When an artist signs with a record label, they're entering into a legal agreement states key factors in their business relationship which terms will establish several areas such as the duration of the agreement, who will be the owner of the records and how the artist will be compensated, among other things. However, not all record deals are the same, and there are different types of deals that an artist may encounter in their career.

If you're a music producer or artist, you've probably heard the terms "sample" and "interpolation" thrown around when it comes to creating new music. But what do these terms actually mean, and how do they differ from one another? First it is important to understand the difference between a sound recording and a musical composition.

Every song has two types of copyrights involved: the sound recording and the musical composition.

Music publishing is one of several agreements that an artist in today’s music business can encounter in their career. Although a music publishing deal refers to copyright in musical compositions which are written by songwriters, in today’s music industry a recording artist can also encounter these deals becuase of their songwriting activities. This article will cover the different publishing deals that an artist/songwriter may have to deal with in their career as well as the rights involved in each one.

One of the most important business relationships in the music industry is that of the artist and his manager. The manager is in charge of developing, promoting and advising the artist’s career using its industry connections and advising the artist on every move, sometimes not only related to the music career.