Rights are the part of a music commission people leave until the worst possible moment. Someone falls in love with a song, puts it on a video, and only then asks who actually controls it. At Deep Audio Level the answer is settled before the writing starts, in writing, so that nobody has to negotiate after the fact. This page explains how it works in plain terms.
Two kinds of copyright in one song
A finished song carries two rights. The composition is the underlying music and lyrics — the thing that would exist if nobody had ever recorded it. The master is the specific recording of that composition. They can be owned and licensed separately, and in commissioned music it matters who holds each. When a client commissions a song, our aim is that they end up holding whatever they need to use it the way they intend, whether that is one of these rights or both.
Default: the client is granted rights, the studio keeps authorship
On a standard commission the studio retains authorship of the composition and the master and grants the client a written licence to use the delivered song. That licence states exactly what is permitted: the purpose, the territory, how long it runs, and whether it is exclusive. For most personal commissions this is the simplest and fairest arrangement — the client gets the song they asked for and the freedom to use it as described, and the studio keeps the work in its catalogue as a piece of authorship.
Full transfer and buyout
Where a client needs to own the composition and the master outright — for example, a brand that must not depend on another party, or someone who intends to sell or reassign the song — we offer a full transfer. The price reflects that the studio gives up all further interest in the work, and the transfer is documented so that both sides know the song has moved entirely to the client. If you are unsure which route you need, tell us how you intend to use the song and we will recommend the lighter option that still covers it.
Exclusivity
A non-exclusive licence means the work can be used by you while remaining available for the studio to place elsewhere. An exclusive licence means it is used by you and by nobody else for the term and territory named. For personal songs — a wedding, a tribute, a gift — clients almost always want exclusivity even though they never intend to enforce it, because the song is theirs emotionally and should not turn up in someone else's advert. We default to exclusivity for personal commissions and to non-exclusivity for purely functional beds, and we will always confirm which applies before work begins.
Attribution and credit
Attribution is optional on a commissioned song. If you want to credit the studio, we are grateful; if you would rather the song simply be yours, that is what the licence allows. Either way the credit never becomes a condition of use, and nothing appears on your published work unless you put it there.
Third-party contributions
Where a commission involves a session vocalist or player, their contribution is covered by the arrangement between them and the studio, so the client does not inherit a separate obligation. Our licences are written so that the rights the client receives are complete and do not require any further permission from anyone we brought to the session.
What the paperwork looks like
Every commission is accompanied by a one-page summary of the rights granted: the parties, the work, the permitted uses, the term and the territory. It is written to be read, not to be skimmed past. If you have a specific use in mind that the summary does not obviously cover — a broadcast, a paid campaign, a remix — say so in the brief and it will be included from the start. The commission request form has a place to describe how you intend to use the song, and the terms of service set out the wider agreement underneath.