Five Essential Agreements All Musicians Need in 2022

Musicians are often unsung heroes (pun intended) that have a more difficult time succeeding than professionals in other industries. Then just when their career is starting to gain traction, some minor dispute from their early days of making music comes out and makes it even more complicated to reach success.

Whether this is a poorly written contract or having no contract at all, the lack of paperwork can potentially kill a musician’s career before it even begins. To avoid this, musicians should have these five indispensable agreements to protect their music. Whether you are just beginning or in an advanced stage of your musical career, it is vital that you get your hands on these agreements.

1 – A Song-Specific Performance Contract

In a nutshell, a song-specific performance contract is a formal agreement that clearly defines ownership rights for a song. This means that the agreement will state the names of the songwriter(s), the publisher(s), and the performers.

2 – ​Recording Agreement

The first agreement is a Recording Agreement. Recording Agreements cover all of the details surrounding a recording session. A Recording Agreement will include the length of the recording session, the recording studio, the musician’s expected services, and what percentage of the profits the musician will receive.

This is important to have if your band is going to record an album. Without a Recording Agreement, it would be nearly impossible to determine what the band members are entitled to. This contract is a must-have for any musician.

3 – Business Entity Agreement

A Business Entity Agreement is a legal document that is a legal entity that a band creates to separate the business from the liability of a particular individual or group.

This can help a band avoid any legal disputes from the time they start practicing with a new member. These agreements can also be called Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Incorporation, or a Certificate of Formation. Whatever the name, this is a very important legal document that is needed by any band or artist with a “band name.”

4 – Producer-Musician Agreement

In order to protect your rights to your music, you should have a producer-musician agreement. This will legally protect your rights in the event of a dispute with the producer. The agreement must include a recording agreement that distinguishes the role of the producer in relation to the artist.

5 – Songwriter Collaboration Agreement

This is an agreement between two or more people in a songwriting team. This document will define the ownership rights of the song in collaborative work. If a band is collaborating with a record label, this agreement will protect the rights of the band in the production of the music, and in the end, the sales of the music.

Let’s End Here.

All of these agreements are crucial to the success of any band. However, there may be more agreements that will help a band or individual musician succeed. The typical contracts for musicians change based on the situation, but these are the typical agreements that a band should have. To be sure that you have what you need to protect yourself as an artist, drafting the agreements you need is essential!

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