Are producers paid when a customer makes a request for their services? I`m curious because I talked to a producer about collaborating with my artists, and when I decided not to use his services, he sent a vague message saying he was being paid to answer questions I had about his services. I find that more and more producers are demanding a percentage of SoundExchange`s sales on the songs they produce. The same goes for others so-called “direct money” or “flat fee” The Master (films/TV-Placements, etc.). This is usually a reflection of the modern realities of Musikbiz, because the “points” are no longer worth what they used to be. Not all manufacturer agreements include SoundExchange/Flat Fee sales, but if you do, make sure the language is clear and the percentage is correct. Typically, a fraction is used: no matter which producer points you agree on (say 4 as above), divided by the record license of the artist who flows from the label (say 20%). In this example, 4 divided by 20 gives the producer a percentage of 20% SoundExchange/Flat Fee. My advice: if you do not know what the royalty or no label is, the standard practice is to use a “as a royalty” which is simply a royalty on which you and the producer agree, based on industrial standards (somewhere between 15 and 20%). I would limit the producer`s SoundExchange/Flat Fee claim to a certain amount, nothing above 25%. Obviously, lower is better for you than artists.

Entrepeneurial producers are increasingly acting as talent scouts, looking for promising new acts and signing them into production contracts to concede the resulting recordings to record companies. As has already been said, many producers now play the role of talent recruiter, discover new artists and develop their sound well before a record company gets involved. Often, the producer works with the artist on songs, gathers a group of musicians around the project and invests his time and money to produce demos or even quality masters. In addition to taking care of the artist, often over several years, the producer can organize industrial showcases and put the artist on labels to obtain a recording contract. The label benefits, of course, because if a producer has done all the preparatory work, all they have to do is market the album. The rights to the underlying composition of the musical works to be produced for this purpose are not transferred to the producer. The artist will ensure that any marketing of the Masters pays tribute to the producer as the producer of the Masters.