Tips for Producing a Compilation Album

For the past twenty or more years compilation albums have become a staple diet of the music buying public. The reason for the rise in popularity of the compilation album is that they offer a wider array of favourite songs whereas most artists’ albums usually only have 3 or four tracks which the music lover wants to play over and over again. This is the same reasoning why we now see music buyers cherry picking tracks from iTunes and other download sites.

To cater for this demand record labels begin to market their back-catalogue in the form of compilation albums, using titles such as “Chill Out Album” or “Party Bangers” etc.

However, there are many legal factors to consider when producing a compilation album.

Each song and its artist must be treated the same, and in particular, they should all receive the same advance and royalty. The license agreement for the song will be non-exclusive, for say a period of 5 years duration. So the licensor will still retain control and can license the song to another company. As a result the label would be maximising its income.

The age old principle of packaging deductions is removed. If a song has achieved hit record status, it will guarantee a level of interest in the album. It is also another source of income after a song has reached its peak in the charts.

When selecting the songs to be used on the album the compiler should consider having a mixture of ‘hits’ and ‘turntable hits’.  The album should have approximately 20 songs, and to achieve this goal, the compiler should be contacting at least 30 potential licensors, because not all licensors will reply to an enquiry, or they may not be happy with the amount of advance.

Advice to compilers is to always have a strict deadline for licensors to respond. The compiler should also ensure that each track has been mastered without glitches. This happens regularly with smaller labels where the master recording does contain glitches. Consent should always be sought  to do a DJ Mix. At the end of the license period there must be a sell-off period of 6 months to get rid of any excess unsold stock. The unsold stock can either be sold to the licensor at cost or destroyed at the end of the sell-off period.

For start up labels, a compilation album is a good introduction to the record buying public It sets out the ethos of what the label is trying to achieve, and the type of artist the label would be looking to sign in the future.

Finally, and importantly, the compilation album is a great marketing tool and income generator. 

If you would like more advice in relation to compilation albums or any aspect of entertainment law contact Rudi Kidd

Comment

Was this helpful?
No Very

Name (optional)

Website (optional)

Email Address (optional)

Enter Word Verification in box below

Comment (optional)