A label offer feels like a finish line. In practice it is the start of a long legal relationship, and the contract decides who owns your recordings, for how long and on what terms. Before signing with a record label, you should know exactly what you give, what you get and how you can get out.
What a label deal really is
A label invests money and work in your music: recording, videos, marketing, contacts and distribution. In return it takes rights in your recordings and a share of the income. The details vary a lot, but most offers fall into a few families:
- A traditional record deal. The label usually owns the recordings it pays for, often for a very long time.
- A licence deal. You keep ownership of your masters and give the label an exclusive right to exploit them for a set period and territory.
- A distribution or services deal. The label or company handles release and some services, and you keep more rights and more responsibility.
- A deal with extra rights, often called a 360 deal. The label also takes a share of other income, such as concerts, merchandise or publishing.
Knowing which family your offer belongs to tells you which clauses to look at hardest.
The terms that matter most
Term and options
How long does the deal last, and is it counted in years or in releases? Many contracts let the label extend the deal for more releases if it wants to (an "option"). The label can usually choose; you usually cannot.
Territory
Worldwide is common, but ask whether the label actually works outside its home market. Giving worldwide rights to a label that only promotes in one country can leave your music sitting still elsewhere.
Ownership of masters
Who owns the recordings during the deal, and after it ends? Look for a reversion clause: a promise that rights come back to you after a certain time, or if the label does not release or actively exploit a recording. Without it, a recording can stay with the label even after the relationship is over.
Advances and recoupment
An advance is not a gift or a salary. It is your own future royalties paid early. The label keeps your share of the income until the advance, and any costs the contract calls recoupable, are covered. Ask which costs those are: recording, videos, marketing, tour support? Check whether one release's costs can be recovered from another release's income. In many deals you do not repay an unrecouped advance out of pocket, but read the clause, especially for what happens if the contract ends early.
Royalty share and how it is calculated
A percentage means little until you know what it is a percentage of. Is it calculated from the label's total receipts or after deductions? Which deductions? Ask for a simple worked example.
Creative control
Who chooses the singles, producers, artwork and release dates? Who approves a remix or a feature? A label with final say on everything can block a song you care about.
Accounting and audit
How often will you receive statements and payments? Can you see sample statements? Do you have the right to check the label's books?
Exit clauses
How can either side end the contract? Good exits include the label failing to release music within an agreed time, failing to pay or send statements, or a key contact leaving. Ask also what happens to unreleased songs.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What exactly will you do for my next release that I cannot do myself? Can I see a plan and a budget?
- Does the deal cover only new recordings, or also songs I have already released?
- Who will be my contact, and what happens if they leave?
- Can I release features or side projects with other artists?
- How do I get my masters back, and when?
- Can I speak to two or three artists already on your roster?
Take the made-up singer Leo Marsh. His first offer was worldwide, covered all future music for several years and had no reversion clause. He asked to limit it to two singles with an option for an album, to keep his old releases out of the deal, and to get rights back if a recording was not released within a year. The label agreed to most of it. Asking cost nothing.
Label or independent: an honest comparison
Staying independent means you keep ownership and control, and a larger share of what your music earns. It also means you pay for and organise everything: recording, artwork, promotion and the team around you. A distributor gets your music to the platforms. With CULT, for example, your rights stay with you, and you decide what to release and when.
A label can bring money up front, experience, contacts and people working on your music every day. The price is rights, a share of income and a long commitment. For some artists that trade is worth it. For others, a licence deal, a single-song deal or simply staying independent for another year is the smarter move.
Get proper advice
Never sign under time pressure. Have the contract read by a lawyer who knows music contracts, not just general business law. If the contract is in a language you do not read well, get a translation before you discuss it. Any promise made in a meeting that matters to you should be written into the contract. If it is not on paper, assume it does not exist.