About the Partnership
The monthly Production Partnership is our way of working together as artist and producer over the long term to write, record, produce, and release your original music. You are bringing me onto your musical team as your dedicated producer, and I am bringing you into my studio as a dedicated artist. The goal is to build an ongoing creative relationship where I know your music, your voice, and where you want to go.
How We Work Together
You bring original songs and ideas, and I help you write, record, arrange, produce, and prepare those songs for release. We typically work remotely and asynchronously, with regular calls to discuss songwriting, production, creative direction, and next steps. Our workflow is a conversation. We pass songs back and forth, make changes, try ideas, and continue developing them until they are finished and ready to release. There is no set number of songs we have to complete each month. We work at the pace the music requires.
What You Can Expect From Me
I will give every song my full attention, professionalism, and an active and consistent pace of creative work. I will speak honestly about what I believe is and is not working, contribute my own creative ideas, and help you make decisions that strengthen the song and production. When appropriate, I may also connect you with musicians, engineers, writers, or other creatives in my community who can contribute something valuable to your music.
What I Need From You
We work at the pace that is best for you, which means your participation matters. I expect you to:
- Continue bringing songs and ideas into the partnership
- Provide timely feedback as songs develop
- Send recordings, files, vocals, or other materials when needed
- Attend our scheduled monthly calls
- Communicate when your goals or creative direction change
- Keep your monthly account current
If I am waiting on feedback, recordings, or decisions from you, progress on the music may pause until we are able to continue.
Payment & Outside Costs
The Production Partnership is $499 per month unless otherwise agreed upon. The monthly fee covers our calls, collaboration, and my time writing, arranging, producing, editing, and developing your music. The partnership does not include:
- Mixing and mastering
- Travel
- Studio rental
- Outside musicians
- Third-party engineers
- Paid samples, licenses, or other outside project expenses
We will discuss any significant additional expense before committing to it. I will contribute to the vision and planning surrounding your releases, but I do not directly distribute, market, promote, or release your music on your behalf.
Songs, Writing & Ownership
Songs you bring into the partnership remain yours. Working on a song as your producer does not automatically make me a songwriter. When we genuinely co-write a song together, we will discuss and document the songwriting split for that song. A substantial co-write will generally begin from an expectation of a 50/50 split between us, while smaller writing contributions or songs involving additional writers may call for a different split. Songwriting splits are always handled on a song-by-song basis.
My production work does not automatically give me ownership of your master recordings. Finished masters created through the partnership belong to the Artist once all applicable payments and agreed project expenses are current. Any songwriting share that I receive as a co-writer remains mine and is separate from ownership of the master recording.
Credits & Other Collaborators
Unless otherwise agreed, music I produce and that is commercially released should credit me as:
Produced by Nate Lain
or
Producer: Nate Lain
You are welcome to work with other songwriters, musicians, and creatives throughout our partnership. Because I am serving as your producer, any additional producer, mix engineer, or other collaborator who would significantly affect the production of a song should be discussed together before they are brought into the project.
Part of my role is maintaining a consistent creative direction and quality across the music. When outside musicians, mixers, or other specialists are needed, we will decide together who is the right fit and how they should be involved.
Ending the Partnership
The Production Partnership is month-to-month. Monthly payments are nonrefundable once the billing period begins. Either of us may choose to end the partnership, and the partnership will conclude at the end of the final paid month. You may cancel by contacting me directly or by ending your subscription through Stripe.
If a song is unfinished when the partnership ends, we can discuss a separate rate for me to complete the remaining work. You are always free to continue developing or recreate an unfinished song with another producer.
The partnership does not automatically include delivery of full DAW sessions, multitracks, stems, or other production files. These may be provided when we agree that it makes sense for the project. Production elements, recordings, sounds, or other audio created by me may not be reused in a separate recording or production without my written permission unless they are part of a completed master delivered through our partnership.
Ending the partnership does not change any songwriting splits, master ownership, credits, or other rights that we have already established for completed songs.