%fees For A Singer

[levs]

I am singing songs for a person who is writing and producing the song and music. Do you kniw what % i should receive from the royalties if any from the song?

[Retrosaurus Rex]

If they pay you up front, they'll probably ask you to sign a "work-for-hire" agreement, which means you lose any claim to future royalties, at least in the US... in some territories you may still be able to claim royalties if they use the master with your performance.

Is it for a demo or is intended for release?

[levs]

If they pay you up front, they'll probably ask you to sign a "work-for-hire" agreement, which means you lose any claim to future royalties, at least in the US... in some territories you may still be able to claim royalties if they use the master with your performance.

Is it for a demo or is intended for release?

Thanks for your advice. Appreciate that.

I think he may want to release it. I may be doing other songs also. He seems to think i may get to do gigs if one of the songs is liked through a local radio station. But i am all new to this so havent got a clue if he screws me over. So is it unusual that i woukd get a % fee or do singers just get a fee up front? What then if the songs do well and he wants me to perform it elsewhere? Sorry all the questions. Appreciate your help

[Retrosaurus Rex]

If the track is for release it's not unusual that he would offer a percentage, especially if he's working on a shoestring budget... maybe he can't afford to pay scale right now... you should probably try to get 50% of mechanicals (ask for 75%)... sure, he can still screw you over on the back-end accounting, you might never know, but it might be worth it if you get something out of it that furthers your career. You said he wrote & produced the song, but if you're contributing anything to the lyric or melody you should try to get 50% of the writer's royalty as well. None of this is cut-and-dried, it depends on your respective leverage in negotiation.