You have the song, the vocal and the beat, and now you need a real guitar, a violin part or two backing singers. Someone comes in for an afternoon, plays beautifully and asks a fair question: how will I be paid? Paying session musicians usually works one of two ways, a one-off fee or a share of the income, and both are fine as long as you agree before the release, not after the first report.
The one-off fee: the usual way for session work
Most session work is paid as a fee. You pay the musician for their time and performance, per song, per hour or per day, and the part they record becomes part of your master. They don't receive a share of the streaming income from your release afterwards.
A fee keeps things simple. You know the cost in advance, there is nothing to calculate for years and nobody waits for statements from you. For the musician, it is money now instead of a promise.
Before the session, settle the details that cause arguments later:
- what exactly is being recorded: one part, several takes, alternative versions
- whether rehearsal, travel or a second session for fixes are included
- when the money is paid: on the day or within an agreed number of days
- whether the musician can use the track in their own portfolio or showreel
When a royalty share makes more sense
Sometimes a share is fairer. The musician may be closer to a band member than a hired player, their part may be the thing listeners remember, or you simply can't afford a proper fee and they are happy to wait.
A share comes with obligations. You need to write down the percentage, what it is a percentage of (for example, your net income from the master after the distributor's part), how often you will pay and how you will show the numbers. Small shares of small amounts are easy to forget, and forgotten payments are how friendships end. If you go this way, set a fixed rhythm, say twice a year, and send a short statement even when the amount is tiny.
There is also a middle path: a smaller fee on the day plus a modest share. It respects the work without loading the whole cost onto a release that hasn't earned anything yet.
What the agreement should say
It doesn't need to be long. For most independent releases, one or two pages signed by both of you is enough. Include:
- Both names, the song title and the session date.
- What the musician performed: instrument or vocal part.
- The payment: the fee or the share, and when and how it is paid.
- Who owns the recording. Usually you, as the person who paid for the session.
- Permission to use the performance everywhere the song goes: streaming, video, social media, live playback and licensing for films or ads.
- How the musician will be credited.
Picture Nina Cole booking a cellist, Leo Hart, for her single "Paper Boats." The fee is paid the same week, Leo is credited as cellist and Nina owns the recording. Two years later a short film wants to license the track. Because point five is in the agreement, Nina can say yes without tracking Leo down for permission.
Did they play the part or write it?
This is where most disputes start. Playing a part you wrote is performance. Inventing the melody that becomes the hook, or writing a verse, is songwriting. Songwriting belongs to the composition, and the composition earns its own royalties separately from the master.
A fee for playing doesn't automatically settle authorship. If the session violinist came up with the riff the whole song hangs on, talk about it openly and decide together whether they get a writer share. Then register the song with the agreed splits. Settling this the same evening is far easier than arguing once the song is doing well.
Credits and neighbouring rights
Credit every session musician in the release metadata with their role, such as "guitar" or "backing vocals." When you submit through a distributor, credits are part of the details you fill in, and in the CULT portal they are added along with the artist details. Correct credits help musicians find more work and keep the history of the recording honest.
Performers may also have rights of their own. In many countries, people who play or sing on a recording can receive neighbouring rights income for radio play and public performance through a collecting society, separately from anything you paid them. A session fee doesn't necessarily cancel that, and in some places it can't be waived at all. Let the musician register their performance, and check how it works in your country.