Understanding Producer Points On An Album Part 1

Record producers are responsible for the overall sound of a record.

This includes participating or giving input on the mixing, mastering, songwriting, composition, and song structure among other things. Sometimes a producer is involved with the record from the very start before there are any demoed songs and sometimes they are brought in on the backend to spruce and polish up the master during the final sessions.

Producers usually receive a recoupable advance which is an advance payment on royalties that have yet to be earned. Points are just another way of saying “percentage” and usually range from 1% to 5%, but can be even more than that for superproducers.

Most producers receive 2 to 3 points per track and if the master is sold as part of an album then the percentage doesn’t actually come out to 2% or 3% of the total sales of the album if the producer doesn’t produce the entire album. The royalty is paid on a “pro rata” basis based upon the percentage of tracks that the producer produced on the record.

For example, if a producer negotiates 3 points on an album and only produce 1 master on an album comprised of 10 masters then the producer will receive 1/10th of 3 points reducing the percentage from 3% to .3% on any album sales.

So the only way for the producer to receive the full 3% is to produce all 10 masters on the album.