"Retroactive to Record One" is a contract concept used in music business agreements to ensure record royalties are paid for all records that have been sold, even in situations where royalties are otherwise not paid until the artist or record label recovers recording costs. In those cases, sales of records may occur but no royalties will be paid until those sales amount to the recording costs. Payments that are "retroactive to record one" will be paid on ALL sales, regardless of when those sales took place (i.e., from the first record sold.)