Featured Artist Agreement Template - Direct Artist Deal
Featured Artist Agreement Template - Direct Artist Deal
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The featured artist is signing in their own name, with no loan-out company in between. A featured artist agreement is the contract between the lead artist and a guest performer that sets what the guest is paid, who owns the recording, and how they are credited. This version covers the direct deal, where the guest signs personally and confirms the performance is theirs to license. It documents the royalty, any publishing share, the credit, and master ownership in one place.
Written by Adam Freedman, a music attorney with more than 10 years of experience, admitted in New York.
Which featured artist agreement fits your deal?
The short answer: if the artist signs personally and has no company, this is the one. The row highlighted below is this page.
| Template | Who signs | What the featured artist gets | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Direct Artist Deal $20 (this page) |
The artist, personally | Royalty, an optional upfront fee, and a publishing share if they co-wrote | The artist has no company and is not signed elsewhere |
|
Furnishing Company $20 |
The artist's LLC or corporation | The same, paid to the company, with an inducement provision built in | The artist says "my company handles this" |
|
Royalty & Publishing Split $20 |
The artist, personally | A master royalty plus a defined publishing share, drafted in full | The publishing split is the negotiated point and you want those terms documented properly |
|
All three, inside the Vault $75 |
Whichever fits | All three versions, plus 24 other contracts | You do features regularly and want the right one on hand each time |
The clause that matters most here
On a direct feature, the capacity representation carries more weight than the royalty number. An artist who is signed to an exclusive recording agreement usually cannot appear on your record without their label's written consent, and plenty of independent artists either do not know that or would rather not raise it. If they appear anyway, the label's claim runs at you, not at them.
The representation does not make the problem disappear. What it does is move the risk onto the one person in the room who knows the answer, and give you something to point at if they were wrong. On a feature with a real budget behind it, ask for the consent letter rather than relying on the representation alone.
What's included
The direct artist structure
- Direct signatory: the featured artist signs in their own name, confirming they have the authority to license their performance, with nobody signing on their behalf.
- Capacity representation: the artist confirms no exclusive recording agreement blocks the appearance and no third-party approval is required.
- Sole ownership of performance: the artist warrants they own the rights to their performance and that no third party has a claim on it.
Compensation
- Royalty rate: the guest's percentage of net master receipts across streaming, downloads, physical, and sync, commonly 5 to 20% on independent releases.
- Upfront fee option: an optional advance or flat fee, recoupable or not depending on your negotiation.
- Accounting and payment schedule: quarterly or semi-annual periods, with a deadline for statements and payment.
Publishing
- Songwriting contribution: if the guest contributed melody, lyrics, or both, their share of the composition is defined here.
- PRO registration: each side's obligation to register their share with ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC.
- Publishing administration: who administers which share, and how mechanicals are collected and distributed.
Master recording rights
- Work for hire classification: the recorded performance is work made for hire, with a copyright assignment fallback.
- Master ownership confirmation: the primary artist or label owns the master. The guest takes royalties, not ownership.
- Delivery of performance: stems, file format, and deadline.
Credits, likeness and promotion
- Credit format: the required credit for DSP metadata, physical packaging, and promotional materials.
- Promotional use of name and likeness: what you can use the guest's name and image for, and what needs separate approval.
- Release timing: when the guest may start promoting the track on their own channels.
Standard protections
- Warranties and representations: no conflicting exclusivity, no third-party claims, no uncleared samples in their contribution.
- Indemnification: mutual, for claims arising from each side's representations.
- Governing law: your choice of state, enforceable across all U.S. jurisdictions.
Common mistakes this template helps you avoid
Not confirming the artist is free to appear. A guest under an exclusive label deal who appears without approval exposes you to a claim from their label. The capacity representation puts that answer on the person who knows it.
No master protection. Without work-for-hire language, a recorded vocal can be argued into a co-ownership claim on your master.
A royalty left as "TBD". The number is easy to agree before the session and hard to agree after the record starts earning.
Likeness use without written authorization. Putting a guest's name and image into advertising without a written grant is a right of publicity problem, whatever was agreed verbally.
Who this is for
- Independent artists featuring another artist directly, without going through a label or management company.
- Indie labels bringing in a guest who is unsigned and can contract in their own name.
- Producers building a record around an independent featured vocalist or rapper.
- Music managers on the primary artist's side who want one clean template for every direct feature.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from the Furnishing Company version?
The Furnishing Company version is used when the guest's services come through their loan-out entity, meaning their LLC or corporation signs. This one is for when the artist signs personally, with no entity in between. If they say their company handles their contracts, use that version instead. If you are weighing whether to handle the deal yourself at all, what a music lawyer actually does is the honest version of that question.
What if the artist has a manager who handles their contracts?
A manager negotiating is different from a company furnishing services. If the artist ultimately signs in their own name, this template applies. If an entity signs, use the Furnishing Company version.
Can I use this for a one-verse feature with no upfront payment?
Yes. The template accommodates a zero advance. Plenty of features are pure royalty participation with nothing paid upfront.
What if the feature is a flat fee with no royalty?
Then a straight buyout fits better: the Vocalist Agreement or the Session Musician Contract, both built as flat fee work-for-hire deals.
What if the featured artist is in another country?
It is drafted for US law and specifies US jurisdiction. That works, but enforcement abroad is its own practical question, which matters more as the amounts get larger.
What format is the file delivered in?
Microsoft Word (.docx), editable immediately in Word, Google Docs, or Pages.
What happens after purchase
Instant download: Word (.docx) file delivered immediately after checkout.
Fully editable: fill in royalty rates, fee amounts, credit language, and deal-specific terms.
Attorney-drafted: capacity representation, work for hire, and likeness rights all built in.
Reusable: use the same template for every direct feature.
Also available: the Furnishing Company version for artists who contract through a business entity, and the Royalty & Publishing Split for a fully drafted compensation structure.
Something in the deal you can't get comfortable with? Talk it through before you sign.
Need more than one template? The Complete Music Contract Vault bundles 27 music contract templates for $75.
*DISCLAIMER: This template is provided as a starting point and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. If the featured artist may be subject to an exclusive recording agreement with another label, consult a qualified entertainment attorney before proceeding.
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