Songwriter Agreement Template - Company & Songwriter

When a label, publishing company, or artist's business entity commissions a songwriter to write — or retroactively documents a co-write — this is the agreement that governs the relationship. This Songwriter Agreement Template is structured for company-to-songwriter deals: one party is a business entity (a label, publishing company, production company, or artist's LLC), and the other is an individual songwriter. It defines what the songwriter delivers, what they own, and what the company gets in return.

Drafted by an entertainment attorney who structures publishing and songwriting relationships for independent labels and artist-owned companies.

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What's Included

The Company-Songwriter Structure

• Party Identification — The company is identified as the contracting entity (label, publishing company, production house, or artist's LLC), with the individual songwriter as the other party.
• Nature of Engagement — Defines whether the songwriter is being engaged for a specific song, an album project, an ongoing writing relationship, or to retroactively formalize an existing co-write.
• Songwriting Contribution — Describes what the songwriter is delivering (lyrics only, music and lyrics, topline, full composition) and the specific project it's for.

Ownership & Publishing Split

• Composition Ownership — Specifies each party's percentage of the underlying composition, based on the songwriter's contribution and the negotiated split.
• Publishing Administration — Defines who administers the composition — typically the company administers its share and the songwriter retains independent administration of their own share, or the company administers the full composition under a co-publishing or administration deal.
• Writer's Share Protection — Confirms that the songwriter's writer's share (typically 50% of total publishing income, paid directly by PROs) is retained by the songwriter and cannot be assigned or waived.

Compensation

• Flat Fee Option — A work-for-hire fee paid by the company to the songwriter upfront, in addition to (or instead of) a publishing split.
• Royalty Participation — If the songwriter is participating in backend revenue, their royalty entitlement from the company's share of publishing income is defined here.
• Advance Against Royalties — Optional recoupable advance against future publishing income, with accounting and recoupment provisions.

PRO Registration & Mechanical Rights

• Registration Obligations — Who registers the composition with ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC, and how each party's share is reflected in the registration.
• Mechanical Licensing — Addresses how mechanical royalties are collected and distributed, including whether a mechanical rights administrator (e.g., DistroKid Publishing, Songtrust, or direct PRO affiliation) is handling collection.
• Sync Licensing Approval — Specifies whether the songwriter must approve sync placements or whether the company has authority to license the composition independently.

Delivery Requirements

• Deliverables — What the songwriter must deliver (lyrics document, demo recording, lead sheet, full composition file) and the deadline for delivery.
• Approval Rights — Whether the company has the right to approve or request revisions to the songwriter's work before acceptance.
• Exclusivity — Addresses whether the songwriter is prohibited from writing for competing projects or artists during the engagement period.

Credit

• Songwriter Credit — Required credit on all commercial releases, streaming metadata, and PRO registrations.
• Production Credit — If the songwriter is also producing, addresses how production credit is handled separately from songwriting credit.

Standard Legal Protections

• Warranties — Songwriter confirms the composition is original, doesn't infringe third-party copyrights, and contains no uncleared samples or interpolations.
• Indemnification — Mutual protection against claims arising from each party's representations.
• Governing Law — Your choice of state; enforceable across all U.S. jurisdictions.

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Common Mistakes This Template Helps You Avoid

❌ No clarity on who administers the composition — When a label and a songwriter both claim administration rights, sync licensing becomes paralyzed. Clear administration language prevents this from becoming a bottleneck at the worst moment — when a placement opportunity is on the table.

❌ Songwriter's writer's share improperly assigned — Under U.S. law, a songwriter's direct writer's share (the 50% paid directly by PROs to the individual songwriter) cannot be assigned to a third party. Including language that purports to assign the writer's share to the company creates a legally unenforceable provision that can invalidate part of the agreement.

❌ No sync approval clause — A songwriter who contributed to a composition has co-ownership rights. Without a clear agreement on who can license the composition for sync (and who must approve), either party could license the song in a context the other finds objectionable — or block a lucrative placement.

❌ Flat fee without a clear work-for-hire designation — If a company pays a songwriter a fee and intends to own the composition outright, the work-for-hire classification needs to be explicit. Without it, the songwriter retains copyright ownership regardless of what was paid.

✅ This template documents exactly what the company owns, what the songwriter keeps, and who can do what with the composition.

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Who This Is For

• Independent record labels — commissioning songwriting from a writer who is not signed to the label but is contributing to a label release.
• Publishing companies — formalizing a songwriting relationship with a writer in their roster or network.
• Artist-owned companies — contracting a co-writer to contribute to an artist's project, where the artist operates through a business entity.
• Music producers with label imprints — structuring the songwriting arrangement when they bring in an outside writer to contribute toplines or lyrics to a produced track.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How is this different from the Co-Writer Publishing Split template?
The Co-Writer Publishing Split template is for agreements between individual co-writers — person to person. This Company & Songwriter template is for situations where one party is a business entity (label, publishing company, LLC). The structure, representation clauses, and administration provisions are specifically designed for the company-individual dynamic, including the company's authority to license on the composition's behalf.

Can the company own 100% of the composition under this template?
Yes, if structured as a work-for-hire with appropriate compensation. The songwriter can assign all ownership to the company through a work-for-hire provision, retaining only their PRO writer's share (which cannot be waived under U.S. law). This is common in staff writing arrangements.

Does this cover master recording rights?
No. This template covers the composition only. If the songwriter is also recording the master (as a producer, artist, or session musician), a separate producer agreement, recording agreement, or session musician agreement is needed to address the master recording rights.

What if the songwriter is based internationally?
The template is drafted for U.S. law and specifies U.S. governing law. International songwriters can sign under U.S. jurisdiction, which is standard in the industry. For significant international publishing deals involving non-U.S. PROs or collection societies, consult an entertainment attorney.

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What Happens After Purchase

✅ Instant Download — Word (.docx) file delivered immediately after checkout.
✅ Fully Editable — Fill in company name, songwriter name, composition title, ownership percentages, and compensation terms directly in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
✅ Attorney-Drafted — Writer's share protection, administration rights, and sync approval built in.
✅ Reusable — Works for every company-to-songwriter engagement, project after project.

Also available: Songwriter Agreement - Co-Writer Publishing Split for agreements between two individual co-writers.

Need help structuring a specific company-songwriter arrangement? Email adam@acfreedmanlaw.com

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*DISCLAIMER: This template is provided as a starting point and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Publishing arrangements involving catalog ownership, co-publishing deals, or work-for-hire agreements with significant commercial value should be reviewed by a qualified entertainment attorney before signing.