Producers Contracting With Record Labels: Considerations for Producers, Artists, and Catalog Buyers

Hiring a record producer, at least on paper, has traditionally been the artist’s job. The artist contracts directly with the producer, agrees to pay the producer a share of the artist’s recording royalties, and sends a letter of direction to the label or distributor instructing it to pay the producer directly. Sometimes, though, a producer contracts directly with the record label or distributor to produce an artist’s recordings.