Label contract — clause breakdown

Term & territory

Contract term (years/albums) and label-side extension options. Territory: world or country list. Options are the label's main lever — check their exercise conditions.

Masters

Who owns masters: the label (standard forever or a license term) or the artist. A 10–25 year license beats an outright sale.

Royalty & rate

Artist royalty typically 15–25% of label net or 50/50 net for indie. Clarify: gross or net, which deductions (distribution, promo, videos).

Advance & recoupment

An advance is a loan against future royalties: label recoups advance+costs from the artist's share first. Ask which costs are recoupable.

360 deal

Label takes a share of everything: touring, merch, sync, endorsements. Offset by bigger investment — read which shares of what.

Control & approvals

Who approves masters, artwork, videos, collabs. Best case — mutual approval instead of label control.

Exit

Early-termination terms, what happens to recorded-but-unreleased tracks (release commitment — label must release or return masters).