What is a “Bump” in a Music Contract and When Should I Get One?

A common topic that gets negotiated when discussing management and percentages and royalties for producers and artists is contract increases.

In the music industry, these increases are called “bumps” and often they are heavily negotiated and can make a significant difference in how much money you receive on the backend once/if you’ve recouped.

When negotiating for producers, usually you can get a “bump” in your royalty, if certain sales (or sales equivalent) are achieved. For example, if your producer royalty is at 3 points you can often negotiate a bump of .5 points at gold and an additional bump of 0.5 points at platinum. When negotiating artist deals you should also try to include a “bump” at certain sales (or sales equivalent) milestones.

For managers, depending on your negotiating position, you should be able to negotiate a bump in your percentage if certain revenue goals are met. For example, if you’re entitled to 20% of the revenue generated by your client, when these goals are met you should be able to get a 5% bump in your percentage bringing the percentage to 25%.