No. 37Release & Reversion
Re-Recording Restriction
Also called re-record restriction, re-recording clause, re-record ban
A limit on when an artist may record the songs they made for a label again for anyone else.
Watch closely
The standard formula is market, but the clock starts at delivery rather than at the end of the term, and the periods have been getting longer.
- Appears in
- Recording Agreement, 360 Deal, Multi-Album Deal, Producer Agreement
- Topic
- Rights Reversion
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Reviewed
- October 2026
In plain English
A re-recording restriction stops an artist from recording the same songs again for a third party for a set period. The usual formula runs until the later of five years after the last master was delivered and two years after the agreement ends. In a standard deal the label owns the original masters either way; the clause protects their sales from a competing version of the same song. It is written around making new records, so read the wording closely for live recordings and video.
Why it matters
This clause decides how soon an artist can rebuild the value of their catalogue after a deal. A new version of a song can compete with the original in sales, licensing and playlists, which is why labels guard it, and why the length of the tail matters more than the headline term. Because the clock can run from the last delivery under the whole deal, a late album can push the date years out, and at least one major label was reported in 2021 to have lengthened the standard periods in new contracts.
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.
- Waiting periods longer than the standard five years from delivery or two years from the end of the term
- A second period after the first in which only a small number of songs may be re-recorded
- Clock measured from the last delivery under the whole deal, so a late album pushes back the date for every earlier song
- The standard formula: the later of five years after delivery and two years after the term ends
- Wording not limited to new studio records, which may reach live or audiovisual recordings
- No exception for masters the label never releases
- Period measured from each song's own delivery, with nothing added for the length of the deal
- Restriction lifts for any master the label does not release within a set time after delivery
- Compilations and 'best of' releases do not restart the clock
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.