Most bad music deals are not scams in the obvious sense. Nobody runs away with your money. Instead there is a contract that works very well for the other side and quietly takes more than you realised. The warning signs repeat from deal to deal, and once you know them you can spot most of them in a single read.
Pay-to-play
If you have to pay to be signed, placed or booked, treat it as a red flag. Examples are a "label" that wants a fee to put out your record, a "management company" that charges an upfront retainer before it has done anything, or a promoter who sells you a slot at a festival or on a big playlist.
Be careful with the line here. Paying for a service you can see and check is a normal purchase: mastering, artwork, a plan with a distribution service, printed vinyl. You know what you get, and nobody promises a result. What should worry you is paying for an opportunity or an outcome. Real labels invest in the artists they sign. They don't charge them for the privilege.
Rights taken forever
The most expensive mistakes sit in the rights clauses. Look for these words and ask what they mean for you:
- "Assignment" instead of "licence". An assignment transfers ownership. A licence only lets the company use the work for a time and for a purpose.
- "In perpetuity" or "for the life of the copyright". The deal never ends.
- "Worldwide, all media, now known or later invented". The rights cover everything, everywhere.
- All your future songs. Check whether the contract reaches beyond the songs you are signing today, through options on later works or a first-refusal right.
- No way out. There should be a term, a way to end the deal after notice and a clause that returns the rights to you when it ends or when the company stops using the work.
A healthy deal is specific: which recordings, which territories, for how many years, and what happens afterwards. If the contract bundles masters, publishing, name and image into one package, slow down and ask why.
Unclear payment terms
You should be able to answer four questions from the document: how much you earn, when you are paid, on what basis it is calculated and what can be deducted before you see it.
- "Net receipts" without a definition. Net of what? Costs the company chooses can shrink your share without limit.
- Recoupable costs. Advances, marketing and studio costs are often repaid from your share. Make sure you know which, and whether they're capped.
- No statements. You need regular reports that show sources and periods, and a right to check them.
- Vague timing. Payment should have a schedule and a minimum threshold you understand, not "when practicable".
Get every figure in writing, including currency and taxes, and keep the emails.
Pressure to sign fast
"The offer expires tonight." "Everyone on the roster signed this." "It's only a formality." "Don't show it to anyone, it's confidential." Pressure is a tactic, not a fact about the contract. A fair offer survives a week of review, and anyone who refuses you that week is telling you something.
Guaranteed placements and results
No one can guarantee a million streams, a place on an editorial playlist, a viral song or a record deal. Platforms decide on their own, and listeners cannot be promised. When someone does guarantee it, the usual meaning is fake plays from bots, which can lead to removed streams, taken-down releases and a flagged account.
Also watch for these:
- generic praise in a message that never mentions a specific song of yours
- a sender whose email address doesn't match the company's website
- a request for your passwords or access to your artist accounts
- payment requested through a channel that can't be traced or refunded
How to check an offer
- Read the whole document, including the small print, and ask for it in writing before any call.
- Search the company name with words like "review" or "complaint", and look for artists it really works with. Write to two of them and ask about their experience.
- Ask direct questions: what will you invest, what will you earn, what is the term and how do I leave?
- Compare with a normal, boring baseline. A plan with a distribution service, like the ones in the CULT portal, is a fee for a service, and the artist keeps their rights. Anything that asks for much more than that has to explain why.
- Ask someone who knows: a lawyer who works in music, or a music-rights association or artists' union in your country, many of which give basic advice.
- Negotiate. Shorter terms, rights that revert, a right to audit and approval over use are all normal requests.
Saying no costs you one opportunity. Signing a bad contract can cost you the songs.