The parties involved in an agreement are ultimately the ones who set the terms of the contract. But the services of an attorney can be invaluable in defining those terms. An attorney's understanding of the law and industry customs will help you write your production agreement in a way that makes the parties' intentions clear and comprehensible. This is important, in the event that the producer or beat contract is later read and interpreted by a judge and jury. The attorney can also help ensure that your agreement is not illegal based on some preexisting law or regulation you may not be aware of. Your music is your business and you obviously want your business to run correctly. So the best advice is to hire an attorney to guide you - especially in the early stages of your career. As a "starving" producer, you may think that you cannot afford an attorney. But, there are attorneys who will do the work for you in exchange for payment on the "back-end." In essence, they will negotiate and write the contract for you and will include in the contract a provision that says that the beat's purchaser will pay the producer's attorney's fees directly to the attorney and subtract it from the amount the purchaser agreed to pay the producer. If you absolutely cannot or do not want to hire an attorney, as a last resort you can write the agreement yourself. THE FOLLOWING IS AN OVERSIMPLIFIED BUT USEFUL LIST OF WHAT THE WRITTEN AGREEMENT SHOULD DISCUSS: 1. Whether the beat is being sold/leased? 2 How long is the artist entitled to use the beat? 3. How much money do you get in exchange for the artist's use of the beat? 4. Who owns the masters? 5. Will you retain your publishing? 6. If leasing the beat, are you entitled to produce the artist on a later album? If there are samples, who's responsible for clearing them? Producer Declaration Contract Agreement, Songwriters Split-Sheet Agreement, Mechanical License Contract, Producer Royalty Agreement, Artist Producer Contract, Recording Studio Agreement, Payment Agreement, Producer Manager Agreement, Master Recording License, Co-Publishing Agreement .  Click below for more.