Hip Hop Production Article, Music Creation Information, Beat Making Info

Put It In Writing!
By RapDrums.com

One of the most common mistakes that young producers make is not putting all transactions they make in writing. A contract should not be an optional factor in any situation, whether you feel secure or not. You can end up broke, in jail, or dead (if someone is angry enough) all because you didn’t feel like solidifying the deal with a contract. We’ll teach you what to look for when drafting or purchasing a contract so your music (and your money) stays safe and in the right hands. Each contract is different and comes along with its own clauses and specifications, so be smart!

As an example, let’s use a contract which gives the rights of an instrumental to an artist. Royalties are payments made by the artist to the producer on all money received due to the instrumental that the producer provided. “All money received” is a difficult term to define, and it can make or break the deal if you know how to manipulate it properly. As a producer, always try to make sure that you receive royalties on the gross revenue of the artist, not the net. Gross revenue is all money that is received by the artist before he pays out for his expenses. Net revenue is all money after the expenses have been paid for, more simply the profit. The gross is always more than the net, which is why you want to specifically define in your contract that you will receive royalties on the gross.

You may also have a clause which changes the percentage that you receive depending upon the amount of money that the artist makes. The percentage can either increase or decrease as the artist’s revenue increases. Which path it takes depends on who has more power in the negotiation or who is smart enough to get away with it first. As a producer, you should always try to make sure that your percentage increases as the artist’s revenue increases.

Another thing that you want to be on the lookout for is how long and how often royalty payments will be made to you. If payments are set to be made once per year, you will have a very difficult time living before you receive your first check. You want to define the payment plan with as many payments per year as you can get the artist to agree on. It should also go without saying, but make sure there is a clause which states the length of time that royalty payments will be made to you. As a producer, the longer you get paid the better.

Also make sure that the artist agrees to keep records of all of his earnings due to the instrumental. Many people will try to pretend like they received much less money then they really did in order to pay out less royalty money. The producer should always have the right, at any time, to request copies of all of the artist’s financial transactions dealing with the song. If you suspect something is amiss, don’t be afraid to talk to a lawyer about the situation. Don’t lose out on money that is rightfully yours because you are too nice. Plus, if the artist is ethical, there should be no arguments about inserting this clause into the contract.

Lastly, it seems rather ridiculous to say, but DO NOT forget to have all parties in question sign and date the contract. You’d be surprised at how many people don’t realize that signatures are the only thing the make the contract worth the paper that it’s printed on.

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