This is the part of running a Label Account that EVEN takes most seriously, so it is worth understanding properly before you add anyone.
The requirement
You may only add an artist to your Label Account if you have an active business relationship with them. That means a recording agreement, a distribution agreement, a management agreement, or another written authorisation.
By adding an artist, you are warranting four things:
You have a current written agreement authorising you to manage their content on EVEN
The artist has consented
You have all the necessary rights
Your management of the account is consistent with that agreement
These are representations you are making to EVEN, not a checklist you tick. Get them wrong and the consequences are set out below.
What you cannot do
You must not add an artist without a business relationship with them, and you must not add an artist without their knowledge.
Under no circumstances can you misrepresent the scope of your relationship with an artist.
Your ongoing obligations
Adding an artist correctly is the start rather than the end of it. While they are on your roster you must:
Remove artists promptly when the relationship ends. A roster that is out of date is a compliance problem, not an administrative one.
Ensure revenue is attributed accurately.
Maintain records of your authorisation for each artist.
Provide proof to EVEN on request. We may ask, and you need to be able to produce it.
Payments cannot be reversed
When you add an artist and authorise EVEN to make payments, any payments made to that artist or to third parties on your behalf cannot be retracted.
This is the practical reason to get a roster right before money starts moving rather than after. Once a payout has gone out against an incorrectly configured relationship, it is gone.
What happens if you get it wrong
Violations of these requirements are a material breach of the Terms of Use. Depending on what we find, EVEN may:
Remove the content
Suspend or terminate your account
Withhold payments
Migrate the artist's content to an individual Artist Account
That last one is worth noting. Where an artist has been added without a proper relationship, the outcome is usually that the artist keeps their music and you lose the account, rather than the other way round.
Who is liable
Label Account holders are jointly and severally liable with the artist, and with anyone else authorised to access the account, for all content and activity on that account.
You also indemnify EVEN against any claims that result. In plain terms, if something on your roster causes a problem, it is your problem regardless of who uploaded it.
If a relationship is ending
Remove the artist from your roster as soon as the agreement ends, and contact [email protected] if there are live releases, pending payouts or splits that need unwinding.
Telling us early makes this straightforward. Telling us after a dispute has started makes it considerably harder for everyone.