Band Partnership Agreements

By Troy Vernon Sutton

Most musicians want to focus on music and either are not concerned with, don’t understand, or simple can’t be bothered with the business of being a musician.

The fact is, if you plan to make money as a musician, music is a business. As a musician, you have income, expenses, and taxes!  You have agreements to negotiate, contracts to sign, and obligations to perform.  It's important that you decide early about how your business will be operated.

When you form a Band or write songs with someone else, you are forming a partnership.  You first talk about what you want to do together, how the band will work. This is an oral agreement or contract.

When your band starts getting record label interest, when the money starts rolling in, even life-long friendships can be broken by very different understandings or memories about your agreement.  Having your agreement formalized in a written contract helps avoid hurt feelings and expensive fights.

It is hard to repair damage, but hiring an Attorney early in the formation of your band can help you keep the band moving forward and strong even through difficult times.

A band partnership agreement will address important aspects of the bands business like:

• who owns the band name?
• who owns the songs?
• who owns the band equipment?
• who pays for rehearsal space?
• how is money split?
• who can write checks from the band's bank account?
• who gets the final say in band decisions?
• what happens if someone leaves the band?

When you work with other Artists, you should have a written document to confirm your agreement.  A music Attorney will help you create an agreement that you all understand; an agreement that helps your band anticipate and plan for your future music career.

If you have questions about band partnership agreements, or any other general legal questions, please contact the Law Offices of Troy Sutton.