A brief overview.

Record producers use agreements in the work they do for record labels and artists. Important points in the contract would include:

Who will pay costs and when?

‘There are two types of Music Producer deals. These are generally referred to like this:

1. ‘Costs deal’ – with this type of deal the producer is paid an advance fee, which is generally recoupable against royalties. The record company will pay all of the studio, musician and equipment hire costs. This type of deal is common in the Rock and Jazz genres.
2. ‘All-in deal’ - with this type of deal the producer is paid everything as one lump sum and the Producer has to pay themselves and all other costs incurred. Only part of this fee will normally be recoupable against royalties. This type of deal is common in the Pop and Dance genres.

These fees are normally paid by the Record Company 50% on commencement of recording and 50% on completion and delivery.

How many tracks, with what versions and on what format?

In the Rock and Jazz genres the Producer will generally record and mix the whole album. In the Pop and Dance genres, Producers will often only record and mix 4 songs. The main versions delivered to the Record Company are the Radio version, a Backing track version with no lead vocal and an Instrumental version. Formats vary from half-inch analogue and DAT through to all types of stereo audio files on data cud’s and DVD’s.

What is the deadline?

Deadlines are negotiable and flexible, they are rarely written down or contracted.

Who will sort out contracts and label copy?

Contracts are normally negotiated between the Producer’s Manager and the Record Company A&R Executive. These negotiations are then passed onto the Producer’s Lawyer and the Record Company business affairs to finalise contracts. Full contracts are normally preceded by 2 page deal memos or ‘Heads Of Agreements’ which lay out the main points of the contract. Label copy is usually organized by the Record Company A&R administrator in co-ordination with the Music Producer and the Artist Manager

Label Copy is the credits on the album artwork, listing everyone who was involved. The information is also required for royalty payments. This could apply to anyone who works on the project, such as programmers or engineers.

A producer would normally be expected to get signed agreements from session musicians, giving away any rights, in return for their fee.

Payment for a producer will nearly always be as a fee plus royalties based on sales. The fee may be recoupable against the royalties.

Royalties could be as high as 5% (or 5 'points') of dealer price for someone highly sought after. 3% is typical.

Producer Royalty points can range from 1 – 6 %, the average is 3% of retail price. Always be sure as to whether the deal is on retail or dealer price, clearly there is a big difference. 3% on retail is roughly equivalent to 4% on dealer.