The Complete Guide to Record Deals: Which One is Right for Your Situation?

Introduction: What is a Record Deal and Why You Need One

keywords: record deal, what is a record deal, what are the different types of record deals

Types of Record Deals

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Recording Contract Terms

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This Single Song Artist Recording Agreement is a contract used by an independent record company to enter into a contractual agreement with an individual, group or band for to record one song for release to the public for sale. Instead of a traditional record royalty based on the sales price of the record, this agreement pays an artist a percentage of the net profits of the sale of the record. This makes it easier for a small label to calculate what the artist is paid after all expenses are paid back to the record label from sales of the record. We also have an Explanation for the full Artist Recording Agreement that can also be used with this contract to assist you in understanding the terms and provide an explanation to fill it out and nifty negotiating tips. If you wanted to record more than one song, you may use this contract and change the number of songs to be recorded. But this is a one time recording agreement and has not options committing the artist to record more masters in the future.

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With physical music sales evaporating and an overall decline in total earnings across the entire music business throughout the last decade; many music distributors have begun entering into more extensive arrangements with the talent they sign. There has been a shift from traditional record distributors “signing” artists solely to a recording agreement to now signing artists to much more elaborate contracts. These new agreements are commonly referred to as “multiple rights deals” and are also known as “360 degree deals.” We will examine some of the pros and cons of entering into a “multiple rights” agreement as well as look at some clauses utilized in these agreements that are rarely seen elsewhere within the music industry.

This new breed of music distribution deal provided by many labels is characterized as a “multiple rights” deal. They are also referred to as a “360° deal”, a “270° deal” or a “180°deal”, depending on which rights are contracted for. For example, a typical “360° deal” entitles the label to receive a set percentage from four of the artist’s revenues streams. These would include a portion of the artist’s record sales, touring and personal appearance income, as well as publishing income, and the merchandise revenues. A “270°” or a “180°” multiple-rights deal may only cover two or three streams of an artist’s income, such as the label solely receiving a percentage from the musician’s record sales and publishing monies (180°) or a percentage from the artist’s record sales, publishing and touring 

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