Music Law

Recording Contracts & Production Contracts

The recording or production process can be long and complex, involving various different musicians, engineers, producers and the representatives of these people. Without a contract to clearly establish who is in control, who holds which rights, and how parties will be compensated, it is easy for disagreement to arise later in the production process or once the sound recording is complete. A recording contract or production contract is essential to ensuring that all parties’ rights and obligations are clearly expressed before recording so as to avoid future ambiguity, confusion or disagreement. Otherwise, a hired musician may claim to have a right to the copyright of a producer’s song due to their creative contribution. Visa versa, a musician may not be fairly compensated for their contribution. Contact Kathleen Taylor Law today to draft your recording contract or production contract.

Work for Hire Contracts

Where a producer or musician enlists another musician, producer or engineer to provide services, the nature of the relationship between the parties can sometimes be legally confusing or unclear. The relationship may pertain to live performances, sound recordings, or any other provision of services. If the nature of the agreement is not made clear from the beginning, confusion and uncertainty can arise later on. Is the musician a friend who is doing you a favor? Or a someone who you are collaborating with to add a distinctive riff or sound or to help to further develop your song as a co-author? How will they be compensated? Will you pay them upfront or will they have rights to a portion of any revenue you generate from the performance or sound recording? It is important to think of all of these things before enlisting or providing services, and to clearly agree on them in a contract before the provision of services commences. Otherwise, a hired musician may claim to have a right to the copyright of your song due to their creative contribution. Visa versa, a musician may not be fairly compensated for their contribution.  Contact Kathleen Taylor Law today to draft your work for hire contract.

Songwriting Contracts

Without a written agreement stating otherwise, California Law assumes that co-authors of a song each jointly own an equal undivided interest in the copyrights. So even if you write 90% and your co-author only writes 10% of the song, you will have to share 50% of the song’s copyrights with them. To ensure that each co-author holds a fair share of the copyrights relevant to their input, it is crucial that both parties sign a songwriting contract before the creative process commences. Contact Kathleen Taylor Law today to draft your songwriting contract.

Licensing Agreements

When a songwriter composes a musical composition, they hold the copyright to that composition. If another musician wants to perform that song, either live or for a recording, the original copyright owner is owed royalties on their copyright. For live performances, the payment of these royalties is monitored and administered through performance rights organizations (such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, ACEMLA and PRS).

A copyright owner can allow another musician to perform his or her song through a licensing contract, which will usually take the form of a flat fee for a defined period of usage or a royalty payment scheme determined by the number of copies of the work sold or the total revenues acquired as a result of its distribution.  In addition to a basic fee, most music licensing agreements require additional payments to the copyright owner when the work in which it is included (for instance a film or video) is financially successful above a certain threshold.

Whether you are a copyright owner wanting to protect your rights to your composition or a musician wanting to perform another musician’s composition, a licensing agreement will help to protect your rights and ensure that all terms of the agreement are clearly understood and accepted by both sides.  Contact Kathleen Lara Taylor today to draft the appropriate licensing agreement for your needs.

Publishing Contracts

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When a songwriter composes a musical composition, they hold the copyright to that composition. Publishing companies buy the rights to composers’ compositions. Sometimes a composer will be paid a flat fee for the rights to his or her existing composition. Sometimes they retain a share of some of the income generated from that composition. Sometimes a publisher will buy the rights to an individual composition, and sometimes they will buy the rights to a composer’s entire library of compositions. Sometimes a publisher will buy the rights to future compositions that the composer will write in the future, which don’t exist yet.

Whether you are a composer wanting to sell your music to a publishing company, or a publishing company wanting to purchase a composer’s composition(s), it is important to lay out the terms of the agreement clearly in a publishing contract. Contact Kathleen Lara Taylor today to draft your publishing contract. 

Sync Contracts

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A music synchronization license, or "sync" for short, is a license granted by a songwriter or copyright owner allowing the licensee to synchronize ("sync") music with some kind of visual media output (film, television shows, advertisements, video games, accompanying website music, movie trailers, etc.). The licensee may sync an existing sound recording with visual output, or they may create a cover version of the original composition to sync with visual output.

When an audio/visual project producer wants to use an existing sound recording in their visual work, they must contact both the owner of the sound recording, and the owner of the composition. In some cases, particularly for independent artists, the copyright owner and the sound recording owner may be the same person.

Whether you are a copyright owner, sound recording owner, or visual media creator wanting to sync music into your video content, you will need a synchronization contract to lay out the terms of your agreement and the allowed usage of the composition and/or sound recording.  Contact Kathleen Lara Taylor today to draft your sync contract. 

Band Agreements

Stories about messy band split abound throughout musical history. Guns ’n Roses, Rage Against the Machine, The Beatles…these are just a few example of tragic band splits. In the beginning stages of a band, which are often formed by close friends, it can sometimes be unthinkable that conflict or disagreement could ever split the band up. But as success (or lack thereof!) grows, tensions can easily arise. It is important that bandmates discuss possible scenarios early on to avoid these type of problems later on. What happens if one of the band members is contributing more to the songwriting process than the others? Will you share all copyrights evenly, or will these be adjusted according to contribution per song? What if one band member becomes more famous than others, and is offered additional solo opportunities? Are they free to take these opportunities? What if they conflict with band commitments? What are your long term goals and visions for the band? Do you all want the same thing? What if some band members are pouring all of their energy, time and money into the band but others view it more as a side project or hobby? What if one band member becomes unable to travel or tour or follow the same schedule as the other band members? What if band members arrive late for commitments? What about substance abuse? What happens if some band members leave the band but want to keep performing the band’s songs or using the band’s name? These, and many more, are all factors worth considering early on and incorporating into a written contract that can help to mediate conflicts later on. Contact Kathleen Taylor Law today to draft your band agreement.

Record Deals

Through record deals, record labels can offer musicians the opportunity to grow their music careers, finance their production, expand their audiences and generate income. Record labels often offer attractive advance payments to musicians in exchange for handing over control over the rights to their copyrights, performance revenues and all other income streams. Sometimes the payment structure involves the label paying the artist a fixed lump sum amount in exchange for control and rights over future income. Sometimes the artist retains a portion of their copyright, royalties or performance revenue meaning that they retain a portion of future income. The structure can vary vastly.  Both sides are taking a gamble. If the artist ends up generating vast revenue, then the label may benefit by having paid the artist a relatively small lump sum compared to future revenues generated. However, if the artist’s music is unsuccessful and does not generate much revenue, then the artist may have benefited from the lump sum payment. 

However, there is often an unequal power balance between a single artist or band who is desperate for an opportunity to grow their career, and a record label or company which has greater financial and legal resources and can demand more favorable terms. For this reason, record deals often favor record labels or companies. Furthermore, record labels or companies often retain control over the artist’s future career or income for very long periods of time. 

Before signing a record contract, it is important that a qualified music attorney revises the contract to ensure that you fully understand all of the terms and their implications. Contact Kathleen Taylor Law today for advice or to revise your record contract.

Talent Agent Contracts

Under California Law, a talent agent must be licensed in order to seek economic opportunities on behalf of their client. Usually, a talent agent takes roughly 10% of an artist’s income from the opportunities that the agent obtains for them. But what about other opportunities that the artist may obtain by themselves? What if someone contacts the artist independently to offer them an opportunity to perform? Will the agent still claim 10% of the proceeds of this opportunity? And does the agent have the right to turn down opportunities presented to the artist, or prevent the artist from performing/delivering these services? How long does the talent agent relationship last? Can the artist terminate the relationship if the artist is unhappy?

As you can see, there are a number of questions that can arise in a talent agency relationship. To protect your rights and avoid uncertainty or conflict, it is important to have a qualified music attorney revise and explain any talent agent contract or agreement before signing. Contact Kathleen Taylor Law today for advice on your rights and to revise or draft your talent agent contract.

Talent Management Contracts

Under California Law, a manager and an agent perform two very different functions. Depending on what is agreed, a manager may control any aspects of a musicians’ career, image or sound. However, under California Law a manager may NOT obtain employment or economic opportunities on the musician’s behalf. This is the agent’s job. In reality, though, it is very common for managers break this rule and act as agents even without being licensed. However, even if an artist accept employment or opportunities obtained by their manager, the artist may have a defense against the manager’s claim for a share in the revenues therefrom. It is important for both parties to be informed of their rights and responsibilities under both agent and manager contracts, and to protect and enforce those rights and responsibilities contractually. This can also prevent misunderstanding or disagreement later down the line regarding which aspects of musician’s career, image or sound that the manager can take control of. Contact Kathleen Taylor Law today for advice on your rights and responsibilities and to draft or revise your management contract.

Performance Contracts

There is a lot more that goes into a live performance than just the performance itself. There may be rehearsals, sound checks, costume fittings, hair, makeup, publicity, travel and all sorts of other things involved too. When a performer and promoter or event planner agree that the musician will perform at a certain event, it is important that all parties fully understand what the performance will entail and what is expected of each. Will the performer be compensated separately for rehearsals and publicity engagements, or are those included in the performance rate? Will food be provided for the performer? Who will pay for the performer’s transport or accommodation if necessary? How many hours or days will the commitment run? Make sure that all of these details are agreed upon ahead of time in order to avoid conflicts later on. Contact Kathleen Taylor Law today to draft or revise your performance contract.