Archive for March, 2009

The Controlled Composition Clause addresses how much money a record company will pay its recording artist (in his capacity as a composer) for those of his songs which he records. Thus, every musician who records for, or licenses or sells his or her self produced master to, a record company should analyze the Controlled Composition Clause carefully. Recently, the Controlled Composition Clause has become vastly more onerous, especially as used by the major record companies and thus should be carefully reviewed. However, even in its more benign form this clause needs to be evaluated. 

Typically the Controlled Composition Clause, in its more benign form, provides for the recording artist to grant his record company a mechanical license for the recording artist’s own compositions at a reduced mechanical royalty rate then what currently is in effect. 

A hypothetical example of this latter type of Controlled Composition Clause reads as follows: 

“… Record Company is hereby granted a mechanical license for all Controlled Compositions, as defined below, embodied in the Masters at fifty (50%) percent of the minimum statutory mechanical copyright royalty rate in effect on the date of first release of Records containing such Controlled Compositions (the “Controlled Rate”). The term “Controlled Composition” means a Composition embodied in any Master delivered hereunder which is written or composed by Owner, alone or in collaboration with others, or is owned or controlled, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by Owner, or by any person, corporation, partnership, firm, or other entity in which Owner has a direct or indirect interest…” 

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In many of the most important deals that an artist or songwriter will sign in his/her career, there will contain provisions requiring the transfer of ownership of rights to their songs and recordings. This granting of copyrights by an artist to another party is called an assignment and is an important term to understand. continue