While royalties are discounted, an earning party may qualify for increases as well. Substantial record sales provides artists with an increase in the royalty rate based on specific plateaus of record sales, such as Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) certification for gold and/or platinum sales. Even if a contract does not spell out for these increases, it may be possible to renegotiate if the sales are significant.

Negotiating a Contract

When negotiating a contract for the use of preexisting content, the following factors must be considered (Kaufman, 1996):

The contracting party. Often, in the entertainment industry, it is unclear who the proper party is to acquire rights from. A lawyer must be certain to obtain rights from the party that actually has the legal right to grant those rights (as opposed to a subsidiary whose claim to own those rights may be in question). If one counsels Britney Spears,...
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