an artist wants to record one of my songs

[deantaylor]

Mazz,

You rock! Thanks. That explaination clears up the film-tv side a lot.

I might have to buy that book. It looks good. I see it has a DIY section.

Dean

[DaNolman]

Just to add on to what others have said . . .

1. Download royalties are the same as the mechanicals - 9.1 cents per unit sold. If you're covering a well known song and choose to use Harry Fox, they sell digital licenses in bulk, so you can pre-pay for 1000 downloads at a time etc. Maybe you can ask the artist to just pay you a fee up front for mechanicals, like if he's pressing 1000 units so he can pay you $91 + another $9 for 100 downloads or something. That way, you get $100 bucks in your pocket right away. If he sells out and decides to press another 1000, ask for another $100.

3. I don't think they can change words unless you give them permission. We've tried to rework some covers and when asking the publisher, they've always been extremely particular with changing any lyrics. Usually, they site how each word is crafted with exact meaning and context. I can respect that. You may want them to run the re-write past you before release so that you're not listed as the writer for something that totally takes a left turn in a direction you didn't expect.

PS - congrats!!!

[deantaylor]

Thanks DaNolman! that helps.

[majorshadow21]

Congrats!

[mojobone]

2. Since they own the master, I assume they can pitch it to film-tv, sign it to libraries, exclusive or non-exclusive and I have no say in the matter .. they just list me as a writer, so I get writer perf royalties .. and this won't conflict with any of my library deals (if I ever take an exclusive one), because this is a DIFFERENT RECORDING.
.... If this is true, how does this version get registered with the PRO. I see a lot of people here pitch cover songs to libraries .. how do those covers get registered? It's not a re-title .. the title stays the same .. so is it even a separate registration or do they just add another performing artist to my ascap registration .. but how can they .. wouldn't I have to do that? i'm confused

3. Can the artist interpret the song any way they want .. change lyrics and melody?


I'm not sure what this part means?? What does 'control' mean?
the owner of the copyright in the underlying musical composition can still control public performance of the work or transmission over the radio

Dean

You have no say in the matter as the writer, but as publisher, you have a bunch.

They can pitch their version of your song virtually anywhere, but they have to get you to sign off on the usage. That's what "control" means in this context. As the publisher of your songs, it's up to you to protect their value and potential future income as you see fit. I can imagine some uses for a song that might be damaging to your copyright; Nazi Party recruiting video, advertisements promoting the baby seal clubbing industry, etc. You're balancing your publishers share of the sync fee and royalties (money now) against the potential income or loss thereof from other hypothetical uses. (money later) This is kind of like if you're an aging actor; doing that ad for Geritol, Depends undergarments or reverse mortgages prevents you from ever being cast as the lead actor in a major motion picture ever again. Some uses may enhance the value of your copyright, (influential major distribution motion picture such as "Trainspotting") others, not so much. (underscore for a Casey Anthony audiobook)

There are limits to how much artistic license may be taken by a cover artist, but they're a bit fuzzy and subjective. Generally, they can't rewrite the lyrics nor the melody, nor substantially modify them without creating a derivative work, but you can't stop them from repeating the chorus an extra time or over-souling a cadenza or three, and you probably can't stop them making a Bossa Nova or Dubstep version. As to what constitutes enough of a change to qualify the new track as a derivative work, that is up to you, as copyright owner, to decide. (and maybe also to a court of law, if a resulting squabble winds up there) Within limits, you can pretty much nix any cover version of your song that isn't a parody for almost any given use. (under US law) Again, you're balancing potential damage to the value of your copyright against potential revenue from the use. Maybe you don't want your song converted to a marching hymn for the People's Republic Of Rwanda.

[deantaylor]

Thanks Mojo. That helps a lot.