Credit on tunes...

[jabney]

hi leftalive,

 

Didn't mean to come across like the topic-police. But I did want to stress that copyright is only for the songwriter. Lots of people seem to get confused about that.

 

Of course a lot of people also seem to think that music still pays big. Perhaps to lawyers and execs., but seldom to musicians and far, far less so to songwriters. And songwriters who don't (or for physical reasons, can't) play get about as much prestige as the guy or gal who runs the follow-spot. (Not that there's anything wrong with running a follow-spot :-)

[D_dup3]

LeftAlive, your voacalist "friend" is entitled to compensation you would have paid her & perhaps (not necessarily) some credit as a performer.

Performance royalies belong to the artist(s), not everyone who plays on a recording. Most sessioneers get a flat fee.

What she did is "work for hire" & does not generally entail any other payment but the situation's complicated because payment & terms don't seem to've been established beforehand.

Consider that in the future!

[Anifa]

I told her that I couldn't afford to pay her for her time, but that she would definitley get credit for the work. After the fact I told her that if the song should get picked up I would give her what I could.

Unless you specifically told her that you would allow her ownership rights to the song itself, giving her credit for her contributions should be allowed for performance only; a session player of voice.

 

To help her understand the advance part better; make sure that she is aware of the fact that an advance is JUST THAT.... money that will be recovered from future sales before you ever see another dime.

 

Also, make sure that she understands that your contract is for the song materials only, and not for your team as "ARTISTS". Make sure that she understands the difference between songwriter and artist.

 

To help smooth the road, call around (with her assistance) to some local studios to find what they would charge to provide session players to do the vocal performance of prewritten music; offer her the equivalent of the "high end price" (if it's within reason... you might call in advance to make sure not to create another situation) This "should' appease her to some degree.

 

If she is in agreement that the offer is a fair amount, explain to her that you may be needing her as a session player on future recordings to pitch songs and tell her that you will pay her upfront in the future; don't do business on the "if we make it" strategy... it's almost certain to end up in shambles or leave someone feeling cheated.

 

For the sake of friendship; you might offer to help her out in the same way she did for you, just in the event she would like to attempt to promote herself as an Artist. Just make sure that in doing so, you do not violate any of the clauses in your contract.

 

Good Luck!!!

[robmix]

Uhh, leftalive, I think you're screwed. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but the label wants to put out the version of the song that she sang ? I.E. she's the artist ? If that's the case there should be some sort of artist royalty. Unless you had a prior written arangement saying that she was a sideman (which would be akward considering she sang the lead), she's entitled to be compensated. The label should know this as well. At the very least you should split the advance - half for production, half as an artist advance. But you are correct in that the copyright is still solely owned by you. There is case law where a perfomer wasn't paid for a session and once the song was released sued succesfully for partial copyright ownership. Bottomline, always pay someone for their time.

[Anifa]

Originally posted by robmix:

Uhh, leftalive, I think you're screwed. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but the label wants to put out the version of the song that she sang ? I.E. she's the artist ? If that's the case there should be some sort of artist royalty. Unless you had a prior written arangement saying that she was a sideman (which would be akward considering she sang the lead), she's entitled to be compensated. The label should know this as well. At the very least you should split the advance - half for production, half as an artist advance. But you are correct in that the copyright is still solely owned by you. There is case law where a perfomer wasn't paid for a session and once the song was released sued succesfully for partial copyright ownership. Bottomline, always pay someone for their time.

Rob,

 

I guess that I read LeftAlive's post to read that the "song" was picked up and not the actual "recording". Maybe I read it wrong, but I was under the impression that he was a songwriter that tagged a singer to better present his materials.

 

...okay, I just reread the post and this portion escaped me during the first time of reading it...

She is going to be billed as a featured performer on the front cover (a move that I thought would be a courtesy to her, but now I'm not so sure) and I'm wondering about a few things.

Should she decide, either now or down the road, to try and squeeze me for more money, would she have a legal leg to stand on? I would'nt think so seeing as how I am the undisputed and sole author of the song, but does the fact that she's a featured performer change anything? How grey is this area? She didn't come up with any part of what she did (I dictated the vocal melody to her).

Depending on how the contract was written, and as to whether or not LeftAlive accepted the responsibility of accommodating the artist for her contributions to the project contractually, the label should not have used the works of a third party singer without covering themselves adequately in writing. They cannot just "use" an unknown artists' vocals on a release without the contracted authorization of the artist or an agent representing the interests of the artist.

 

If the label used the girls' vocal performance without covering all of their bases in writing; then the record label should be responsible for accommodating the artist. Labels are usually pretty good to make sure that all releases from parties involved have been secured before sending the materials off for production; if not, they take a chance at getting hit with a lawsuit. LeftAlive, if, on the other hand, "YOU" took it upon yourself to sign "her" rights as the performer into a written agreement; she is within her own right to ask for comphensation for the use of her talent in a public release from you; that would place you into the position as serving as an agent representing her interest in the works.

 

If you acted on her behalf, without her consent, it could get messy if you don't give her proper credit. Do two separate copyrights; the PA that lists you as an exclusive songwriter, and then the SA that covers the sound recording that was used. Allow her ownership rights to the performance and her portion of any royalties earned from that particular sound recording. (that means 50/50 is YOU signed her name to seal a deal without her consent to release a public performance... either that, or write a separate contract for her as an artist under your representation)

 

The actual song rights will be protected in the PA and will leave you free to pitch the song to other artists without her claiming rights to ownership of the song.

 

I'm by no means an attorney.... just rambling on about little tidbits picked up along the way. I'm here to learn too, so others feel free to correct me if I'm off base.

[teh dri]

Originally posted by bpark@prorec.com:

 

 

Hel, I've played uncredited on so many recordings, given writers chord resolutions, arangement ideas and completed lines and rewrote phrases... all uncredited. And I am fine with that. When I sit down to create art, then I want credit. That other stuff is just stuff that we do. I mean, do you credit the lead guitar player as a writer because he 'wrote' the solo? Most people don't. Did the drummer 'write' his part? gets dicey.

 

Bill

wow. thats pretty... i dont know... passive? in terms of listed credits i can dig it but youre passing up on points? or is this attitude one you take in a role such as producer or engineer? i can see how youde just get the job done if youre employed to get it done, but not if you were visiting a session, or it was friends or something...?