How Many Albums Is the Label Committed to Make for Me?

Many artists are thrilled to get a 5- or 10-album deal – not realizing that this is almost never a good thing. When you read the fine print of the contract, you will usually find in these deals that the record company is only promising to let you deliver one album’s worth of music to them. They then have the right – “option” -- to make a second, third, fourth, etc. if they are happy with how well you are doing.

In other words, they’re locking you in before you know what you are worth. What’s more, if they are not happy with you after record number one, they can drop you. Focus instead on how many albums the record company is committed to making for you. Understand what you are really getting -- before you sign!