Major Label Contract Critique courtesy of the Future of Music Coalition
We’ve all heard the stories criticizing major record label contracts. Anecdotally we understand that many of the deals signed by artists are bad, but what does “bad” mean and just how bad are these deals? This document quotes ACTUAL contract language from ACTUAL record label contracts, then translated into PLAIN ENGLISH and paired them with easy-to-understand critiques. We hope that even those who are completely unfamiliar with the music business can understand the implications that result from signing a standard major label deal.
We’ve all heard the stories criticizing major record label contracts. Anecdotally we understand that many of the deals signed by artists are bad, but what does “bad” mean and just how bad are these deals? This document quotes ACTUAL contract language from ACTUAL record label contracts, then translated into PLAIN ENGLISH and paired them with easy-to-understand critiques. We hope that even those who are completely unfamiliar with the music business can understand the implications that result from signing a standard major label deal.
