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No. 52Legal & Compliance
Also called contract assignment, transfer of contract, novation
Whether the label can transfer your contract to another company without your consent.
High risk
Unrestricted assignment allows your contract to be sold to entities with which you have no relationship and who may not share your original label's commitment.
An assignment clause allows the label to transfer (assign) your contract, including all of its rights and obligations, to another company. This typically happens in mergers, acquisitions, or when a label sells its catalogue. You can find yourself signed to a company you never negotiated with, which may have a very different approach to your career.
In an era of frequent music industry consolidation, your contract can be sold multiple times. Assignment without consent means you have no say in who controls your recordings and career. The acquiring company may have no interest in investing in your development.
The same clause is drafted three ways. These are the positions we see, worst first, so you can tell at a glance which one is in front of you.
The drafting language and the negotiation moves for this clause are part of the workspace.
You have read what the clause means and where the risk sits. The rest is the side-by-side of how it reads when it is against you and when it is not, plus the specific moves that get it there.