No. 18Financial Terms
Accounting Periods
Also called royalty statements, royalty accounting, payment schedule
How often the label calculates and pays royalties, and how long they have after each period to actually pay.
Watch closely
Long payment delays reduce effective cash flow for artists, especially in the early stages of a deal.
- Appears in
- Recording Agreement, Publishing Deal, Distribution Agreement
- Topic
- Royalties
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Reviewed
- July 2026
In plain English
Accounting periods define how often the label tallies your royalties and issues a statement. Semi-annual (twice a year) is standard, but labels often have 60–90 days after the accounting period closes to actually pay. This means royalties earned in January might not arrive until October.
Why it matters
In an industry with thin margins for developing artists, delayed accounting compounds cash flow problems. The label is effectively holding your money interest-free for up to 9 months from when it was earned.
Where it can land
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.
- Annual accounting only with 90-day payment window (money can sit for 15 months)
- No interest payable on late royalty statements
- Label can withhold payment pending resolution of any unrelated dispute
- Semi-annual accounting but 90-day payment window
- Quarterly accounting only for digital/streaming
- Quarterly accounting periods with 30-day payment windows
- Interest at a defined rate on any late payments
The language
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.