Managing Rights and Ownership

Revelator allows you to create and manage rights contracts based on assets both currently connected to your account, and content that you may upload in the future. Contracts govern the collection and distribution of revenue for all parties involved, within their agreed-upon timeframe. Maintaining accurate contracts is crucial for streamlining payments and accounting.

Contracts

Click on Rights in the main navigation menu to manage the contract rights for all of your assets. Assets that have been uploaded and distributed through Revelator will have automatically generated contracts based on the information previously entered. You may also create new contracts that may govern assets that have not been distributed yet.

To create a new contract, click the Create contract button, and then follow these steps:

1. Choose the contract type:

   1. Distribution Agreement: This contract covers asset distribution and revenue collection for streaming and digital download rights.

   2. Recording Agreement: The contract covers rights to record, promote, license and sell music.

   3. Joint Venture Agreement - Coming soon.

   4. Licensing Agreement - Coming soon.

   5. Mechanical License - Coming soon.

   6. Synchronization License - Coming soon.

2. Settings: In this tab you can define the basic information about the contract

   1. Contract name: Name your contract so that you can organize and find it easily.

   2. Party acquiring rights: This is the name of the person(s) or entity purchasing the rights to the assets in this agreement.

      1. Note: The name of the party acquiring rights will be the name of the primary account holder by default.

   3. Start date: The acquiring party will be entitled to the assets starting on this date.

   4. End date: The acquiring party will be entitled to the assets until this date.

   5. Accounting frequency: Revenue will be reported and calculated in one of the following intervals

      1. Monthly

      2. Quarterly

      3. Semi-annually

   6. Expiration Notification: Select the amount of time in advance of the contract end date for the administrator to be notified.

      1. One month

      2. Two months

      3. Three months

   7. Click Next at the bottom of the screen to confirm your selections and move to the next page.

3. Payees: In this tab you can define all eligible payment recipients. The sum total of all payee shares must equal 100%

   1. Select an existing payee if you have previously entered a relevant person in a previous contract.

   2. Identify the details of the payee

      1. Payee Name: This is the legal name of the Payee.

      2. Starting balance: Include the amount of money outstanding from other contracts or advances whether they were previously reported within Revelator or not.

      3. Share %: This is the payee’s share of the royalties.

      4. Email: This is the payee’s email address, used for payment and report notification. You may enter more than one address.

      5. Commission payee: Select either Yes or No.

         1. Yes: The payee receives their percentage share subtracted from your share.

         2. No: The payee receives a percentage share independent of any other payees.

   3. +Payout and contact info: Click this link to either enter the payee’s information, or to invite them via email to fill out their information themselves.

   4. Click “+ Create a new payee” and enter the relevant information until all payees have been included and the Total % is equal to 100%.

4. Assets: Determine the licensors and assets that this contract will apply to.

   1. Select either Artist or Label from the drop down menu.

   2. Enter the name of a Licensor that will be included in this contract.

   3. Choose which assets you would like this contract to apply to:

      1. Select all assets: All tracks and releases currently in your asset catalog and assigned to the selected artist or label will be included.

      2. Select some assets: When this choice is selected, a dialogue window will pop up allowing you to choose any assets currently available in your catalog assigned to the selected artist or label.

      3. If you have selected all assets, you may also assign this contract to all future assets held by the artist or label.

5. Terms: Manage the terms of the contract for both digital and mechanical rights.

   1. Select the percentage of either retail (SRLP) or wholesale (PPD) sales you would like to assign.

   2. Confirm that territories (countries) you would like to either include or exclude within this contract.

   3. Select the services you would like to either include or exclude within this contract from the drop down menu.

   4. Select the release formats this contract will apply to.

   5. Select the channel or channels this contract will apply to.

   6. If there are additional terms you would like to include in this contract, repeat these steps for each one.

6. Approve: Review each section of the contract you have just created. If you notice any errors, return to the relevant tab, correct the information as necessary, and make sure to save all changes before approving your contract. All assets reported to Revelator that are governed by this contract will now be accounted for accordingly.

Rights Holders

Within the Rights holders section, all available artists and labels may be viewed and edited. Hover over an artist or label to invite them to create a Revelator account and share Assets, Distribution, Revenue, Analytics, or Accounting data with them as necessary.

A new artist or label profile may be created in this section too, even if they do not yet have any connected assets or rights.

Artists: From the main menu, click on Rights Holders, or Artists below it to open this window. All artists related to your account will be displayed. This includes artists you have added manually, artists performing on songs or albums that you have uploaded, and artists from your catalogs on connected external services. How to add an artist profile..

Labels: From the main menu, click on Rights Holders and then click Labels below it to open this window. All labels related to your account will be displayed. This includes labels you have added manually, labels representing songs or albums that you have uploaded, and labels associated with your catalogs on connected external services.

Click on any available record label in your collection to view and edit more information about it. There are three tabs that cover the following information:

• About:

  • Label image: Choose an image or logo to identify your label. We recommend using a file that is at least 1400 pixels in width or height.

  • Genres: Select as many genres as you think apply to the artists you represent.

  • Official Name: This is the name of your record label as it will appear on other services.

  • Description: Write a brief explanation of who you are, and who you represent.

  • Location: This is where your label is based.

  • Contact email (private):

  • Contact phone (private):

• Artists: Profiles for all artists signed to the label will appear here

• Stats: This tab provides an overview of all streaming and purchase history for all available artists represented by the label. The top artists and regions will also be featured. Click on a time span to focus on the previous:

  • 1M: One month

  • 3M: Three months

  • 6M: Six months

  • 1Y: One year

  • 2Y: Two years

  • Max: All available data

Terms

Contracts ensure proper compensation to rights owners. Use the Revelator platform to manage agreements between recording artists and labels, set contract terms, and automate calculation of royalties.

View contracts

To view a list of contracts:

1. Navigate to Rights > Contracts in the left main menu.

2. In the Contracts page, view a list of all your contracts, including active, inactive, and expired contracts.

3. View basic information about each contract, including:

Column header	Description
Contract name	The name of the contract. The Actions menu next to the contract name provides a list of available actions that can be performed on the contract.
Type	The contract type. For example, Distribution Agreement.
Expiration Date	The expiration date of the contract, in mm-dd-yyyy format.
Status	The status of the contract, marked by color-coded indications.

1. Sort contracts by clicking the column header, or by choosing an option from the Sort by field at the top. This displays the contracts list in ascending or descending order according to a particular detail

2. Filter by a particular account. Click Filters at the top and type the Account Name.

3. Search for contracts by typing free text in the Search field at the top.

To perform an action on a contract:

• From the Actions menu next to the contract name, choose an option: Details, Edit, Activate/Deactivate, or Clone.

To view full details about a contract:

• From the Actions menu next to the contract name, click Details. The contract details page opens, where you can view and edit contract details (for example, settings, payees, licensors, and terms).

Create contracts

1. At the top of the Contracts page, click Create contract. The Add new contract page opens, displaying the Type tab. You can specify contract details in the Type, Settings, Payees, Assets, Terms, and Approve tabs, that are shown as steps at the top of the page.

2. Proceed through the contract creation steps and provide the required details. Use the Next and Back buttons (at the bottom of the page) to navigate between steps.

Step 1: Type

In the Type tab, select the contract Type:

Contract type	Description
Distribution Agreement	Contract between a rights owner and a distributor, where the distributor releases exclusively the artist’s or label’s master recordings to the digital services and platforms without any ownership rights to the master recordings.
Recording Agreement	Contract between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist produces a recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and promote. The label may have an ownership stake in the master recordings.

Step 2: Settings

1. Click the Settings tab at the top of the Add new contract page.

2. Specify the contract information Settings (mandatory settings are marked by an asterisk*):

Contract setting	Description
Contract name*	The name of the contract.
Party acquiring rights*	The name of the party acquiring the rights.
Start date*	The start date of the contract with the recording artist (month, day, year). Any royalties received prior to this date will not be governed by this contract. Set the start date to cover the time period for DSP reports that you might be adding in Revelator.
End date*	The end date of the contract with the recording artist (month, day, year). Any royalties received after this date will not be governed by this contract. Royalties that fall outside your contract end date will be listed in your statement report. If your contract is “in perpetuity”, specify the end date as December 31. 2099.
Accounting frequency*	The reporting frequency: Monthly, Quarterly, or Semi-Annually.
Expiration notification	How soon you want to be notified before the contract expires: One Month, Two Months, or Three Months.

Step 3: Payees

1. Click the Payees tab at the top of the Add new contract page.

You can select existing payees, create new payees, and add additional payees as needed.

1. To select an existing payee:

   1. In the Select an existing payee field, type the first few letters of the payee name to display an auto-completed list of payees.

   2. Select an existing payee from the list.

The required fields are populated with the payee’s information, and you can modify the information. See the table below for details.

1. To create a new payee:

   1. Click Create a new payee (at the bottom of the page).

   2. Fill in the required fields to specify the payee information (mandatory fields are marked by an asterisk*):

Payee setting	Description
Payee name*	The name of the payee.
Starting balance*	The payee's opening balance on the contract. This may be, for example, resulting from a starting amount such as a contract advance.
Share %*	The payee's percentage of the royalty payout.
Email*	The email address of the payee. You will be able to first review statements and validate emailing the payee before the statement is emailed. Click Invite to give the payee various access permissions related to assets within the contract. For example, View or full Edit capabilities to: After you complete the payee access settings, click Invite to send an invitation after the contract is saved.
Commission Payee?	Click Yes if the payee gets a commission payment from the payor's share instead of a payment from the royalty share.
Payout and contact info	Click this link to add payee and payment details. Either fill out the information yourself, or invite the payee to enter the information on their own. Specify the Payee info (mandatory settings are marked by an asterisk*): Specify the Payment preference: Click Save to save the settings. The details are displayed in the Payees section under Accounting.

A message is displayed at the bottom of the Payees step indicating that the total % of non-commission payee splits must be 100%, and it shows the current % total.

Step 4: Assets

1. Click the Assets tab at the top of the Add new contract page.

2. Search for assets to include in the contract, either by Artist or by Label.

3. Select all assets. For more details, see Understanding a Contract’s Assets.

or

Select some assets, and in the Add assets page, search for and select the assets you wish to add. For more details, see Modifying a Contract’s Assets. Use Filters to filter the asset list by Type (Album, EP, Ringtone, Single, or Video). Click Done to complete your selection. The details are displayed in the Assets page.

1. Select the checkbox if you want to include ALL future assets which will be added under the label/artist(s). Any new assets related to the label or artist that you add to the catalog will automatically be added to the contract .

2. To add more assets by another artist or label, click Add additional licensors/assets to contract.

For details about understanding assets for default contracts, see Understanding Assets for the Account’s Default Contract.

Understanding a Contract’s Assets

• The contract will never indicate the number of tracks associated to it if ALL the tracks of the release are in the contract. In such cases, the tracks will be accounted for by the count in the release column. Conversely, if a contract governs only a set of tracks, then those will only get counted in the Tracks column. For example:

  • Releases = 1; Tracks = 0 means that all tracks of the one selected release are included.

  • Releases = 3; Tracks = 0 means that all tracks of the 3 selected releases are included.

  • Releases = 0; Tracks = 3 means that the contract is only associated to 3 tracks (and the implication is that those are 3 tracks from a release which has more tracks).

  • Releases = 1; Tracks = 3 means that the contract is associated to 1 release + 3 tracks from another release (which has more tracks).

Modifying a Contract’s Assets

• The guiding principle here is do NOT check BOTH the release and its tracks. Selecting the checkbox of a release is enough to select its tracks. You should only select tracks when the contract is aimed to apply to specific tracks (vs. all the tracks of a release). And if you mean to have the contract apply to only certain tracks, then DO NOT FORGET to clear the checkbox of the parent release.

Default contracts is an option that is NOT available for all accounts. It applies only to our clients who have their own clients sign-up directly for services. If you are the one providing your clients’/rights holders’ contract terms, then the default contract option will NOT be available for your account.

Understanding Assets for the Account’s Default Contract

• The default contract is the contract that is automatically set up for your client when they first create their account. This contract is the one to which ALL assets under the account will be added (and they will remain there unless they are assigned to another contract).

• The Assets tab will indicate if a contract is the default contract:

• IMPORTANT: The interface for the default contract (and only in cases of the default contract) will not reflect these settings (see the figure below):

  • The interface will indicate that the contract includes only some assets; this is not the case. The contract will include ANY asset which is not governed by another contract.

  • The interface will show as unchecked “include ALL future assets which will be added under the label/artist(s)”; but ALL future assets WILL indeed be added to this contract.

Step 5: Terms

1. Click the Terms tab at the top of the Add new contract page. Use this page to fill in the net royalty payout terms of the contract, which can be either digital terms with mechanicals or digital terms only.

	The contract is required to have at least one digital term specified.

1. Specify the Terms.

2. In the Digital tab, specify the Digital term(s) of the asset distribution contract by filling in the required fields:

Digital term	Description
Rate*	The net total percentage of sales you pay out as royalty to the contract's payees for the licensed content.
Rate basis*	The rate: % of retail (SRLP): The rate basis is based on the retail price. % of wholesale (PPD): The rate basis is based on the wholesale price.
Territories	Select the territories where the associated assets are to be distributed according to the digital terms. Choose Worldwide, or select All except or Only in, and choose a territory from the list.
Services	Select the services used to distribute the associated assets according to the digital terms. Choose All services, or select All except or Only in, and choose a service from the list.
Formats	Select the the formats of the associated assets according to the digital terms. Choose Album, EP, Single, Ringtone, Video, or All.
Channels	Select the supply channel types used in the distribution of the associated assets according to the digital terms. Choose Download, Subscription, Ad Supported, Physical, Rental, or Digital Licensing.

Click Add another digital term to add more digital terms, as required.

1. In the Mechanicals tab, specify whether to pay digital mechanicals (Yes or No). Mechanical royalties are owed to songwriters and publishers for songs that are reproduced or sold as CDs, or downloaded on a digital music retail site, such as iTunes Music Store. Mechanicals are applicable to download sales in the USA. The rate types include % of Sales, Penny Rate, and Copyright Law. You can also specify if you are paying 75% or 100% of the full or minimum statutory rates per US Copyright laws.

Step 6: Approve

1. Click the Approve tab at the top of page.

2. Review & approve the contract details you entered.

3. Review a summary of the Settings, Payees, Licensors, and Terms.

4. Click Approve. The new contract is displayed in the Contract page. You can perform some actions on the new contract. The Actions menu displayed next to the contract name provides options to view Details, Edit, or Deactivate your contract.

Edit contracts

1. From the Actions menu next to the contract name, click Edit.

OR

In the details page of a particular contract, click Edit next to the relevant section.

The contract agreement page opens, where you can edit the contract details in the Type, Settings, Payees, Assets, Terms, and Approve tabs, shown as steps at the top of the page.

1. Proceed through the contract creation steps and provide the required details. For details, see Create contracts and Modifying a Contract’s Assets.

Activate and Deactivate contracts

	If you want to stop generating royalty statements for a contract, you should deactivate the contract.

Clone or duplicate contracts

• From the Actions menu next to the name of the contract that you want to duplicate, click Clone. The cloned contract is displayed in the contract list. You can edit and activate it, as needed.