This guide explains how summary contracts work, when to use them, and how to set them up in Tone.

How Summary Contracts Work

A summary contract does not replace the individual contracts used to calculate royalties. Instead, it sits above those contracts and summarizes their results.

When you run a royalty calculation:

• Each linked contract calculates royalties according to its own terms
• The closing balance from each subcontract is transferred to the summary contract
• The payee receives separate statements for each subcontract’s activity, along with a summary statement showing their combined royalty activity

When to Use a Summary Contract

Summary contracts are used to consolidate royalty activity across multiple cross-collateralized contracts for the same payee into a single summarized statement.

Summary contracts are most useful when:

• A single payee has multiple contracts in Tone
• Those contracts need to calculate separately because they have different royalty terms, catalog associations, balances, or other configurations
• You want to consolidate the results into a single statement for the payee

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The most common use case is an artist recording agreement with multiple cross-collateralized option periods. You can create a separate contract for the initial period and each subsequent option period, then link them to a summary contract so royalties and balances are cross-collateralized across all projects according to the terms of the recording agreement.

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Setting Up a Summary Contract

To create a summary contract:

1. Set up a new contract by adding the Contract Name, Payee Name, and Group.
2. Open the Details panel.