Deals & Your Rights
Work Made for Hire
If your work counts as 'made for hire,' the company that hired you is the legal author from the start — you get no copyright, no ongoing royalties, and no reversion.
A work made for hire is created by an employee in their job, or specially commissioned and agreed in writing to be work-for-hire (17 U.S.C. §101). The crucial consequence: the hiring party is the legal author, so you have no copyright, no ongoing royalties, and — unlike most grants — no termination or reversion right.
Producers and session players are often asked to sign work-for-hire. Knowing what it means protects your stake — and is why documenting credits and splits up front matters.
Good to know
Work Made for Hire: common questions
- If I produce a track as work-for-hire, do I earn royalties?
- Typically no — the hiring party becomes the legal author and owner. Any payment is what your contract specifies up front, often a flat fee or producer points, not ongoing copyright royalties.