minimum guarantees

ASC 340-928 governs when a music entity may capitalize advance royalties paid to artists, the cost of record masters, and minimum guarantees paid in advance by licensees. Capitalization hinges on recoverability: an advance royalty or the record company's share of record master cost is an asset only if the artist's past performance and current popularity provide a sound basis for estimating recovery from future royalties or sales. Capitalized amounts are charged to expense as royalties are earned or amortized over the recorded performance's life in relation to expected net revenue, with immediate write-off of nonrecoverable portions.

ASC 430-928 was the deferred revenue guidance for the music industry (Entertainment—Music), addressing when amounts received (e.g., minimum guarantees or advances under licensing arrangements) had to be deferred rather than recognized. Every paragraph in the subtopic — 430-928-05-1, 430-928-15-1, and 430-928-25-1 — was superseded by ASU 2014-09 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers). No substantive guidance remains; music-industry deferred revenue questions are now answered under ASC 606 and the music-specific guidance in ASC 928-606.

ASC 928-10 is the overview and scope subtopic for accounting by entities in the record and music industry. It flags the topics covered elsewhere in ASC 928 — licensing of music copyrights and record masters, artist compensation costs (including royalties paid to recording artists), costs of producing record masters, and licensees' accounting for fees and minimum guarantees. The guidance is incremental industry-specific guidance only; entities in scope must still follow all other applicable GAAP.