A client approached our firm in June 2025 concerning an estate issue. The client is the sole heir (and the living spouse) of a musician who died in 2007. Before her death, the musician released three albums to critical acclaim. In her will, the musician left behind all her assets to the client.

The musician's three albums were released in 1989, 1990, and 1995. Prior to recording these albums, on December 31, 1988, the musician entered into a single contract with Warner Music Group (the “Company” or “WMG”). The contract sets out the musician’s and the Company’s rights to the musician’s three subsequently-released albums. Importantly for present purposes, the contract contains the following two clauses, both of which were heavily negotiated:

Clause A (Independent Status): “For all purposes, including international tax and liability, the Artist* shall be considered an independent contractor. Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to create a partnership, joint venture, or employer/employee relationship.”

Clause B (Work for Hire): “The parties expressly agree that all sound recordings created hereunder shall be considered ‘works made for hire’ as defined in 17 U.S.C. § 101, with the Company (WMG) being deemed the sole author of the works in perpetuity. This stipulation is a material inducement for the Company entering into this agreement.”

As it is used in the contract, “Artist” refers to the musician.

As set out above, the agreement stipulated that the musician would not be considered an employee of WMG and that the musician would assign the recording copyrights to all albums released between 1988 and 1999 to WMG. The agreement further stipulated that the albums would be considered “works made for hire.”

The client wants to know whether or not he owns the copyrights over the sound recordings of the musician’s three albums. If not, the client would like to know if he can ever regain ownership over the copyrighted sound recordings and if so, how.

Write a legal research memo of no more than 1,500 words that answers the client’s questions. Assume that (1) the musician meets the definition of an independent contractor under the relevant agency test established in Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989); (2) any argument that the albums should be considered compilations is invalid; (3) the albums were made solely by the musician (i.e., were not joint works with another artist); and (4) the agreement does not cover the right of publication with respect to the albums. The analysis in your memo should reflect the state of the law as of Sunday, June 8, 2025. Confine your legal research to the uploaded sources. Do not rely on outside sources. Your memo must cite every authority and source on which it relies. Every citation should be in Bluebook format.