WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN READING YOUR CONTRACT

When artists (i.e., singers, rappers, musicians, songwriters, singers, producers, etc.) come to me with a contract there are several points in the contracts that I make sure to point out to them before they go signing their lives away. When it comes to Entertainment Law, a vast majority of my practice deals with negotiating, modifying and drafting of agreements between two or more parties wanting to do business. You have agreements such as Producer-Artist Agreements, Exclusive Artist Recording Agreements, Publishing-Songwriter Agreements, etc. The titles of such agreements might seem to tell you what the agreement is about, but when you delve deeper into the language (i.e., contractual terms) of the agreement, you’ll find that there are many sticky and complex terms and clauses that could lock you in as a “slave” to the party who drafted the agreement.

Artists signing to Record Labels have to especially be careful. WARNING! THESE CONTRACTS ARE NOT DRAFTED TO BENEFIT YOU!!! You have to be careful prior to giving your “John Hancock” (i.e., your signature). The golden rule that lawyers live by when it comes to entertainment contracts is: “The person who drafts the contract benefits the most from it!”

When reading your contract you should always look for the paragraphs dealing with the following points:

1. Parties to the contract (i.e., Who is the contract between?)
2. The “TERM” of the agreement (i.e., the length of the agreement, exclusivity)3. Your obligations versus the obligations of the other party (i.e., how many
albums do you have to deliver?)
4. Royalties and Advances (i.e., How much?)
5. Any paragraphs dealing with Publishing and your rights in your creative
property (Don’t let them touch these without something BIG in return!!!)
6. Termination of the Contract (i.e., Are there any paragraphs that say how the
contract would be terminated?)
7. The LAW that will govern the contract (i.e., If there is a dispute, where
will disputes be litigated?)

My advice to you is that you should ALWAYS have someone who is knowledgeable about entertainment contracts look the contract over and explain it to you…like an Attorney…hint…hint!!!