A music distribution agreement is generally made to artists who have already independently recorded and produced a musical work. Due to the rise in affordable digital home recording equipment, more musicians are choosing to record their albums on their own and secure a music distribution agreement after the album is finished. This is often a better financial deal for new bands, who will incur less expenses that may have to be paid back to a record label. In a music distribution agreement, a distributer or record label agrees to distribute and sell music for an artist in return for a share of the profits from sales. The record label and the artist may co-own the rights to the songs under the terms of a music distribution agreement, or the artist may be able to retain full and exclusive copyright to their creative work. In order to ensure a fair contract, an attorney should be consulted to review a music distribution agreement before agreeing to the terms.