Music-Business Fundamentals
Recording Contracts
Recording contracts were agreements between a record label and an artist whereby the label had the right to promote and market recordings of the artist's music. Under such contracts, the record company could either license an artist's finished recordings for a limited period of time or produce the recordings and own them indefinitely. If the label negotiated to produce and own, it was entitled to exploit the music through the sales of CDs and electronic downloads, as well as through licensing the music to other record companies or to firms that wished to use the music in other media, such as commercials, television, or film. When Compass Records opted to produce and own a master recording, the artist received no payment up front.