Whilst it would be nice to call up Max Martin, have him press ‘record’, and then drop the album, even Taylor Swift has paperwork to do. Because even behind mega-albums like Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl lies a stack of contracts.
In this blog Songpact Co-founder, Nick Weaser, takes a look at a few of the agreements Swift would have needed just to get the audio side of the project over the line.
Producer Agreements
Max Martin and Shellback are both credited as co-producers of the album (alongside Swift herself). They would each require a producer agreement covering their:
- Upfront fee / advance
- Ongoing royalty
- Song splits, as they are each credited as co-writers of each of the album’s compositions
Production credit
And in return, they’d each assign their rights in the recordings over to Swift.
Co-Writer Agreement
One of the album’s headline tracks is Swift’s own Father Figure, which interpolates George Michael’s original composition of the same name.
An interpolation doesn’t use the original recording, but it does use the underlying composition. That meant Swift’s team needed a co-writer agreement with George Michael’s publisher or estate to carve up ownership percentages of the new version, and explains why George Michael is credited as a co-writer of Swift’s version.
Featured Artist Agreement
Sabrina Carpenter appears on the album’s title track, The Life of a Showgirl. Her featured artist agreement would have covered, amongst other things:
- Carpenter’s fee and/or royalty share
- The vocal services Carpenter was required to be delivered
- Any approval rights Carpenter may have over the final master
- Any promotional obligations (social media posts, personal appearances etc.)
As she isn’t listed as a co-writer, the agreement would have also confirmed this, particularly to avoid any disputes in future.
And That’s Just The Start…
Thats’s already four major agreements. Add in contracts for session musicians, backing vocalists, and engineers, and you’re easily looking at 10+ deals before even turning to the artwork or promo videos.
Taylor didn’t use Songpact this time (we won’t hold it against her) – she’s fortunate enough to have an army of top music lawyers at her disposal.
But the point is: she could have.
Making Contracts Simple for The 99%
Every one of the agreements above exists within Songpact’s suite of contracts. And while the world’s top 1% of artists can afford traditional legal services, we built Songpact for the other 99% of the music community who still need professional contracts, without breaking the bank.
Don’t keep Songpact on your Wi$h Li$t.