The Flemish Record Label Playbook: A Founder's Guide to Legal & Operational Excellence

Synopsis

The Global Music Handbook functions not as a narrative book, but as a legal, operational, and strategic framework designed to build a professional record label from the ground up—specifically within the legal jurisdiction of Belgium, with localized relevance to Flanders and Dutch-speaking entrepreneurs. The “plot” of the book is procedural: it walks the reader through the formation, structuring, and sustainable operation of a master-owning label. Plot (Conceptual Structure) The handbook is structured like a startup manual. It begins by establishing the constitutional and ethical identity of the label (Grand Global Music), followed by a detailed guide to Belgian legal formation (BV, KBO registration, UBO compliance). It then shifts into operational systems: master ownership mechanics, contracts, finance, production, marketing, talent acquisition, risk management, and finally appendices with templates and standard operating procedures (SOPs). Each section builds on the last, forming a complete end-to-end guide for launching and managing a record label. Themes Legal Precision: The book stresses the importance of legally binding systems, formal contracts, and written procedures to ensure clarity, compliance, and enforceability in all areas—from intellectual property to financial accounting. Ownership and Reversion: A core structural theme is time-bound master ownership—where the label holds rights for 12 years, after which they revert automatically to the artist. This theme balances power between label and artist and underpins the entire business model. Transparency and Ethics: Transparency in money, contracts, and marketing execution is positioned as a non-negotiable ethic. The label is built to avoid predatory practices and emotional manipulation, aiming instead for performance-based partnerships. Systemization of Creativity: Creativity is treated not as chaos, but as a structured, repeatable process. From production SOPs to metadata governance and distribution pipelines, the book embeds creative output within rigorous systems. Risk Governance: Crisis, conflict, legal disputes, and financial uncertainty are all anticipated and managed through defined protocols. The theme here is control through preparation, not reaction. Key Points Legal Foundation: Grand Global Music is a Besloten Vennootschap (BV), registered through a recognized ondernemingsloket with an ondernemingsnummer and VAT (BTW) registration. Ownership Model: Master recordings are owned by the label for 12 years per project. Reversion is automatic and enforceable. This ensures label control during the exploitation window and artist freedom long-term. Contract System: The label uses standard contracts: artist recording agreements, producer agreements, session agreements, and split sheets. All contracts reflect core doctrines like royalty splits and reversion. Finance Engine: All GGM-funded expenses are recoupable. Net receipts are split 60% to the artist, 40% to GGM. The financial system includes double-entry accounting, release-level P&Ls, royalty ledgers, and advance tracking. Production Discipline: Recordings must meet strict technical standards. Asset delivery, metadata, and mastering are centralized and version-controlled to ensure catalog integrity. Marketing Strategy: Marketing is budgeted, goal-oriented, and subject to recoupment. Artists are required to participate. Paid and organic campaigns are measured for performance and adjusted accordingly. Talent System: Signing decisions are based on repeatable output, operational readiness, and brand alignment—not hype or favors. Artists progress through development phases with feedback loops and structured expectations. Risk and Compliance: Legal, financial, and reputational risks are managed through internal systems, external advisors, crisis communication protocols, and adherence to Belgian and EU law. Templates and SOPs: The handbook includes appendices with templates for contracts, reports, marketing checklists, onboarding procedures, and metadata standards to ensure uniform execution. Final Summary Line: The Global Music Handbook is a legally enforceable, operationally rigorous, and ethically grounded instruction manual for anyone—especially in Belgium—seeking to build a record label that is not only professional but sustainable, transparent, and artist-aligned.