I recently had the opportunity to negotiate a production agreement across the table from attorney Cassandra Spangler and couldn't help but take a peek at her amazing FB page where I came across a great interview she did with SoundPlug.net on "Understanding How Label's Avoid Paying Producers."

Cassandra is a fellow entertainment attorney who over the course of 20 years in the music industry I'm sure has come across her fair share of shady deals and did an excellent job of explaining how the small nuance between a Album and an EP could mean major dollars for a producer.

Here's a brief snippet from the interview:

How do labels to avoid paying producers their appropriate rates?

Artists often sign record deals where they agree to receive a lower royalty for projects that are classified as “mixtapes” or “promotional” than they do for “albums.” Producers then sign agreements with artists where they agree to be paid under the same royalty terms as the artist is paid by the label, which results in the producer receiving a lower royalty rate for those projects as well.

How would you suggest producers that combat these practices to be paid appropriately?

I would suggest that producers be sure to always retain their fair share of publishing (usually 50%) so that even if the royalties are limited, they are still making money on the publishing side. I would also suggest that they have an attorney draft and review any written agreements so that they are clear on what they are signing and what their royalty % will be.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW & FIND OUT WHAT ROYALTY % PRODUCERS SHOULD GET ON AVERAGE HERE:  "UNDERSTANDING HOW LABEL'S AVOID PAYING PRODUCERS"