Useful Music Contracts - For Producers & Songwriters
These are some of the most common types of contracts used by Producers and Musicians in music business.
Sync License
A synchronization License is an agreement between the Publisher/ Owner of a copyrighted composition (song) and the Music User. The Owner grants the User permission to release the song alongside video (DVDs, Blue-Ray, etc.).
For example, the makers of a feature film would need a Sync license for the rights to use copyrighted songs in their movie.
Booking Agreement
A common booking agreement made between an Artist/Musician and the venue or promoter hiring for their services.
This will outline the Location, Time, Compensation and other important terms to make sure both the artist and employer are satisfied with the booking.
Exclusive Rights Contract
This contract gives the licensee/artist exclusive rights to record vocals on the instrumental to form a ‘Master Recording’. The licensor/producer can no longer legally resell the instrumental to any other artists once the exclusive rights have been signed away.
Split Sheet
A Split Sheet is used in order to keep track of the Publishing - who wrote what percentage of a song.
As it’s common for artists and producers to collaborate together, but there will come a point in time when you create a song and need to know who was involved in writing it and how much of the song they wrote.
This important because when it comes down to paying out royalties for the writers of a song, you’ll want to make sure no one is getting ripped off or overpaid on their share.
Keep a split sheet available whenever you’re collaborating on a professional project.
This can be used when multiple producers create a composition (instrumental) or when multiple songwriters work on a song.
Mechanical License
A Mechanical License allows for a copyrighted musical composition to be reproduced for use on CDs, records, and certain digital reproductions.
If you’re interested in downloading a PDF and editable template for each of these contracts, visit here.