>In what way is this not a work for hire? The difference, I think, is in the "who fronts the risk" question. The guy writing the standardized test is getting

>In what way is this not a work for hire? The difference, I think, is in the "who fronts the risk" question. The guy writing the standardized test is getting paid by the hour or the month, and makes the same regardless of if the thing sells one copy or a million. A recording artist (or an author writing a book, in most cases) only makes money if they sell a lot of records. In most cases, they won't see any money until the publisher has sold enough records (or books) to pay for the printing. your 'advance' is a loan, and you've gotta pay that back. In some cases, if your creation sells poorly enough you could end up owing the label or publishing house money.