How can you handle disputes over music licensing agreements?

Other things to keep in mind include the nuance of where the music was composed, as territorial laws can vary. ie neighboring rights are not available for works produced in the United States.

It is imperative that you read everything in the contract/agreement. If there is anything that you do not understand, ask. Seek counsel. It is worth the investment sometimes and may save you from much future heartache. I can't express how many times I've seen contracts/agreements with no dates. Something as small as having no dates can be precarious. Every little detail counts.

I'd say, at an absolute base level, when reading over a contract, you should look for the following: 1. Term - Length of the license. 2. Royalty Rate - Percentage of royalties coming your way throughout the term (will most likely be net receipts (promo/distribution)). 3. Marketing Cost Recoupment - Percentage of marketing costs recouped against the artist's share of royalties. Be wary, as having a high recoupment percentage against your royalties may mean that it will take longer for you to earn money from your release.

Be sure to review the contract for contractual triggers and stated percentages of ownership. A trigger may occur once a certain threshold of money has been earned or time elapsed. A good example for this might be recoupment, with respect to an advance payment to an artist or songwriter being fulfilled, wherein payments to the artist or songwriter may not be paid their full amount of royalties due to portions still being directed to the entity that issued the advance to begin with.

If there is any doubt one should disclose something, there should be no doubt that one should. Being clear and straightforward at the outset is key to having success in music and business in general. It’s also a really good idea for each interested party to record and have on hand the data that uniquely identifies their works, as supporting information to the communication that must occur.

Monitoring the use of a license can be difficult sometimes, without the help of the licensee and potentially an entity that does this full time. There are multiple licenses, being exploited in countries around the world, on many platforms…it starts with the data. With reliable data it makes the job of tracking everything much easier and efficient.