04/12/2025
Let’s Talk Masters! ☕️
A lot of artists don’t realize this…
Your MASTERS are the real wealth of your music career.
Not the streams.
Not the features.
Not even the shows.
Your master recording is the ORIGINAL file of your song — the version everything else is made from.
Whoever owns the master controls:
~how the song is used
~where it gets placed
~licensing opportunities
~film/TV/ads placement
~remixes and sampling
~long-term earnings
~who needs permission for what
~check/money
If you don’t own your masters, you don’t control your music. Where many first lose it is understanding the beats they are purchasing. There are 3 ways to get beats if you aren’t making them yourself:
1. Buying a Lease- limited rights. You can use the beat, upload it, maybe perform it, but the producer still owns the beat. They can sell it to 10 more artists the same day.
2. Exclusive rights- gives you more power but STILL may not be full ownership. No one else can use the beat, but the producer may still own part of the master unless the contract says otherwise. It may still require:
* royalty splits
* credit requirements
* publishing splits
* limitations on sync licensing
* usage caps
READ your paperwork.
3. Work-for-Hire- the only clean path to FULL OWNERSHIP, the kind that labels and TV shows respect. Always make sure you secure a signed Work-for-Hire Agreement that specifies price paid and that you have ownership. No need for lengthy contracts here. You don’t even have to credit the beat maker unless you offer that in the agreement. Basically,
~YOU own the beat
~YOU own the master
~YOU control the song
~YOU decide how it gets used
~YOU get the licensing checks
~YOU dictate the future of the record
If you want long-term freedom in this industry, protect your masters and understand your rights. Most major artist has had to learn this lesson the hard way. Don’t wait until you’re already popping to find out somebody else owns your biggest record. And it is perfectly okay to use all 3 methods, as there are times when it makes sense, but know what you’re doing and what it means.