A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire. This is the department of a record label that is responsible for discovering talent and overseeing the artistic and commercial development of the artists that are under contract to the company.

Vinyl records have two sides to them – an “A” side, and a “B” side. If a Single is released on a vinyl record, the Single is always on the “A” side - the first side to be played.

A-Side Protection refers to a clause in a music producer agreement, typically requested by producers. If the producer produced the A-side recording, but not the B-side recording on a vinyl record, this clause guarantees that the producer’s royalty will be treated as if the producer produced the tracks on both sides. So, the producer’s royalty is “protected” from any reduction in this situation.

An acronym for "also known as". Typically used in the contact of an artist that performs under a different name than their legal name.

Acceptance refers to the acceptance of a contractual offer in order to create a legally binding agreement. Acceptance can be express or implied.

The exclusive right of copyright owners to make derivative works based on the copyrighted work.

Managing, licensing and collecting income from the use of musical compositions.

AdRev is a company that allows music copyright owners to receive a piece of the ad revenue gets a share of advertising money that is earned by showing ads before or beside YouTube videos that use their music without permission or a license.

An advance is a prepayment of “backend” or “contingent” compensation. Advances are owed back to the payor, and are paid back from future royalties.

The are paying us a $50,000 advance against our royalties.

• Advancement

A clause in an agreement that specifies that either one or both parties to the agreement either reviewed the agreement with an attorney of their choice, or voluntarily decided to sign the agreement without doing so.

An "affiliate” refers to a person or entity having a direct (or indirect) business relationship with another person or entity.

In music publishing, affiliation means becoming a member of a performing rights organization (PRO).

An agent is someone who liases with promoters and venues to book live performances for artists.

An agreement is a legally binding relationship where two or more parties have mutually agreed to obligations to each other. At the most basic level, an agreement is formed by the presence of an offer, and acceptance, and consideration. Agreements can be written or verbal.

An album is a collection of sound recordings by a particular recording artist.

Album artwork is the artwork that is used as part of the packaging (or its digital equivalent) of an album.

"All-in" means "all-inclusive". This term can be used to describe an artist's royalty with a record label that is calculated on a royalty-basis as being inclusive of all royalties due to third parties (e.g., producers, mixers, and side-artists).

The production company paid an all-in fee of $5,000 to license the recording and underlying composition for the television show.

In the context of music licensing, "all-in" is commonly used to refer to the fees paid for both a sound recording and a composition in connection with a use a of a song.

Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels.

The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) is a labor union for studio and performance musicians. AFM pre-negotiates session rates for AFM musicians rendering services on recordings, as well as other compensation and benefits to be paid to its members.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) is a labor union for vocalists and actors on live, taped, and digitally recorded media. AFTRA pre-negotiates rates for member vocalists, as well as other compensation and benefits. In 2012, AFTRA merged with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

Appropriation is a legal claim based on using someone's name or likeness for a commercial purpose without consent.

Arbitration is form of dispute resolution that is an alternative to litigation in court. These proceedings are more informal than court, and are administered by an arbitrator.

An arrangement is an adaptation of an existing musical composition.

All art, photos, graphic designs and other related materials created or used in connection with sound recordings.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is one of the major performing rights societies (PROs) in the United States.

Assignment is the transfer of legal rights.

An audiovisual recording embodying a sound recording.

Singles released on vinyl records have two sides to them – an “A” side, and a “B” side. The “B” side is the flipside of the record, and often contains a recording that's not included on the artist's album where that single is featured.

Backend is synonymous with contingent compensation. These are monies to be paid in the future based on something occurring then, such as sales of a product.

BandPage is a tab for their artist's Facebook pages where they can stream full songs for listening, post videos and tour dates, and publish to their fans' feeds.

The basic royalty rate is the default royalty rate a label agrees to pay an artist for sales of records.

A beat is any combination of drums, percussive sounds, instrumental sounds (e.g., bass, synthesizer, guitar, etc.), vocals, ambient sound effects, sample recordings, patches, MIDI files, etc.

A beat maker is an electronic music producer that creates beats. See Beat.

The big three record labels are the major record labels (each have subsidiary labels or "imprints"): Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group

Billboard strip ads are paid advertising on billboards to promote records, usually paid by record labels.

A binding agreement is an agreement that is enforceable against the parties who have executed it.

A blanket license authorizes the public performance of all songs in the society’s catalog. Issued by the performance rights organizations (PROs) and supplied to radio stations, venues and other places that host public performance of music.

Boilerplate provisions are standard, non-material contract provisions in a agreement that do not include business or deal terms, but rather govern the construction and interpretation of the agreement.

The box office is the place at a venue where tickets for admission are sold. This can also be where guest list credentials are given out.

Budget records are sold on a discounted basis from the full suggested listed retail price, typically no more than two-thirds of the record label's then-current highest wholesale price in a particular format and in a particular territory.

Bundles are the sale of records that include other items with the purchase, such as VIP ticket packages, a different version of the recordings, additional bonus discs or videos, or any other content or services of the artist.

A buy-on is when emerging artists pay a more established artist to open for them on tour. The idea being that the exposure to the more established artist's audience and fan base is worth paying for.

A buy-out is a one-time purchase and acquisition of all rights to something (including copyrights). A buy-out is done as a flat fee, which may be spread out over time or conditioned upon certain circumstances.

The producer remixed the song for $500 on a buyout basis.

Capacity is a person's ability to legally enter into binding contracts. Capacity often requires the person to have reached a minimum age and be of sound mind.

Mechanical license caps refer to the number of sound recordings on a record which require a mechanical royalty to be paid to the publishers of the musical compositions recorded on those sound recordings.

A publishing catalog is a collection of musical compositions and their copyrights.

A record catalog is a collection of sound recordings and their copyrights.

Choice of law is a clause in an agreement that specifies which state's laws govern the agreement.

Choice of venue is a clause in an agreement that specifies the geographic area and courts (at the county level) where a party must file a lawsuit based on a dispute from the agreement. Essentially, both parties agree to only litigate in that particular court system.

Co-writer(s) are the people who contribute to the authorship of a musical composition.

A collective bargaining agreement (or CBA) is an agreement negotiated between a labor union (such as AFM or SAG-AFTRA) and the employers of the union's members. The CBA will include minimums for basic contract terms, as well as other benefits, such as contributions to pension and health accounts for the union members.

A composer is a person who writes a composition’s music, for example, the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment.

A musical composition is an original work of music, vocal and/or instrumental, and the structure of that work.

A compulsory license is a license which is required to be issued by law. In the music industry, a mechanical license is an example of a compulsory license.

VS format? Traditionally, configurations were album, ep, single, etc. Formats referred to media.

Consideration is something of value that is given by one party to another under an agreement. Consideration is the main component of a valid agreement, and often comes in the form of money in exchange for goods.

Content ID is a digital fingerprinting system that is used to identify and manage copyrighted content on YouTube.

Contingent compensation is compensation being earned as a result of income generated over time, such as the sales of records.

A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more people or entities. Used interchangeably with "agreement".

A contributor is an individual who adds something to a work. E.g., a co-writer makes an original contribution to a composition.

A controlled composition is a composition written, owned or controlled (either partly or in its entirety) by a person or company that is signing a deal for sound recordings embodying that composition.

Copyright is an intellectual property right for "original works of authorship", including literary, dramatic, musical, architectural, cartographic, choreographic, pantomimic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and audiovisual creations.

Used interchangeably with Copyright Termination.

Copyright termination is the process of terminating licenses, transfers, and assignments of copyrights 35 years later (if the work was created after 1978).

Counterparts are copies of a contract's signature page, which have been signed only by one party. When combined together, they are treated as one document having been signed by all parties.

A cover is a new sound recording of a previously written and released musical composition.

Cure is the opportunity to fix a breach (or potential breach) of a contract, within a prescribed period.

A defective contribution is a contribution by one party to an agreement that is flawed insofar as it violates a third party's rights or is otherwise illegal.

Delivery, in the context of recording agreements and producer agreements, typically means the receipt by the record label or other engaging party, of the sound recordings that are required to be delivered under the agreement, as well as any accompanying elements. The recording are often not considered "delivered" until they are commercially and technically satisfactory to the recipient.

A demo is sample recording of an artist's music. Often rough recordings, or early versions of “songs in progress.”

A deposit is a percentage of the artist’s performance fee – usually 50% – that is usually paid to artist’s agent.

A derivative work is one based on one or more pre-existing works. Some examples of derivatives are translations and arrangements of musical compositions, new recordings containing samples, or remixes of existing sound recordings.

A digipack a rectangular cardboard package with one or more plastic trays capable of holding CDs.

Digital distribution is the distribution of music online, i.e., streaming and downloads.

A discount, in the context of records, is a discount or rebate given by a record label to wholesale or retail customers.

A door split is a type of payment arrangement for a live performance, in which the promoter agrees to split the proceeds of the show with the performer (or their agent), after the promoter has recouped their costs.

A download is the digital transfer of music via the internet to a storage device.

Draw is the amount of people that a particular performer brings to a venue. This can be represented in ticket sales, or how many people paid admission specifically to see that performer.

The effective date of an agreement is when the obligations of the parties begin. This may be different than the date the agreement is actually signed.

EP (or "extended play") is used to describe releases that have more than two tracks but are too short to qualify as a full studio album or LP. An “EP” usually embodies at least four and up to nine tracks of different compositions.

An equitable remedy is a judicial remedy to either do something (specific performance) or to refrain from doing something (an injunction), when monetary damages will not cure the injury suffered by a party.

Exclusive means that no one else may have the same rights.

Exploitation means the sale or other use of a work or product. E.g., the sale and licensing of sound recordings is referred to as exploiting those sound recordings.

An acronym for "furnishing the services of." Artists, producers, and other individuals in the music industry are often engaged through companies they own that "furnish" their services under an agreement.

A featured artist refers to the group or individual most prominently featured on a sound recording, track or album (according to SoundExchange, which administers payments of featured artist royalties).

A fiduciary duty is an obligation to act in the best interest of another person or entity. A fiduciary duty typically exists where a person or entity has the authority to act on another person or entity's behalf.

First use refers to the first recording and release of a musical composition.

A first use mechanical license grants permission for the first use of a musical composition.

Under US law, a work must be fixed in order to receive copyright protection. The work must be “fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which [it] can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or indirectly with the aid of a machine or device.” 17 U.S.C. § 102(a).

Fixed compensation is an established amount that doesn’t increase as a result of the commercial success of the product. Fixed compensation can be paid one-time, over a given period of time, or based on milestones (or events) such as signing of a contract, commencement of services (such as recording or mixing), delivery of the content (such as a recording, a composition, artwork, video). Also referred to as a "flat fee."

See Fixed Compensation.

A force majeure clause is a clause which relieves the parties from their contractual obligations and related liability for failure to perform during period of time when unforeseen events or circumstances occur.

Format means any form, format, media or technology through which sound recordings are encoded, reproduced, transmitted, or communicated, including vinyl discs, compact discs, streams and downloads.

Four-walling refers to when a performer or a producer rents a venue to put on a performance, but handles all of the other responsibilities from the production to ticket sales and promotion.

Fraud is a legal claim in instances where someone believes a deliberate lie (which was intended to take advantage of someone), and the reliance on that lie results in economic damages.

The front end refers to compensation paid "up front" in a contract which is not part of contingent compensation. An advance would be considered part of the "front end."

A further documents clause states that if more paperwork is required or desirable that does not materially alter the terms of the initial agreement, but simply confirms or effectuates the terms of the agreement, the parties agree to execute such further documents within a certain period of time.

The gate is the money that is charged for admission to a music club or venue. Think of the “cover charge” at a bar.

Grand rights are the right to perform a musical composition within the context of a dramatic work, such as a play or a musical.

Gross potential is the total amount of gross income for an event from all potential ticket sales.

A guaranteed payment of a live performance fee that is not dependent upon other factors such as ticket sales, a percentage of bar receipts, etc. An artist will receive this fee no matter how many people show up to the performance.

The cost of renting a venue to put on a performance.

Hall fees are the amount charged by the venue for the artist’s sales of merchandise to fans. Typically a percentage of gross sales.

The featured act at a live performance.

"Hereinabove" means something that was written earlier in a document.

"Hereinafter" means something is written later in a document.

"Heretofore" means before now.

A hit song is a recorded that becomes broadly popular or well-known.

Imputed royalties are royalty terms that are created by an artist (or production company) to mirror royalty payment terms as if the artist has a record deal, when they don't.

Indemnification is the reimbursement of another party's costs for the defense of that party's liabilities.

An Inducement Agreement makes the party rendering services guarantee the performance of the contract by that party's loan-out company.

A court order to do (or stop doing) something.

A type of remedy available to a plaintiff in a legal action, involving an injunction.

User-directed streams, where the user controls the curation of the music heard, as well as the ability to start, stop, skip, download, and otherwise interact with the streamed audio. Interactive streams are available on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

Internet Addresses means Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), addresses or domain names.

An interpolation is taking part of an existing musical composition—not a sound recording—and incorporating it into a new musical composition. For the use of existing sound recordings in new sound recordings, see Sampling.

An invoice is a document that details money or other remuneration due to a party for goods, services, or a grant of rights.

ISWC stands for “International Standard Musical Word Code.” An ISWC is a unique code assigned to a specific musical composition. Only one ISWC should be assigned to a musical composition. However, since many sound recordings of the same musical composition can be created, one ISWC can be linked to multiple ISRC codes.

An itinerary is the chronological list of which venues, cities, and dates where an artist is performing.

A joint author is a party who contributes with others to a creative work, with the mutual intention that their respective contributions would be merged into an inseparable, final work. Unless there is an agreement to the contrary, joint-authors are joint owners by default.

A clause in an agreement that states that the agreement will be treated as if both parties jointly drafted the document.

A joint owner is a party that owns the copyright to a creative work with one or more other parties.

A joint venture is business collaboration by which the parties share ownership, responsibilities, governance, profits, and losses.

A joint work is copyrightable work created by two or more authors.

A law means any applicable federal, state or local law, statute, treaty, regulation, ordinance, or similar provision having the force or effect of law.

Legal remedies are monetary damages typically imposed by a court to compensate a party for harm caused by another party.

Also referred to as an "LOD". This is a letter instructing one party (the addressee) to pay another party. Since record labels typically fund recording costs, LODs are customary in a music producer agreement where the artist directs its record label to pay the producer's advance and royalties directly (instead of going through the artist.) SoundExchange also requires a LOD for any payments of Featured Artist royalties to parties who are not technically Featured Artists (i.e. producers, mixers.)

A legal agreement in which the owner of a musical work grants permission to a third party for specific use of the musical work, usually in exchange for a license fee, subject to certain terms and conditions. Common examples of licenses in music publishing include synchronization, mechanical, public performance, and print licenses.

The fee paid to the licensor of a copyrighted work for certain permissions to use that work.

The person or entity that receives the right to use intellectual property from another party, usually in exchange for a fee. The person or entity that receives the right to use a beat from another party, usually in exchange for a fee.

A person or entity with exclusive legal rights over intellectual property that gives, sells or otherwise surrenders to another, typically for a fee, a limited or unlimited right to use that thing for a defined term.

The order in which artists perform at a live concert.

The credits and printed content located on the inside covers, sleeves, and jackets of physical records of music, or in a digital file equivalent for digital and streaming music.

Litigation is the process of adjudicating a dispute in a court of law, typically by bringing a lawsuit.

A lyricist or lyrist is a person who writes lyrics—words for songs—as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment.

Music marketing is the process of aiming to increase an artist’s popularity, profile and product sales by generating public interest’s in the artist’s music. This includes exposure in various mediums such as print, television, radio and the internet.

A sign over the entrance to a venue that displays the names of the featured performers or event.

A master recording is the first recording of a song or other sound, from which all the later copies are made. Master recordings (usually called just "masters") can be made on discs, tapes, and computer data storage formats. A multitrack master is an original multitrack recording, which may be worked on over time. Recently, it has become more common to refer to master recordings as "sound recordings" or simply "recordings."

Mastering is the final process of preparing a mixed recording for commercial music distribution.

A mechanical license is a written permission from the owner of a musical composition that gives permission to recording artists and music producers to create sound recordings of that musical composition.

The applicable royalty rate set by law for reproducing musical compositions into sound recordings. The current mechanical rate in the U.S. for physical product and digital downloads (as of 1/1/2024) is 12.4 cents for songs up to 5 minutes, or 2.39 cents for each minute of playing time, whichever is greater.

Mechanical royalties are royalties payable to the owner of a musical composition for the right to reproduce and distribute that composition in sound recordings.

Merchandise can refer to records in any form (physical, digital or otherwise), apparel, posters, stickers, and novelty items.

A clause in an agreement that specifies that all previous discussions, negotiations, and prior agreement are merged into the current document, with the parties only bound by the terms stated within it.

A clause in an agreement that states that the agreement cannot be changed or modified unless it is done in writing and signed by both parties.

Moral rights are the rights of authors of creative works which allow the author to protect the integrity of the artistic work, including (but not limited to) rights to: (1) to be known as the author (2) not be attributed for things he/she did not create, (3) prevent deforming changes to the work, (4) withdraw works from distribution, or (5) prevent use of works that reflect badly on the author. Moral rights are not widely recognized under United States law.

“Multi-Format Record” means a record in one format that is sold, transmitted, distributed, exploited or made accessible together with (or because of the purchase of) a record embodying substantially the same recordings in one or more other format(s) (e.g., a vinyl record together with a permanent download or stream, or a deluxe edition of an album which contains stereo mixes on CD along with 5.1 surround mixes on a Blu-ray or DVD).

“Multiple Album” means two or more individual Albums in the form of Physical Records (or their digital equivalent), packaged and sold (or otherwise exploited) as a single unit.

Multitracks are a group of files containing individual tracks from a digital audio workstation (DAW) session.

A music bundle is a collection containing various albums, EPs, and/or singles.

A musical bed is the underlying track, typically instrumental, that vocals and other melodies are usually recorded on top of.

A musical composition is an original work of music, vocal and/or instrumental, and the structure of that work.

The net artist rate is the royalty rate at which the artist recoups recording costs under a record deal, less the royalties paid to other royalty participants on a record (e.g., producers, mixers, etc.)

Net earnings are equal to gross revenues minus costs and expenses. In the context of music royalties, net earnings are equal to gross revenues from the exploitation of a work , less all costs and expenses attributable to its production and/or exploitation. Many independent record labels pay artists on a "net earnings" basis. Net earnings can also be referred to as "net profits" or "net receipts."

Artist’s gross revenues from one or more recordings produced by the producer less the certain costs and expenses that are outlined in the agreement.

See "Net Earnings."

See "Net Earnings."

A clause in an agreement that specifies that in some instances when one party has breached the agreement, the non-breaching party may decide to be forgiving and permit the breach in that particular instance.

Generally, "non-exclusive" means that other parties may have the same rights.

In the context of a license agreement, non-exclusive means that the licensor is free to license the same rights as licensed under the agreement to one or more third parties.

Non-interactive streams are streams which are not user-curated or controlled. Examples include Pandora, SiriusXM.

In the context of a legal agreement, "non-transferable" means that a party cannot transfer the agreement, or the rights conferred under it, to a third party.

In the context of a license agreement, the licensee cannot transfer the license, or the rights conferred under it, to a third party.

Notice is a formal correspondence with the other party to a contract. The correspondence is delivered by the methods permitted in the contract. The intent of notice is to simply put the other party on “notice” of something.

A Notice of Intent or "NOI" is a written notice to the publisher of a musical composition, indicating that the composition is being reproduced into a sound recording (i.e., a mechanical use of the Composition). This notice is required under Section 115 of the United States Copyright Act. Following the passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) in 2018, the Copyright Officer only requires these notices for distributing non-digital phonorecords, i.e., vinyl records and CDs. For downloads and streams, users can now obtain a blanket license through the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC).

An offer is the presentation of the terms for an agreement by one party, which is capable of being accepted by another party.

A one sheet is a document that contains information about a musical release and general information about the recording artist.

One-offs are individual performances by an artist that are not part of a bonafide tour. For more established artists, these are typically state and county fairs, casinos, and performing arts centers.

Online means connected to, served by, or available through a computer, network, internet or telecommunications system.

The opener is an act that performs before the featured act or headliner. a/k/a "support act".

"Out-of-pocket Expenses" means the direct payment of money that may or may not be reimbursed by a third party at a later time.

Overages means all amounts paid or incurred in excess of a previous estimate. For example, many record deals have recording budgets, and amounts spent over the recording budget would be called overages.

"p/k/a" means "professionally known as." Many times artists, producers, and other creative professionals have stage or professional names that are different from their legal names.

Packages are when two or more artists are put on the same performance bill together. The idea is to expose an artist to an audience they wouldn't normally perform for with the hope of expanding the artists fanbase.

A partnership is a business entity formed by two or more partners who decide to participate in a business enterprise equally, where the partners share all profits and losses, as well as liability. Partners have fiduciary duties to one another, to act in the best interest of the business and in good faith. Without an agreement to the contrary, a general partnership is formed. For instance, a musical group is, by default, a general partnership.

A patent is an inventor’s property right in their invention, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Performance means singing, speaking, conducting, or playing an instrument, alone or with others, or such performance itself, as the context requires.

Performing rights are the right to perform musical compositions in public. It is part of copyright law and demands payment to the musical compositions composer(s)/lyricist(s) and publisher(s).

A permanent download means a download of a sound recording that the user is entitled to use on a permanent basis, and which is not subject to the time or use limitations applicable to other types of downloads. See Limited Downloads.

A personal manager is someone who manages the day-to-day business of an artist's career.

A phonorecord is defined by the U.S. Copyright Office as “material objects in which sounds, other than those accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work, are fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the sounds can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”

A physical record means a sound recording in a tangible or physical form (e.g., a vinyl record, cassette tape, compact disc, pre-loaded USB drive, or a DVD or Blu-ray).

A playlist is the list of songs that are played by a radio station.

Used interchangeably with "royalties." Each royalty percentage is commonly referred to as a “point.” So, 1% is equal to 1 point.

The preamble is the very first introductory paragraph at the top of a written contract.

A press release is an official written record communication sent to the media for the purpose of announcing something newsworthy, for example an album release or a tour.

A producer declaration is essentially a short version of a producer agreement which confirms that that an artist or record label has been granted all rights it needs from a producer in order to commercially release a recording. It typically does NOT contain all of the business and legal terms in a long-form producer agreement

A production agreement is an agreement between a production company and an artist whereby the company funds and provides production for various recordings of the artist, and then shops the recordings to major record labels.

A promo is a promotional copy of a recording, usually a finished version of the recording. Promos can be complete copies of an album complete with artwork, or they can be CDs in cardboard or plastic sleeves.

A promoter is someone who promotes live performances for bands or artists.

Proprietary material is valuable commercial information that a person or entity wishes to keep confidential.

"PRO" refers to performing rights organizations (sometimes called performing rights societies). The major performing rights societies in the U.S. are ASCAP (standing for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), BMI (Broadcast Music, Incorporated), and SESAC (which originally stood for Society of European Stage Authors and Composers but now stands for “SESAC”). Of the three, ASCAP and BMI are by far the largest, as SESAC only has about 10% of the U.S. performing rights. ASCAP and BMI are non-profit, meaning they collect money, pay their expenses, and distribute everything else to the writers and publishers.

The public domain is comprised of creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property rights such as copyrights, trademarks or patents. These materials are not protected because the associated rights have either: (1) expired; (2) been forfeited; (3) been expressly waived; or (4) are not applicable.

A publisher controls the rights to exploit the copyright in a musical composition. By default, an unsigned songwriter is also the publisher of new musical composition. However, there are many independent music publishers, as well as "major" publishers, which may desire to assist the songwriter in exchange for rights in the Composition and a split of publishing income. The "major" publishers are Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing, and Warner-Chappell Music.

The “publisher’s share” of a musical composition is the percentage of public performance income that is paid to a publisher or musical publishing administrator.

Music publishing is the exploitation of the copyright in a musical composition. Publishing occurs through public performances, synchronizations, mechanical uses, dramatic or "grand rights" uses, and print uses of the musical composition.

A radius clause is a provision in a live performance agreement that prevents an artist from performing within a certain geographic area from the engaged performance for a specific period of time. E.g., if the artist is contracted to play a show in New York City, they could be prevented from playing a show within 20 miles of New York City for 90 days prior to or following the performance.

Recitals are paragraphs at the beginning of an agreement that explain or introduce the background of parties and/or the contractual relationship in the agreement, but do not address rights or obligations between the parties under the current agreement. Also known as the “whereas” clauses.

A record is a specific medium that a sound recording is released on. Examples include vinyl records, CDs, digital copies.

Recording means any recording of sound, whether or not coupled with a visual image, by any method and on any substance or material.

Recoupment is the recovery of charges made to an account. If, for example, there was a streaming royalty equal to 1 cent per stream credited to an artist’s account and the artist had 1 million streams in a given accounting period, then $10,000 (1mm x $.01) would be credited to the artist’s account for that accounting period. If the account was unrecouped, then the account would have recouped $10,000 in that accounting period. Contingent compensation that is earned (net earnings or royalties) is being used to recover the previously paid advances and other charges to an account.

A relationship clause in an agreement specifies the working relationship between the parties. Typically, it will specify that there is no partnership, agency or employment relationship created between the parties by virtue of entering into the agreement.

An agreement (or a waiver) promising not to sue for specific or general legal claims.

Releasing a product means the commercial distribution and sale of that product.

A remedies clause in an agreement specifies what one party is allowed to seek in the event that they sue the other party for breach of the agreement. Remedies can be both "legal" and "equitable." “Legal” remedies refer to money that should be paid to one party in order to compensate them for their losses. “Equitable” remedies refer to court orders that will instruct the other party on what they must do (or NOT do) to remedy the breach — often in the form of a court injunction, which says exactly what a party must immediately do (or refrain from doing).

Representations are statements of fact made by one party for the purpose of getting the other party to enter into an agreement.

Reproduction is one of the exclusive rights of copyright owners under Section 106 of the U.S. Copyright Act. Reproduction means to reproduce the copyrighted work or to authorize others to reproduce the copyrighted work in any format.

"Results and proceeds" refers to the work product resulting from the creative contributions or services of individuals rendering services for a project on work-made-for-hire basis.

"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.)

Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction with a third party.

The right of publicity is the right to protect the use of someone's name and likeness for a commercial purpose. These rights are recognized in some states as a property right, which can be sold, licensed, or passed on to others after death.

Royalties are a form of contingent compensation, typically calculated as a percentage (of sales, earnings, etc.)

For sound recordings, "sampling" refers to the use of pre-existing sound recordings in a new sound recording (i.e., cutting and pasting an older recording into a new one.) For musical compositions, this can refer to an interpolation or reiteration of a pre-existing melody (or a copy of pre-existing lyrics.)

Where tickets are available, price per section/ticket prices.

A secondary market is a marketplace in which tickets are resold. E.g., StubHub, Craigslist, SeatGeek, VividSeats, Viagogo, etc.

Service of process refers to a legal procedure when a lawsuit is filed, whereby the party filing the claim (the plaintiff) must also send a copy of the lawsuit to the other party (the defendant) so the defendant knows they’ve been sued. This service of process must be sent in a very specific way that is outlined in that state’s laws of civil procedure as well as in the federal rules of civil procedure if the case is in federal court. Improper service of process can result in the case being dismissed. Every state has its own laws of civil procedure.

After a live performance, settlement refers to reviewing the promoter’s accounting of the show and receiving the balance of money due to the artist. Settlement is typically handled by the artist’s Tour Manager.

Severability is a contractual concept and clause giving a court the ability to separate the terms of the contract, where some of the terms are not binding (because they are illegal or otherwise unenforceable), and some are.

A side artist is an artist, musician or singer who is hired to perform on a recording and will receive a featured artist credit along with some royalties. Side artists are also sometimes referred to as featured artists or guest artists.

A “single” means a Physical Record sold (or otherwise exploited) as a unit that embodies at least one and up to three Tracks of different Compositions

A song split is an agreement between songwriters of a musical composition which divides the copyright ownership (and the publishing administration) of the musical composition.

The Copyright Act defines sound recordings as “works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds but not including sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.” Generally, a sound recording is a recorded performance, often of another work. A sound recording must be fixed, meaning that the sounds must be captured in a medium from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated. The author may fix the sounds in a digital track, disk, tape, or other format. Copyright in a sound recording is not the same as, or a substitute for, copyright in the underlying musical composition.

A non-profit collective formed by the RIAA to collect and administer payments of royalties for the public performance of master recordings through digital audio transmissions (more specifically, non-interactive streams.) SoundExchange administers payments of these royalties to the copyright owners, the featured artists, and session musicians (the latter of which is distributed through AFM.)

A statutory rate is a royalty rate prescribed by law from Congress.

Royalties which are required to be paid by law pursuant to a compulsory license.

“Stem” means an individual vocal, sound or instrumental track that, together with the recorded performances of all other vocal, sound or instrumental tracks of the same composition, comprise a complete multi-track recording.

“Storage/Playback Device” means a device that is capable of receiving or storing and performing digital sound recordings, including personal computers, hard drives, home media servers, television set-top boxes, so-called “smart TVs,” remote storage and access systems through which an end-user’s stored digital content is accessible to such end-user via electronic transmission (i.e., so-called “clouds” or “digital lockers”), smartphones, hand-held video game players, digital media players, tablets and other personal entertainment devices.

“Stream” means an electronic audio transmission that is: (1) transmitted substantially contemporaneously with the rendering of the song on an end user’s local storage device, allowing playback to proceed while subsequent data is being received; and (2) transmitted by means of a technology that is not intended to enable the end user to create a reproduction of the work (other than a transitory reproduction required to render such substantially contemporaneous performance, as in a data buffer).

"Streaming" refers to the transmission of a work digitally from a website or from a so-called “subscription service” (and which may be performed as part of the subscription offering).

A music publisher that is granted the right to administer musical compositions in specific territories.

A license to reproduce and synchronize a musical composition with a video (i.e., match the music to a moving image.)

A "tag" is a digital watermark. Beat producers will sometimes place digital watermarks in the form of soundbites, typically identifying the creator of the beat, within the audio file of the beat that is uploaded to an online marketplace or when sharing the beat with a prospective purchaser or licensee.

The length of the agreement. Sometimes this is measured in months, years, or other periodic reference points (e.g., number of albums or products to be delivered.)

A term sheet is a nonbinding agreement that shows the basic terms and conditions of an investment. The term sheet serves as a template and basis for more detailed, legally binding documents. Once the parties involved reach an agreement on the details laid out in the term sheet, a binding agreement or contract that conforms to the term sheet details is drawn up.

The location (countries, regions, territories, jurisdictions) where the Agreement applies.

In that place, document, or respect; to that or that place; with or in the thing mentioned.

Tour managers take charge of the details of a tour. They travel with the band, and do all the jobs like checking into hotels, liase with promoters, and make things run as smoothly as possible.

A document that sets forth all of the rules and requests needed for an artist’s performance. Tour riders typically consist of two parts: 1) a technical rider, which sets forth all of the equipment necessary for an artist’s performance, stage plot, etc.; and 2) a hospitality rider, which lists all of the items that the artist needs to feel comfortable to perform live, including food and drink, dressing room setups, and other amenities.

“Track” means a recording of a performance of a musical composition.

The name that many producers refer to stems of a beat.

A trade secret is: (i) information that has either actual or potential independent economic value by virtue of not being generally known; (ii) has value to others who cannot legitimately obtain the information; and (iii) is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.

A word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.

Throughout the Universe. With respect to a license agreement, typically the ability to exploit the rights granted in any territory in the world or space (via satellite, etc.).

A beat that has any tags removed.

Taking a Record controlled by an independent entity (such as an artist's loan-out company, or a production company) and releasing and distributing it through a "Major" record label.

“US” means the United States of America, its territories and possessions (including Puerto Rico), and all military exchanges wherever located.

“User Data” means any data (including personal data and personally identifiable information) related to users of an online platform or website.

The specific court, or a specific location of courts (typically by county), where a litigation will take place.

The specific location of a live performance or exhibition of work

“Video Costs” means any and all costs in connection with the production or exploitation of audiovisual recordings.

A promise or assurance made by a party to an agreement. A warranty may be regarding the status, quality, or any other aspect of the party making the warranty and/or the rights being conveyed under the agreement.

A “.WAV” file is an uncompressed lossless waveform audio format. This is the standard professional format for music to be encoded into physical musical products, such as vinyl and CDs.

“Website” means a series of one or more interconnected documents or files that are intended to be accessible by Internet users (including World Wide Web sites, social networking websites, Wireless Application Protocol sites and other types of wireless websites and individual web pages contained thereon).

"Whereas" means "taking into consideration the fact that." This is typically used in the preamble of an agreement.

A creative work which is not owned by the author, but rather (from the moment of its inception) the work owned by the party commissioning that work. Creative work product is automatically deemed "Work for Hire" if the work is created pursuant to an employer-employee relationship. However, in the case of an independent contractor rendering creative services, that work product will only be a "Work For Hire" if there is a written agreement between the parties specifying that the work would be considered "work for hire."

An agreement between songwriters of a musical composition which divides the copyright ownership (and the publishing administration) of the musical composition.

The “writer’s share” of a musical composition is the percentage of public performance income that is paid directly to the songwriter of the composition, regardless of whether they have a publisher or self-publish the composition.