Question about publishing rights..

[Space_The_Face]

I am selling my first exclusive license. I said I would never do this but I really like the artist and he owned the track. I think my beat is at home with him.

I am in the process of making the contract and I'm not sure what percentage of the publishing I should ask for. I have read several different articles but I'm not getting any good answers.

Can anybody with any insight or experience with this please help me out? I want to be fair but I also don't want to screw myself over at the same time.

 

[2GooD Productions]

The copyright is divided 50/50 between words and music. You get 50% they get 50%, if Im understanding your question correctly.

If it was one producer and 2 artists it would be you get 50% they divide the other 50% between them.

Also I hope you get well paid for an exclusive beat, before any royalties come in.

 

[Space_The_Face]

The copyright is divided 50/50 between words and music. You get 50% they get 50%, if Im understanding your question correctly.

If it was one producer and 2 artists it would be you get 50% they divide the other 50% between them.

Also I hope you get well paid for an exclusive beat, before any royalties come in.

Thankyou for the insight. I had seen 50/50 in a couple of different articles but I was getting publishing confused with other types of royalties.

 

[Fade]

@Space_Alexander If you haven't already, check out these business contracts, maybe there's something that can help one day:

Industry - Music Business Contracts

These contracts have been around for a long time, but they can still apply to today. They're all in PDF format, but you can edit them as needed if you have a PDF editor. It can also been done easily if you use Google Drive. *Attachment updated January 10, 2015.

www.illmuzik.com

 

[Iron Keys]

Which country are you based?? I'm not sure how all laws differ slightly.

But as 2good mentioned. Go 50/50 on the songshare agreement.

I remember signing up before and it got a bit confusing about the splits when it comes to registering the song. But the confusing part was in regards to when you have a publishing deal as it was sayingthe rights can only be split 50/50 --- unless I read it wrong.

But yeah, as for striking an agreement Beatmaker : Artist. Go 50/50.

Sometimes, lets say you wrote the beat and wrote the chorus, maybe you cpuld push for a higher split, but people get aggy when you do that.

So always consider the song (in this circumstance) as TWO parts... the music, the lyrics. If someone wrote 100% of the music, they get that whole 50%. Now deal with the lyrics, if two people wrote the lyrics they may split that remaining 50% into two 25%. Or more or less depending on eachothers contributions.

To people who don't understand thismay get aggy if they see you with 50% and them with 25% each. Unless it was one big collab type affair you might want to do like 33 33 33. For example.

 

[thedreampolice]

Don’t do this yourself, have a lawyer do it. And while everyone means well in this thread the previous advice you got is incorrect. Publishing, mechanical and performance are all totally different royalties. If you need a legal referral hit me up I have two that I work with.

 

[Iron Keys]

the previous advice you got is incorrect

Erm no.

 

[thedreampolice]

The copyright is divided 50/50 between words and music. You get 50% they get 50%, if Im understanding your question correctly.

If it was one producer and 2 artists it would be you get 50% they divide the other 50% between them.

Also I hope you get well paid for an exclusive beat, before any royalties come in.

@Iron Keys This is not correct at all.

 

[Fade]

 

[Iron Keys]

@Iron Keys This is not correct at all.

Yeah that's him not me. Mine is correct.

And he's only incorrect as to perhaps his wording saying 'copyright is divided', when he meant publishing/songshare, and it's not a black and white rule. But a general... "i made music, you made lyrics ... 50/50".

That's why I expanded on that with my comment.

Music business is a really annoyingly fiddly lil thing.

 

[thedreampolice]

Well sorry but you are not right either. Again publishing, performance, mechanical are all different royalties and different splits. In general a lawyer should handle this because you are right, it's super complicated.

 

[Fade]

I'm just curious, why would it not be a straightforward 50/50 or something based on points?

I did a quick search and found this: https://www.steakworldwide.com/blog/5-types-of-record-deals, go down to the Production Deal part:

Production Deal

Advance: No

Label/Artist Royalty Split: 50/50

Recoupable Costs: Recording

Masters Ownership: Producer


Production deals always fly under the radar but have the potential to be one of the most predatory deals to come across an artist’s desk. In a production deal, the artist usually signs a 50/50 deal with a single producer. The producer agrees to produce one or more of an artist’s album in entirety but retains 100% ownership of the master recordings.

There are several producers in the industry that are infamous for trapping up-and-coming artists into these deals. Make sure to ask around & consult friends before arriving at any agreement with these terms.

 

[2GooD Productions]

last time i wanted to speak to a music lawyer it was £200 for half an hour.
Are they even going to make that from the song?
Go to the musicians union, you can get the advice you need there.

Copyright for Songwriters, Composers & Lyricists | Musicians' Union

The Musicians' Union provides a guide to UK copyright law for songs and compositions helping music makers to protect their musical property. View more.

musiciansunion.org.uk

Song Share Standard Specimen Agreement | Song Share Contract Template

This standard agreement sets out the names and details of music co-writers and co-writers' shares of the song

musiciansunion.org.uk

And its pretty much like I said.

 

[Iron Keys]

Well sorry but you are not right either. Again publishing, performance, mechanical are all different royalties and different splits. In general a lawyer should handle this because you are right, it's super complicated.

I never said anything contrary to this.

The OP asked about publishing split

what percentage of the publishing I should ask for

 

[Fade]

I do agree with @thedreampolice that a lawyer is an obvious necessity, however, as @2GooD Productions said about the price, is it worth it?

Because we don't know from @Space_Alexander about the specifics. Is this a low priced sale? I remember from various beat selling websites where they have some pre-made contracts regarding exclusive and non-exclusive. This is why it COULD be a simple procedure, such as 50/50.

If it's not a huge price then getting a lawyer is counterintuitive in a sense, whether it's needed or not. I did notice in the contracts list I posted above, this one contract that can easily be tweaked:

 

[2GooD Productions]

I do agree with @thedreampolice that a lawyer is an obvious necessity, however, as @2GooD Productions said about the price, is it worth it?

Because we don't know from @Space_Alexander about the specifics. Is this a low priced sale? I remember from various beat selling websites where they have some pre-made contracts regarding exclusive and non-exclusive. This is why it COULD be a simple procedure, such as 50/50.

If it's not a huge price then getting a lawyer is counterintuitive in a sense, whether it's needed or not. I did notice in the contracts list I posted above, this one contract that can easily be tweaked:

I do agree that registering the finished recording with a lawyer is a good idea. The recording has its own copyright too. This doesnt have to be with a music lawyer though, at least not here in the UK. Laws are different depending on which country you are based, so there is that too.

When me and Memento did our album, distrokid handled all the splits for us.
We just went straight 50/50 as we each put the same work in. I set it up in distrokid, some songs memento got 100% some I got 100% and the others we got 50/50. In the end the album worked out exactly 50/50.

 

[Fade]

I do agree that registering the finished recording with a lawyer is a good idea. The recording has its own copyright too. This doesnt have to be with a music lawyer though, at least not here in the UK. Laws are different depending on which country you are based, so there is that too.

Agreed.

On a side note, I hate all that legal jargon. It's like you have to learn Latin or have an actual law degree. Why can't a contract just be like this?

I, Bob Smith, producer, sell all rights to my beat, "I gotchur panties wet" to Joe Blow, rapper.

I, Bob Smith, will get $500 from Joe Blow.

Joe Blow gives me $500 and I disappear.

Why not???

 

[2GooD Productions]

Agreed.

On a side note, I hate all that legal jargon. It's like you have to learn Latin or have an actual law degree. Why can't a contract just be like this?

I, Bob Smith, producer, sell all rights to my beat, "I gotchur panties wet" to Joe Blow, rapper.

I, Bob Smith, will get $500 from Joe Blow.

Joe Blow gives me $500 and I disappear.

Why not???

A contract can be just that, a contract is a legally binding agreement in which two parties agree to abide by the terms. If they dont then it can go to court.

To add to that, fiat money is promissory notes.

Promissory Note: What It Is, Different Types, and Pros and Cons

A promissory note is a financial instrument that contains a written promise by one party to pay another party a definite sum of money.

www.investopedia.com

Thats why money is debt.

 

[Fade]

A contract can be just that, a contract is a legally binding agreement in which two parties agree to abide by the terms. If they dont then it can go to court.

Well, to simplify it even further:

My name is Bob. I sold my beat to Joe. Joe gave me $500. Joe can do whatever he wants with that beat. Bye.

 

[2GooD Productions]

Well, to simplify it even further:

My name is Bob. I sold my beat to Joe. Joe gave me $500. Joe can do whatever he wants with that beat. Bye.

sounds like a barebones cheap exclusive beat sale to me. But needs a few more words to cover the bases and loopholes, thats when it all gets complicated with legalese. Fucking admiralty law and maritime law bollocks.