The Internet has created a number of new ways for an artist, particularly an unsigned one, to make money as a recording artist.
Unlike the traditional record company contract, these new arrangements can take any number of forms, including a sharing of all income from sales 50/50; sharing a defined net (a company's operating and other costs taken out first and then a 50/50 split); a pay-for-play scenario where the company provides a specific amount in lieu of mechanical and performance royalties; an exclusive deal where a portion of the advertising revenue is shared; a fee covering the creation of an artists' URL and Web pages, with all sales going to the artist; a percentage of the sales revenue taken by the company with content and pricing all controlled by the artist; a weekly fee to have a band's material available for download; a sharing of monies from subscription fees based on the number of downloads; an offer to owners of masters of a higher percentage for downloads than would be made under a normal record company contract, etc.
Many of the arrangements are nonexclusive or are exclusive only for a short period of time. Practically none of these arrangements transfer ownership in the master recording or the song away from the artist or writer. Because of this, if an artist or writer becomes successful from one of these types of situations, they will definitely own many more rights than they would have under the traditional record company contract.