Complete Guide: Music Producer Rights in Spain

Let's Clear Up the Confusion: Music Producer vs. Phonogram Producer

In Spain there's a common confusion that can cost you money. The Intellectual Property Law (LPI, Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996) uses the term "phonogram producer" in articles 114-119, but it refers to the record label — the natural or legal person who makes the first fixation of the phonogram and invests in the recording. Not the music producer who programs beats, creates instrumentals, or directs the studio session.

This means neighboring rights over the recording (reproduction, distribution, public communication) lasting 70 years under Directive 2011/77/EU belong to the record label, not to you as a music producer. Unless you act as your own label.

So What Rights Does the Music Producer Have?

It depends on your creative contribution:

If you contribute to the composition (melody, harmony, lyrics, creative arrangements considered original), you are a co-author of the work. This gives you the right to:

Publishing royalties

Performance royalties (public performance, managed by SGAE)

Mechanical royalties (reproductions)

Sync royalties (audiovisual synchronization)

These are full author's rights, managed by SGAE in Spain.

If you only produce the recording without contributing to the composition, your rights depend entirely on the contract you sign. Without a contract, the label or artist who hired you can argue it was work-for-hire.

The Two Entities You Need to Know

SGAE (General Society of Authors and Publishers): manages copyright on the composition. If you compose or co-compose, you should be here.

AGEDI (Association for Intellectual Property Rights Management): manages neighboring rights for phonogram producers (labels). If you're an independent label, you need AGEDI.

These are separate and independent income streams. A recording has protection even if the composition isn't registered, and vice versa.

5 Rules to Protect Your Work

Always sign a split sheet before publishing. If you contributed to the composition, the split sheet is proof that you're a co-author. Without it, they can register the song without including you.

Register with SGAE if you compose. The process is at sgae.es and you can do it as an individual. Once in, register each work with your percentages.

Keep your studio sessions. Your DAW project files with creation dates are evidence of your creative contribution. If there's a dispute, these files can make the difference.

Distinguish your roles in the contract. If you produce AND compose, make sure the contract reflects both roles with separate percentages. A "producer agreement" may only cover the production fee and not publishing.

Consider the Intellectual Property Registry. It's optional but recommended as additional proof of ownership. Done through the Ministry of Culture.

What's Changing

ASCAP, BMI, and SOCAN updated their policies in 2025 to accept registrations of works partially generated with AI, though they exclude works 100% generated by artificial intelligence. This reinforces the importance of documenting your human creative contribution.

How SPLEET Protects You

SPLEET is designed so that documenting your contribution isn't an administrative burden:

Split sheets with digital signatures that comply with eIDAS — legal validity across all 27 EU countries

Blockchain registration as immutable proof of the date and terms of the agreement

Automatic CWR file generation (on publisher plans) for direct registration with collection societies

All from WhatsApp or your DAW — without interrupting your creative flow

Protecting your rights shouldn't require a lawyer or a master's degree in intellectual property. Just document what you already created, the moment you created it.

Protect your next production with SPLEET