No. 28Rights & Licenses
Music Video Rights
Also called video rights, promo video, visual content rights
Who owns and controls music videos, and whether their costs are charged back to the artist.
Watch closely
100% recoupable video costs combined with label ownership gives the label the video at the artist's expense.
- Appears in
- Recording Agreement, 360 Deal
- Topic
- Visual Media
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Reviewed
- July 2026
In plain English
Music videos are a significant investment but also a significant asset. The label typically funds and owns music video production. Video costs are usually 100% recoupable from the artist's royalties, meaning the artist effectively pays for videos they don't own. The artist should negotiate approval rights over creative direction and ownership reversion.
Why it matters
Videos are marketing tools that primarily benefit the label's release strategy. Yet artists typically pay for them in full through royalty deductions. Ownership also matters, an artist who later controls their catalogue wants to own or control associated videos.
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.
- 100% recoupable video costs with label retaining ownership
- Label has sole creative control over video production
- No budget cap, label can spend any amount and charge it back
- 50% recoupable video costs (standard in some deals)
- Artist approval over director but not script or final cut
- Video costs 50% recoupable, 50% label's expense
- Per-video budget cap agreed in writing before production
- Videos revert to artist at end of the term
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.