No. 30Rights & Licenses
Compilation Rights
Also called compilation licence, greatest hits, various artists release
The label's right to include your recordings on compilation albums or playlists.
Watch closely
Compilation placements affect brand perception and income; approval rights protect both.
- Appears in
- Recording Agreement, Licensing Agreement
- Topic
- Licensing
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Reviewed
- July 2026
In plain English
Compilation rights allow the label to include your recordings on various artists compilations, greatest hits packages, or curated playlists, without necessarily seeking your approval for each placement. Compilation releases can revitalise catalogue income or dilute an artist's control over how their music is presented.
Why it matters
Appearing on the wrong compilation (low-budget, poorly curated, associated with a brand you don't align with) can harm an artist's image. Compilation accounting can also be complex, pro-rated across multiple tracks and releases.
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.
- Label can release compilation albums without artist approval or notice
- Compilation royalties prorated in a way that significantly reduces per-track income
- No minimum royalty rate for compilation placements
- Approval required only for first official greatest hits, not for third-party compilations
- Prorated compilation royalties with no floor
- Artist approval required for all new compilation releases featuring their recordings
- Minimum per-track royalty rate regardless of compilation proration
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.