Music & Recording Deal Review
A recording contract can define who owns your music, who collects the royalties, and how much creative control you retain — for decades. Get it reviewed before you sign.
Do You Actually Need This?
The label deal you sign at the beginning of your career can control your catalog — and your income — for the rest of it.
Label owns your masters
A recording agreement without a reversion clause gives the label permanent ownership of your masters — meaning they collect the majority of streaming royalties, licensing fees, and sync income from your music indefinitely, regardless of whether the label continues to promote it.
360-degree deal
A 360-degree contract entitles the label to a percentage of all entertainment revenue — including touring, merchandise, endorsements, and publishing — not just record sales, which can significantly reduce your net income across your entire career.
Unconscionable royalty rates
Recording royalty rates in label deals are often set at 12–18% of retail with a container deduction, digital discount, and free goods allowance that collectively reduce your effective rate to single digits — far below what independent distribution pays.
Broad IP assignment
Without clear limits, a recording agreement can assign not only the recordings but also your performance name, likeness, and related IP to the label — making it difficult to operate independently even after the contract term ends.
Not every label deal is predatory — but every artist deserves to understand exactly which rights they are signing away before committing.
What You Get
- Written Analysis
Recording Agreement Review
We review the entire recording contract — masters ownership, royalty structure, advance recoupment, 360 provisions, option periods, creative control, and reversion rights — and produce a plain-English summary of every material term.
- Royalty Memo
Royalty Structure Analysis
We calculate your effective royalty rate after all label deductions and compare it to current independent distribution benchmarks — so you know what the deal actually pays.
- Negotiated Counter
Counter-Proposal
We draft a counter-proposal targeting the most harmful provisions: masters reversion trigger, 360 carve-outs, improved royalty rate, audit rights, and creative approval clauses.
- Plain-English Memo
Deal vs. Independent Comparison
We provide a side-by-side comparison of the label deal terms versus the economics of independent distribution — so you can make an informed decision about whether the advance and promotional support justify the rights transfer.
Flat Fee. No Surprises.
Recording Deal Review
From $2,500flat fee per agreement- Full contract review with plain-English summary
- Royalty structure analysis with effective rate calculation
- Masters, 360, and reversion analysis
- Written risk memo with top concerns
- Recommended
Review & Negotiate
From $4,000flat fee per agreement- Everything in Recording Deal Review
- Counter-proposal drafted and delivered
- Negotiation with label or their counsel
- Final agreement sign-off review
Your Questions Answered
A masters reversion clause gives you the right to reclaim ownership of your recordings if the label fails to commercially exploit them for a defined period — typically two to five years. Without one, the label retains your masters permanently, even if they shelve the project.
A 360-degree deal gives the label a percentage of all entertainment revenue — not just recordings — in exchange for broader support and promotion. Whether to sign depends entirely on the percentages, carve-outs, and what the label actually commits to in return. Most artists should negotiate aggressive carve-outs.
Major label recording royalties typically range from 14–20% of retail, but after deductions for containers, digital formats, free goods, and advances, the net effective rate is often closer to 10–13%. Independent distribution typically pays 80–100% of net receipts with no advance recoupment required.
Yes — and you have more leverage than you think if you have demonstrable streaming numbers, a social following, or a live touring base. Labels negotiate from deal templates, and most standard label terms are starting positions, not final offers.
An advance recoupment clause requires all label advances — including recording costs, video budgets, and promotional spending — to be recovered from your royalties before you receive any royalty income. You owe the advance back from your share of royalties; it is not a loan in the traditional sense.
