Ownership and term
The central questions in most entertainment contracts are who owns what is created and how long you are committed. A recording or publishing agreement may give the company ownership of masters or copyrights for a long period, sometimes permanently, while other deals license rights for a set term and territory. Options can let the company extend the relationship at its own election, and exclusivity clauses can keep you from working with others in the meantime. Approval rights over how your name, image, and work are used deserve attention. Once rights are granted broadly, getting them back can be difficult, so the drafting stage is where most of the leverage sits.
How money actually flows
Advances are usually recoupable, which means the company recovers them from your royalties before you see more money, and recording, marketing, and video costs may be recoupable as well. Royalty rates, the base they are calculated on, and deductions for things like returns determine what you actually earn. Audit rights, which let you examine the company's accounting, are worth negotiating carefully. In film and television, union agreements set minimum terms for many performers and writers, and backend participation depends heavily on how profits are defined. Keep every draft, signed version, statement, and email, since disputes often turn on what was agreed informally.
Child performers and a first review
In New York, contracts with child performers can be submitted to a court for approval, which protects them from being disaffirmed later, and part of the child's earnings is set aside in a trust account. If you are reviewing a deal for yourself or a child, we look at ownership, term, exclusivity, payment, and termination, and we flag terms that commonly cause problems later. If a dispute has started, we review the contract and accounting statements together and look at whether arbitration or a particular court has been chosen. Agreements with agents and managers are a separate subject with rules of their own.
