The lawUpdated 22 September 2026

French Intellectual Property Code

What article L. 212-15 asks of your label

Since 1 November 2016, a producer who pays an artist according to revenue must account to them for the calculation every six months, explicitly and transparently. At the artist's request, it must also give the supporting documents to the chartered accountant the artist has appointed. Here is the text, what it means, and how to be ready.

This page explains a legal text for your information. It is not legal advice: for a specific contract, ask a lawyer.

A hand signing a document with a fountain pen.

« Lorsque le contrat conclu entre un artiste-interprète et un producteur de phonogrammes prévoit le paiement direct par le producteur d'une rémunération qui est fonction des recettes de l'exploitation, le producteur de phonogrammes rend compte semestriellement à l'artiste-interprète du calcul de sa rémunération, de façon explicite et transparente. A la demande de l'artiste-interprète, le producteur de phonogrammes fournit à un expert-comptable mandaté par l'artiste-interprète toutes justifications propres à établir l'exactitude de ses comptes. »

French Intellectual Property Code, article L. 212-15, in force since 1 November 2016, in the original French · Légifrance

“Where the contract concluded between a performer and a phonogram producer provides for the direct payment by the producer of a remuneration that depends on the revenue from exploitation, the phonogram producer shall account to the performer every six months for the calculation of that remuneration, explicitly and transparently. At the performer's request, the phonogram producer shall provide a chartered accountant appointed by the performer with all the supporting documents needed to establish the accuracy of its accounts.”

Our own translation, unofficial and for information only. Only the French text above is official. · The original on Légifrance

In plain words

Two sentences, two duties

The first sentence sets a rhythm and a manner. When a contract has the producer pay the artist directly according to revenue, the producer must explain to the artist, every six months, how their pay was calculated. And that explanation must be explicit and transparent.

The second sentence lets the artist have the accounts checked. If the artist asks, the producer hands a chartered accountant (an expert-comptable) appointed by the artist all the supporting documents that establish that its accounts are accurate.

What the text leaves out matters too. It gives no statement template, no sending date, no list of supporting documents and no deadline for providing them. Your contract may settle some of these points: reread it.

Who it concerns

An artist's contract, paid according to revenue

The article does not cover every contract. It covers a contract between a performer and a phonogram producer that provides for pay depending on revenue, paid directly by the producer.

The performer (artiste-interprète) is the person who sings or plays the recorded music. The Code defines the phonogram producer as the person “who has the initiative and responsibility for the first fixation of a sequence of sound” (article L. 213-1, our translation). When your label produces its recordings, the producer is your label.

Pay “depending on revenue” means, for example, royalties: a percentage of what the recordings earn, such as 18% of net receipts, meaning what the label receives after the distributor's cut. If your contract takes another form, a licence for instance, have a lawyer check what applies.

A contract between a performer and a phonogram producer
Pay that depends on revenue, such as royalties
Paid directly by the producer to the artist

Since when, how often

Twice a year, since 2016

The article was created by article 10 of Law no. 2016-925 of 7 July 2016 on the freedom of creation, architecture and heritage, published in the Journal officiel, France's official gazette, on 8 July 2016. Article 110 of that law says since when it applies, and to which contracts.

Since 1 November 2016

The law set the entry into force of its article 10 on “the first day of the fourth month following that of its publication in the Journal officiel” (article 110, I, our translation). That is the date Légifrance shows: 1 November 2016.

Contracts already signed, too

The article applies “to contracts in progress” on that date (article 110, II, our translation). A contract signed earlier and still running on 1 November 2016 therefore falls within it too, if the other conditions are met.

Every six months

“Semestriellement” means once per half-year, so twice a year. The text does not say which months to use. The calendar year, January to June and then July to December, is the simplest split, unless your contract sets another.

And when nothing is payable?

The text makes no exception for a period with no payment, for instance while an advance is still being recouped. A zero statement is useful anyway: it shows the artist what they earned and where their advance stands.

Explicit and transparent

A statement the artist can check alone

The law does not say what a statement should look like. What follows is therefore good practice, not obligations written in the text. The aim: an artist, or their manager, understands every figure without having to call you.

A simple way to read the two words: explicit means showing the calculation, not just the result; transparent means saying where the figures come from. In practice: the receipts, the rate applied, what was recouped from the advance, what remains, and the reports it all comes from.

Keep the same layout from one period to the next, and explain the trade's words the first time: net receipts, advance, recoupment. A statement laid out like the last one is quicker to check.

A summary: what was still to recoup, the royalties, what was recouped, what remains and the amount payable
The detail by track, by channel (streaming, download, physical) and by territory, with the rate
The source reports, cited for every amount

A pen pointing at a table of figures, next to a calculator.

The accountant's request

Ready when the supporting documents are requested

At the artist's request, you give the chartered accountant they appointed “all supporting documents needed to establish the accuracy” of your accounts (our translation). The text does not list them. Here is what is wise to keep, period by period: good practice, not a list set by law.

The source reports

Every distributor report you used, exactly as you received it, untouched. Every amount of receipts comes from there.

The contract and its amendments

The version that applied during the period, with the rate, the advance and the costs that can be recouped. An amendment can change the rate along the way.

Advances and costs

Proof of every advance paid, and the invoice for every cost deducted from royalties. Without an invoice, a recouped cost is hard to justify.

Statements and payments

Every statement as it was sent, and proof of every transfer. Together they show how the balance moved from one period to the next.

Questions

Do the supporting documents go to the artist or to their accountant?

The text provides that they are given, at the artist's request, to a chartered accountant the artist has appointed. A statement that already cites its sources also lets you answer the artist's or their manager's questions quickly.

My contract is a licence: does this concern me?

The text speaks of a contract between a performer and a phonogram producer. In a licence, you exploit a recording produced by someone else, for example the artist or their company. Have a lawyer check what applies to that contract.

Is a statement sent by email enough?

The article says nothing about how the statement is sent. What matters is being able to show later what you sent, and when: keep a copy of every statement and of the email that went with it.

Does Labelmate guarantee that I comply with the law?

No. Labelmate helps you prepare detailed statements that cite their sources, twice a year. It does not judge your contracts and does not replace a lawyer.

With Labelmate

Statements that show their calculation

Labelmate prepares your statements twice a year, from your distributors' reports and the contracts you approved. A tested engine does the maths, never the AI, and every figure points to the report row it came from.

Each artist's statement is a PDF with the line-by-line detail and the source reports. Once the statements are issued, the period is locked: its figures never change. Each PDF is archived as PDF/A, a format designed for long-term preservation; it carries its fingerprint, a code computed from the statement's data, and that data is attached to it.

The day an artist's accountant asks for the supporting documents, the issued statements and the reports used to calculate them are in one place, encrypted on your computers. A report used by an issued statement stays in place, and removing a report never erases it.

One PDF per artist, with line-by-line detail
Every figure tied to its report row
The period locked once issued
Archived PDF/A, with its fingerprint and the calculation's data

A laptop showing a chart, next to a vase and glasses.

Sources

Your next statements, without spreadsheets.

Free early access for 10 independent labels.

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