See exactly what your legal investment looks like.
Two ways to engage SLG for music industry representation: pay flat fees upfront for defined deliverables, or pay a percentage of your full deal compensation over a 24-month window. This calculator shows you both — accurately.
The transactional fee applies to your full deal compensation — not just the advance.
If you elect the transactional fee structure, the percentage is calculated against everything you receive from this specific deal over a 24-month window. Understanding what's included — and what's not — is critical to making an informed decision.
Included in Defined Compensation
- Advances, signing fees, and upfront payments
- Master royalties from the specific recordings in this deal
- Publishing & mechanical royalties from these compositions
- Performance royalties (ASCAP/BMI/SESAC) on covered work
- Sync licensing fees (TV, film, advertising placements)
- SoundExchange distributions for covered recordings
- Retroactive royalty recoveries for pre-execution periods
- Sample / interpolation licensing fees on covered works
Excluded — stays 100% yours
- Your pre-existing catalog (everything before this deal)
- Royalties from songs unrelated to this matter
- Future songs you write NOT covered by this engagement
- All earnings after the 24-month Royalty Window ends
- Prior production work outside the scope of this matter
- Unrelated brand deals, touring, or merch income
- Any work covered by separate SLG engagements
- Income from work pre-dating the engagement
Tell us what you need — we'll show you both fee paths.
Select your services, enter your upfront compensation and projected royalty income, and we'll calculate your fee under both structures. Complexity tier is auto-determined by the services you select.
Which services do you need?
Select all that apply. Each service is tagged with its complexity contribution.
What's your full deal compensation?
Enter both your upfront payments and your projected royalty earnings over the 24-month window from this specific deal.
Based on what you selected:
The complexity of your matter is determined by the services you need — not a guess. Here's where you land:
Enter your deal values and select your services to see a recommended structure. Final fee structure determination happens in your Strategy Session with Attorney Stokes.
Two paths. Both legitimate. Different artists pick different ones.
Flat Fee — Pay Upfront
You pay a fixed fee for each defined service. No royalty participation, no ongoing percentage on your earnings. Once paid, the engagement is complete.
Best for:
- Artists with cash flow to cover upfront legal investment
- Predictable, scope-defined work (single contract review, LOD filing, infrastructure setup)
- Smaller deals where a percentage would be inefficient
- Artists who want zero ongoing relationship-based fees
- Fixed cost — no surprises
- No royalty participation
- Once paid, done
- Total transparency
- Requires cash upfront
- Cost is fixed regardless of deal outcome
- Less aligned incentive on negotiation
Transactional Fee — Pay From Your Deal
You pay a percentage (5%, 7%, or 10% depending on complexity) of your total Defined Compensation over a 24-month Royalty Participation Window. Industry-standard structure for music industry transactional work.
Best for:
- Artists without significant upfront capital
- Major deal work — label, publishing, or distribution
- Situations where SLG's negotiation directly drives deal value
- Artists who want their lawyer aligned with deal outcomes
- No upfront barrier
- Aligned with deal success
- You pay as you earn
- Strong negotiation incentive
- % on 24-month total earnings
- Higher total at strong deal outcomes
- Royalty admin coordination
- Only applies to identified deal
This calculator is an estimator, not a binding fee quote.
The figures shown are illustrative estimates based on the inputs you provide. They are not a guarantee, contract, or binding fee quote. Royalty projections are inherently uncertain and may vary significantly from actual earnings.
Actual fees and structure are governed exclusively by the signed Music Industry Engagement Agreement between Client and Stokes Law Group, PLLC. Final fee structure (flat-fee, transactional, retainer, or hybrid) is determined in your $500 Strategy Session, based on the specific deal context, opposing counsel, intellectual property complexity, and other factors. Complexity tier and transactional fee percentages may be adjusted based on the firm's review of the specific matter.
Use of this calculator does not create an attorney-client relationship. Submitting an inquiry through this site is not legal advice and does not bind the firm to representation.
Your deal is unique. So is your fee structure.
The right fee structure depends on your deal context, your career stage, and your cash flow. In a 1-hour Strategy Session, Attorney Stokes reviews your situation and recommends the right path forward — flat fee, transactional, or hybrid.
Schedule a Strategy Session — $500 1 Hour · Zoom · Credited Toward Your First Deliverable