A Beginner's Guide to Recording Contracts

This course is part of the Lawline Classics collection, featuring timeless content that remains valuable for learning and reference but is no longer available for CLE credit.

Join Joel Schoenfeld, who has 30 years of experience as a music attorney in-house at record companies, representing recording artists as a private attorney, and teaching music law as an adjunct at a private law school, as he presents the basic issues and forms that are currently in use today in recording contracts throughout the United States and how to navigate negotiating them.

Key issues in record contracts will be discussed including terms, creative controls, royalty rates, and more. Different types of deals will also be discussed, with particular attention paid to 360 Deals.

Learning Objectives:

1. Familiarize yourself with key issues in recording contracts such as terms, territory/release commitment, delivery commitment, creative controls, royalty rates, and more
2. Identify different types of deals available in record contacts
3. Provide an overview of 360 Deals and what types of revenue they can include

Please note that this course reflects information available at the time of filming, and some updates or changes may have occurred since then.