Personally, I wouldn’t worry about it at all. Don’t make the mistake I made. I had a small record contract about 10 years ago. I wasted a lot of time, money and energy worrying about the legalities and protecting myself in case of a “hypothetical” runaway success. I probably annoyed a lot of people, too.
Most dance singles, even underground hits, only sell about 500-1000 copies. Maybe things have changed in the last ten years, but I doubt its that much. When you factor in all the cuts publishers, labels, etc get, its not worth the money to take you to court. You’ll probably get a cease and desist letter at best.
You’re most likely to get ripped off by entering a bad contract where legalities are exploited by your manager, publisher, or record label. It’s better to get started on production and get your name and music out there. If your tracks eventually get some buzz, and you get label interest, then you should look at the legalities and get more careful about publishing.
If you look closely at the history of successful entertainers, even ones who come out of nowhere, they’ve usually been sweating it out with unknown work for many years. Thus the showbiz saying: “The overnight success 10 years in the making”
Although, legally, it’s possible for a stranger to exploit a a legal loophole and make millions off of your creative work, the chances of this happening for a first time producer are pretty much a fluke. Same for a PRO coming after you.
And what if that actually did happen? Let’s say Lady GAGA/Hollywood puts one of your tracks on her next album/film and you don’t make a cent. That’d open the doors to tons of opportunities to produce for other artists on favorable terms. You’ll be the guy who produced “that” song. Don’t let legalities hold you back.
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