Deals & Your Rights
Controlled Composition Clause
A controlled composition clause is a major-label contract term that pays you below the statutory mechanical rate on songs you wrote, often 75%, capped per album.
Where this sits
Controlled Composition Clause
- Distribution
- Broadcast
- Publishing
- Performance
A controlled composition clause is a record-contract term that caps the mechanical royalties a label pays on songs the artist wrote, commonly at 75% of the statutory rate, and limited to a set number of songs per album. It's a quiet way songwriter income gets reduced on major-label deals.
Good to know
Controlled Composition Clause: common questions
- Does a controlled composition clause affect indie artists?
- Only if you sign a label contract that includes one. Distributing independently, your mechanicals are collected at the full statutory rate.
Controlled Composition ClauseHover a connected term to see how it relates.
