
Under various intellectual property agreements, national and international, such as The Berne Convention, artists automatically retain copyright in their work the instant it is set into a tangible form, whether lyrics are written down, or a rough demo recording is made; so long as tangible evidence of its exceution exists, rights to the work exist. There will be considerable relinquishing of these rights upon being signed to a label and publisher, but, dependent on the various deals thereby made, artists may or may not still have much clout in determining the uses of their work.
While the Convention provides for instant copyright in the execution of any artwork, in the case of songs, a songwriter not only owns copyright in their work upon creating it tangibly, but also automatically founds their own publishing "company". Now, to diffuse confusion, this is not an actual company, nor the same thing as the publisher or label themselves, but is a legal entity which retains the rights of an individual (as does an actual company, hence the name), and serves as the identifier and body which designates ownership of certain works.
Mainly for royalty purposes, each songwriter has their own publishing "company" (realistically, a mere, unique name to which royalties are made out, and in which licenses are granted). Under the procedures of various performing rights and songwriting organizations in the world, such as ASCAP, signed artists must come up with a maximum of three possible names under which to license and administer their music (these are generally chosen based on personal significance, and most always end in the word "Music"). The American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers ( ASCAP) is a non-profit Performance rights organization that protects its
On sheet music and in album liner notes, songwriting credits are given to the individuals concerned, while rights are assigned to these "companies"; each composer and musician having their own. Some famous examples include "P!nk Inside Music" (the publishing "company" of recording artist P!nk); "Songs of Golgotha Music" (the "company" of Aaronea' Wiggins), and "Welsh Witch Music" (the "company" of Stevie Nicks). Alecia Beth Moore (born September 8 1979 known professionally as P!nk is a two-time Grammy -winning American Singer-songwriter who gained prominence Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks (born on May 26 1948 in Phoenix Arizona) is an American Singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood The contract may or may not mention this feature of the industry, while others may provide for the artist's entitlement to up to three publishing names. They serve primarily as legal identifiers.
For usage on records, record companies pay a "mechanical royalty" to the publisher at a rate of 8. 5% of the dealer price of each record (in the UK).
Another example concerns "synchronisation" rights, where a song is synchronised with moving images, such as a film. Normally, for usage in feature films and TV, publishers expect significant payment. However, in the case of promo clips (music videos) the record company will expect to receive a free or nominally priced synchronisation license - the argument being that the showing of the clip will increase record sales and thus bring mechanical royalties to the publisher.
Subsequently, anyone, including organisations, who is not the artist, publisher, or label may obtain permission, or, a license, to use the song in a certain way. Licenses include, as stated, both "mechanical" and "synchronisation" types, as well as other variations of the same. Generally, in the United States, publishers will charge $500 per 30-second synchronisation of a song. Of course, rates vary by publisher and are based on agreements made between the composer, the label, and the publisher.
Interestingly, if such deals provide for it, artists (songwriters) may actually be afforded the right to approve or reject applications for licensing their works. Such is the case with the famous sisters, Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson of iconic band, Heart. Ann Dustin Wilson (born June 19, 1950 in San Diego California) is the lead singer and Flute player of Heart. Nancy Lamoureux Wilson (born March 16 1954, San Francisco California) is an American Singer, Songwriter and Heart is a rock band whose founding members came from the Seattle, Washington, scene but came together in Vancouver, British Columbia One instance of such power involves the 1999 Sofia Coppola film, The Virgin Suicides, for which Coppola desired to use some Heart songs due to it being set in the mid- to late-seventies. Sofia Carmina Coppola (born May 14, 1971) is an American Film director, actress, producer and Academy Award The Virgin Suicides is a 1999 American Film written and directed by Sofia Coppola, starring James Woods, Kathleen
When Sofia found out how much such synchronisation licenses would cost for the endeavour, she realized she could not legally use the music she wished to, so, hearing of her plight, the Wilson sisters granted her what the industry refers to as a "gratis license", or, rights to synchronise the songs for free. This is similar to when labels receive permission free of charge to use songs in music videos, though in the case of The Virgin Suicides, the permission was granted on a compassionate basis.
It is not a common feature of this clause in a recording contract to grant such creative licensing power to the artist or songwriter, and depends almost entirely on the artist's clout and relations with the publisher in that deal.
(vi) Group Provisions
Record companies generally insist on signing the band "joint and severally"; this means that instead of the group being signed to the contract as a single entity, each member of the band is signed individually. Thus, if a band splits, the company controls any solo projects that they may embark on.
(vii) Creative Control and Cost Control
Most record companies are wary of giving artists complete creative control, and this is generally only done if the artist has demonstrated they warrant it, unless the company are desperate to sign the artist.
Generally the company will have control over the choice of material, studio and the producer used "in consultation with the artist". Most of the time there isn't much dispute in this area but it does happen.
There will often (but not always) be provisions in the contract that give the artist the right to veto certain costs, such as, for example remixes. This is so that company doesn't just add more and more to the artist's debt without their consent.
(viii) Video
Promo clips (aka music videos) are heavy financial commitments made by the record companies, most shoots are between $35,000 and $55,000 with bigger artists being able to command budgets of $300,000 or more.
Recoupment of promo clips is often an area of dispute because there is no way a record company can make significant amounts of money back from them directly. Though, there is the debated format of video singles, pioneered by Madonna when her controversial video for "Justify My Love" was banned by MTV and other major music video broadcasters. Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16 1958 known as Madonna, is an American " Justify My Love " was the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection MTV ( Music Television) is an American Cable television network based in New York City. She ended up selling a significant number of copies of the video, and has released songs in this format various times since. In spite of this, video singles have never been as commercially-viable as conventional audio singles, and indeed, the single format is dwindling in sales with the rise of Internet availability of both legal and gray-area music downloads.
Music videos are often taken very seriously by influential major-label artists, such as Madonna and Michael Jackson; both of whom have made groundbreaking leaps in the production of what have become more than mere promotional clips. Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29 1958 is an American musician entertainer and businessman Some artists videos often resemble full-fledged films, utilizing 35mm filmstock, famous directors, and lengthy shooting schedules, among special effects and expensive sets.
Michael Jackson made headway in artists' rights to command high costs for video production with his famous Thriller, arguably a movie in its own right; likewise, Marilyn Manson's video for that band's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" pioneered a new visual technique now referred to by directors colloquially as "the Marilyn Manson shot" (an alteration of both lense-types and focal lengths simultaneously to achieve a surreal, 'blurry' look to not the entire frame, but certain portions of it). Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 13-minute Music video for the song of the same name released on December 2 1983 and directed by John Landis Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969) better known by his Stage name Marilyn Manson, is an American Musician and " Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This " (or simply " Sweet Dreams " is a song by pop music duo Eurythmics, written by David A
Recently, Green Day made news with tallying up a considerable debt for one its recent videos, and because of these changes to the cultural and economic importance of the music video, record labels have begun to reconsider their investments in such. Green Day is an American rock trio
Artists' lawyers will tend to say that music videos are marketing tools and therefore should be paid for out of the company's pocket, not the artists debit balance. In respect of this, and because of the actions of artists like those aforementioned, some labels are modifying their expenditures to produce better videos, without having their artists incur so much debt.
The normal compromise is that half of the cost is recoupable from record sales, half from any other income related to that video or other videos.
There will be provisions for "long form videos", which are usually specially filmed concerts for TV or video release. The record company will nearly always want to take the artist's right to such releases.
(ix) Tour Support and Equipment
There are provisions made for the prospect of the band touring, as many artists will build up their fanbase in this way. This will usually include certain advances made in the way of tour support or equipment being bought. This clause will vary significantly from deal to deal.
Arguably the best way for a tour to increase an artist's fanbase is for the artist to book appearances not only as headliners, but also as supporting performers at large festival tours. Mainly popular in Europe, though with some North American examples, the festival concert draws the largest audience possible in the touring aspect of the industry, with the exception of televised concerts. Also, festivals offer fans of diverse demographics and tastes to partake of several different bands at one venue over a period of days.
Many of the major labels have their own "in-house" touring departments which handle nearly all aspects of an artist's tour, from transportation and equipment, to promotion and investment. Such an example is Universal Tours, the "in-house" department of mega-label, Universal Music. Universal Music Group (UMG is the largest Business group and family of Record labels in the Recording industry. In such scenarios, usually only external bookers are required. Booker is the term applied in the music industry to someone who books a concert at a venue or several venues hence the name Such departments are also responsible for the hiring and payment of touring personnel, such as roadies and drivers. "Roadie" redirects here For the 1980 movie see Roadie (film. Driving is the controlled operation of a land Vehicle, usually a Motor vehicle such as a Truck or a car. In this capacity, an artist's contract may or may not adequately furnish their touring efforts.
(x) Producers
This clause deals with how the producer's royalty is calculated.
A "name" producer will charge a royalty of between 3% and 5% of the retail price against an advance of $4,000 per track.
(xi) Auditing and Accounting
A record company will send the artist a detailed royalty statement twice a year. All record companies will allow an artist's accountant to check their books to see if the information on the royalty statement is correct. Likewise, music publishers also send royalty statements twice a year, detailing uses of an artist's work (if the artist is the songwriter) through licensing deals. Depending on an artist's publishing deal, they may or may not have a final say in who can license their music for what, purpose and fee. Both of these types of statements reflect sales and distribution, though the methods used by publishers and labels to tabulate sales and licensing data may differ dramatically, which is why the option of auditing can be very helpful.
(xii) Promotional Duties
Most contracts contain provisions whereby the artist agrees to promote the release of records free of charge other than the reimbursment of out-of-the-pocket expenses.
Promotional activities include, for example, press interviews, photo sessions, appearing on radio and television and making personal appearances.
(xiii) Termination
Like most contracts, there are provisions for if either party makes a significant breach of the contract that means it can be terminated.
(xiv) Miscellaneous Provisions
The contract will normally finish with a few pages of miscellaneous clauses such as:
- That the contract is governed by law.
- That the artist warrants that there are no restrictions which would prevent the artist from entering into the contract (such as already being signed to another label).
- That the artist acknowledges that the sales of records are speculative and will not sue the company if not enough records are sold.
- Specifically agreed minor terms, such as the record company paying for the legal costs in negotiating the agreement.
(xv) The signature
There is space for the artist, and an authorized signatory of the record company to sign the contract, which in terms, seals the deal.
References
A Band's Guide to Getting a Record Deal by Will Ashurst; ISBN 1860742432
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