A music artist contract may refer to a variety of different contract agreements related to the music industry. One example of a music artist contract is an artist development contract. New artists sometimes sign development contracts with companies who in turn promise to promote and develop the artist's talents. These types of contracts may be the first type of contract an artist signs, before signing a recording contract. Often development contracts can be risky for new artists, as they may take away too many rights and too much creative control. Care should be taken when agreeing to a development deal. A record contract is another type of music artist contract. In this case, a record company agrees to distribute and sell an artist's recorded album, and profits are shared between the record label and the artist. These types of agreements can also be risky, as many recording contracts are written to benefit the record label over the artist. Any artist who has been offered a contract should consider taking the contract to an experienced attorney for review before signing.