I recently experienced a reminder of why it's good to get money-4-music details in writing, in advance. I'm a lucky boy to get commissions the way I do, but I've had quite a few go wrong, and it's always sad to feel undervalued. As a matter of fact, my recent upload Elysium was composed for a hand-shake-agreement commission that never paid up.
I attended a talk given by the vice president of concert music from ASCAP (the U.S. affiliate of APRA, for the Aussies in the room) and she advocated strongly for composers to make their own contracts, even in commissions amongst friends. Her point was mostly about copyright: composers must hold onto their copyright, especially when we don't all have litigious publishers to do it for us.
I'm probably preaching to the choir here, so forgive me: I've been using a version of this contract for a few years, and I thought I'd share it here. All it takes is a reassuring smile and a 5 minute discussion to fill it out, and your rights will be secure.
Contract template here:
And just because it makes me feel so good, here's another excerpt from the recording sesh last night with Vatche:
Thank you, Andrew! I'm currently in a kerfuffle where I'm regretting not having insisted on supplying my own contract in the beginning. Have learned a lesson for sure.
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