Travis Scott The virtuous city Released in the summer of 2023, it was the 10th most popular album of the year in the United States (Mahas reached 11th place on the annual list that also includes streams). but According to Billboard Even in February 2024, there are several producers who worked on some of the album's songs, but have not yet been paid for it, because the paperwork to allow it is still not ready. The case is not unique: according to managers and lawyers who spoke to the newspaper, it is becoming more and more common for the signing of all agreements to be delayed for several months, delaying the payment of shareholders.
One of the main reasons for this is that more and more composers and producers are working on songs, as well as audio samples or beats made by others, etc. If used, an agreement must also be concluded with authors, producers and performers, as well as guest performers often appearing on the songs. In many cases, composers belong to different music publishers, and guest performers may be contracted to another publisher.
The fact that there are also percentages involved in closing paperwork makes it particularly complicated, with each agreement dependent on the other.
Since stars also feel pressure to release new music more often and quickly than before, the team working with them can often not begin negotiations until after the release – when the tour is also tied to the release, which is obviously the main focus on management. . Professionals who spoke to Billboard also state that agreements are usually negotiated by the artist's management, while payments come from the publisher.
The upshot of all this was summed up by a Billboard executive: “I don't know of any law firm that works with producers and songwriters that doesn't get completely overwhelmed trying to get their agreements under the roof.”
In this case, producers can do little to get paid on time, other than solicit their contacts and make personal inquiries. In principle, there is also the option of removing an already released song due to lack of proper permission, but most people do not want to damage the relationship with the performers, plus the legal process takes time and money.
This Travis Scott track had five producers, seven writers, and one contributing artist — but there are tracks with more creators
