When a major or indie record deal expires or is terminated, artists face a complex transition — reclaiming distribution, re-establishing publishing rights, correcting metadata, and rebuilding their royalty infrastructure. This guide covers what happens to your rights and how to get them under proper independent control.
What changes when a record deal ends
The end of a record deal — whether through contract expiry, mutual termination, or an artist exercising reversion rights — triggers a series of changes that affect every part of your music infrastructure. The label's licence to distribute your recordings typically ends with the deal (though some contracts include a sell-off period during which the label can continue to distribute existing stock). Your publishing deal, if held with the label's in-house publisher, ends or reverts on similar terms. Your profile on DSPs may still be associated with the label's distributor account. Royalties that accrued during the deal period but have not yet been distributed remain subject to the deal terms. Understanding the exact terms of your contract — and ideally having a music lawyer review them at this stage — is the foundation of a clean transition.
Reclaiming your master recordings
The first question is who owns your masters. In a traditional major label deal, the label owns the masters in perpetuity or for an extended term. In that case, you cannot independently redistribute those recordings after the deal ends — the label retains the right to exploit them (though your right to new advances and active label support ends). In a licence deal, the artist retains ownership of the masters and licences them to the label for a fixed term. When the licence expires, you can take those recordings to a new distributor. In a label services arrangement (which is not a traditional deal), you always retain ownership. Check your contract for:
- Whether the label owns or licences the masters.
- The duration of any ongoing licence, including any option periods the label may exercise.
- Any sell-off period during which the label can continue to distribute.
- Whether there is a reversion clause — a provision that returns rights to you if the label ceases active exploitation.
- The treatment of unrecouped advances — whether these affect your right to reclaim masters even if the label technically retains ownership.
Republishing and re-registering your catalogue
If your publishing rights were controlled by the label's publisher, the end of the deal should trigger a reversion of those rights to you (subject to the specific contract terms). Once the publishing rights revert, you need to re-register your works with PRS under your own name or through a new publisher or publishing administrator. This means notifying PRS of the change in publisher, updating the publisher split on all registered works, and ensuring that royalties flowing from PRS are now directed to you or your new administrator. If you are moving from label-controlled publishing to self-publishing or a publishing administrator, this transition can take several months and requires careful coordination with PRS to avoid a gap in royalty collection.
Redistributing your catalogue
Once the label's distribution licence ends, you need to distribute your catalogue through a new distributor or label services company. Before signing any new agreement, confirm that the label has removed its distribution from all DSPs — residual listings under the label's distributor can cause duplicate track issues, misattributed royalties, and Spotify artist profile problems. Request written confirmation from the label that they have initiated takedowns from all DSPs. Then submit your catalogue to your new distributor, using the same ISRCs that were issued during the label period (ISRCs stay with the recording, not with the distributor). If the label issued the ISRCs and cannot provide them, PPL DataBank may have them on record.
Metadata cleanup — the most overlooked step
During a major label period, your releases were distributed using the label's metadata systems, which may mean the label's name appears as the rights owner in ISRC records, PPL DataBank, and DSP artist profiles. After transition, this metadata needs to be updated to reflect your ownership. On Spotify, your artist profile should be claimed through Spotify for Artists and linked to your new distributor account. On Apple Music, similar steps apply through Apple Music for Artists. At PPL, the label account associated with your recordings needs to be updated to reflect the change in ownership — this requires formal notification and documentation. At PRS, your publisher account needs to reflect the change in publishing administration. Each of these is a separate administrative step, and missing any one of them can result in royalties continuing to flow to the label's accounts after your deal has ended.
How a label services company helps post-deal artists
A label services company is well-suited to managing the post-deal transition because it brings all of the required infrastructure under one provider — distribution, publishing administration, metadata management, and royalty collection. Rather than managing relationships with a distributor, a publisher, PRS, PPL, and DSPs individually, post-deal artists can consolidate these into a single label services arrangement. Code Group Music works with artists transitioning from major and indie deals to build independent infrastructure on their own terms. Start with a Catalog Assessment at codegroupmusic.co.uk/#catalog-assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I owe my label money if my advance is unrecouped when the deal ends?
In most cases, an unrecouped advance is not a personal debt — labels structure advances as recoupable from future royalties, not as loans requiring repayment if royalties are insufficient. However, if the deal included a cash advance with personal guarantee terms, this may differ. Read your contract carefully and obtain legal advice before assuming you have no outstanding obligation.
Can I re-release the same recordings after my deal ends?
Only if you own or have reclaimed the masters. If the label owns the masters and does not revert them, you cannot re-release those specific recordings. You can record new versions (re-records), but the original recordings remain the label's property for the duration of their ownership.
How long does it take for a label to remove my music from DSPs after the deal ends?
Theoretically, removal should happen promptly after the distribution licence expires. In practice, labels vary widely in how quickly they initiate DSP takedowns. Allow at least four to eight weeks, and follow up in writing if the recordings remain live beyond the end of the agreed sell-off period.
What is a label services provider and how is it different from a new record deal?
A label services provider provides distribution, publishing administration, and metadata services without acquiring ownership of your masters or publishing copyright. You retain full ownership and pay a commission on royalties collected. A record deal typically involves the label acquiring rights in exchange for investment and advances.
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