![]() At iMusician, you can join half a million DIY musicians by choosing one of our distribution plans based on your needs and desires. The duration, as well as the conditions of a distribution contract, generally differ depending on the music distribution company. In a distribution contract, the following points are regulated: distribution area, recordings covered by the contract, release, costs and payment, transactions with collection societies, protective rights, and stock management. In the case of a physical release, there are also combi-contracts, which don't just include the distribution of your product, but also the manufacture. In this way, you don't usually transfer any rights to your recordings, instead just the (exclusive) right to distribute your content to the corresponding partner shops of the distributor, both digital and physical. If you decide to make an independent release without the participation of a label, then you can make a direct distribution contract with aggregators yourself. This may be one of the reasons why record labels seem attractive to musicians - they take care of the extensive background work, but, traditionally, for the price of their ownership rights. Between: A label/independent artist and a distributorĭistribution contracts are usually signed between record labels and distributors.A year is a long time period to be in an agreement that is both unfavorable and unprofitable. Things you should definitely watch out for in a record deal are reasonable royalty rates, hidden royalty deductions, or whether a release commitment is included. Before entering a record deal, it’s therefore absolutely essential to be transparent about your goals with the label company and make sure that you completely understand every aspect of the contract. The initial length of a recording contract is usually one year, typically followed by several option periods. Other things regulated by record deals are production volume, format, exclusivity, duration, sub-license rights, sync, and merchandising rights. It takes care of all the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of the record and concerns everything from what advance you’ll operate with, to what percentage you will receive out of the contract, to whether or not the label takes care of your social media. It’s vital to know that a classic record deal is a complex document and may therefore be a tough one to get the hang of for musicians. Unscrupulous labels can offer even 5- or 10-year contractsīy signing a record label contract, you transfer the "rights in the recording" to the label interested in your tracks. Duration: initial length is minimum one year.Between: an artist and a record label company. ![]() It is recommended that you look at sample contracts and check carefully which rights you would like to transfer under which conditions. The most important elements of these contracts are contract length, territory, extent of rights, duties of the publisher and author, and synchronization rights. In this case, there are single title contracts or exclusive author contracts, for which a corresponding advance is paid. You can’t then select which tracks they should take care of and which to leave out.Īuthors and lyricists can also transfer part of their copyright to a music publisher. GEMA, for example, only offers an all-in contract, meaning that the agreement will apply to your whole body of work. Your copyrights can be protected using copyright authorities for neighboring rights like GVL or SwissPerform.Īs collecting societies may provide different offers, it’s essential to be careful with the agreement you’re about to enter and to read it thoroughly. This way you will avoid ugly discussions later on (you can also regulate this in the band contract). It’s important for bands to decide in advance who will take copyright shares as an author, and who won't. The collection societies function as custodians for your songs, collecting payment for the use of your songs and taking a small cut of 10%. That means that your royalties will be collected internationally, as well. It’s good to know that most countries have their own operating collecting societies, such as SUISA, GEMA, and others which work together globally. If you operate as a composer or lyricist you should get in touch with a collection society as quickly as possible, and enter a so-called 'contract of assignment'. ![]() Duration: a minimum 1 year followed by various option periods.Between: a musician and a publisher or a collecting society. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |