copyright issues

[Casey H]

Quote:Quote:VickyThis is a subject that a lot of people need clarification on. The ownership of a copyright to your music is not the same as owning the rights to a specific recording. A copyright is documentation regarding the specific words and music, regardless of how recorded. Actually, caution here--a PA copyright is exactly this. An SR copyright is a copyright of the sound recording--that specific one submitted.Absolutely true, Ed... A PA form covers music and lyrics. One should copyright ownership of their sound recordings on an SR form. You can copyright music, lyrics, AND sound recording on an SR form all at once at save some money. HOWEVER, copyright of a recording on an SR form is NOT a substitute in any way, shape, or form for a musician's release agreement.This stuff does get a bit confusing, I know... Casey

[ciskokidd]

Great Job All!-- Another great thread on the perils of the music biz. I hope this thread is read by all of those hoping to have their work published and used in film and tv.Best,Cisco

[anne]

I have a question on a song - I have several hard rock songs that I recorded for a band that I managed. The band is no longer around, and the members are no where to be found. They never copyrighted the songs, nor did they belong to a PRO. My pay would have been the publishers share, they would keep all else. We were all inexperienced so there is nothing in detail written up that would negate my ability to sell them (no expiration date on the papers we do have..) - I just some of the receipts and marketing materials, and I still have the masters. My question is this - can I still market these recordings, giving proper credit to the writers, even though I can't find these guys or have no idea how they'd get their money? Or, would I be better off finding people to re-record the songs (or does it make a difference?) 2 of the songs are really solid and would place well, but I don't know how to pitch them correctly if I can't find the guys.

[vicky]

Now that we're all clear, that releases are critical and perjury is bad.....I'm going to assume that the actual contract is in the book Martin recomended....figuring out the percentage to offer musicians seems ominous.... my musicians made $100 an hour....and spent about 3 hours....and I spent (not including their fee) studio hourly rate....plus 10 to 12 hours of mixing and mastering for every hour they spent playing....plus i didn't pay myself for my playing.....hmmmm....how to make money My first financial goal with Taxi was to create a recording fund....Am I off my rocker to think this is possible....Thank God CD pressing is on its' way out!!!...never againthanks again,vicky

[matto]

Anne,you can't use the recordings unless the paperwork you do have specifically assigns full ownership over these recordings to you.Just because a contract doesn't specifically preclude you from doing something to do doesn't mean you are allowed to do it.Re-recording wouldn't really help you either unless, once again, the paperwork specifically allows you to pitch the compositions and basically assigns you power of attorney over them so that you can negotiate and sign contracts on behalf of all the owners of the copyright.Absent those things, you either have to find all writers and get their written okay, or you can't pitch the music.matto

[matto]

Quote:Now that we're all clear, that releases are critical and perjury is bad.....I'm going to assume that the actual contract is in the book Martin recomended....figuring out the percentage to offer musicians seems ominous.... my musicians made $100 an hour....and spent about 3 hours....and I spent (not including their fee) studio hourly rate....plus 10 to 12 hours of mixing and mastering for every hour they spent playing....plus i didn't pay myself for my playing.....hmmmm....how to make money Vicky,since you paid everybody you don't need to give them a percentage unless that's the only way you can get them to sign the releases (or unless you want to). I only give percentages to people who work for me on spec. Please check this thread as it has a lot of the information you need. http://taxi.proboards27.com/index.cgi?b ... 594805Then come back if you need more help. Quote:My first financial goal with Taxi was to create a recording fund....Am I off my rocker to think this is possible....I'm not sure what you mean by this exactly...but the one thing most people find is that it takes them a while to see any income from their Taxi membership...nothing moves quickly in the music business...you might wanna watch my youtube videos if you haven't already.matto

[Casey H]

Quote:I have a question on a song - I have several hard rock songs that I recorded for a band that I managed. The band is no longer around, and the members are no where to be found. They never copyrighted the songs, nor did they belong to a PRO. My pay would have been the publishers share, they would keep all else. We were all inexperienced so there is nothing in detail written up that would negate my ability to sell them (no expiration date on the papers we do have..) - I just some of the receipts and marketing materials, and I still have the masters. My question is this - can I still market these recordings, giving proper credit to the writers, even though I can't find these guys or have no idea how they'd get their money? Or, would I be better off finding people to re-record the songs (or does it make a difference?) 2 of the songs are really solid and would place well, but I don't know how to pitch them correctly if I can't find the guys. AnneWhat matto said and...Don't give up on trying to find these folks. I'm not saying it's possible but the power of the Internet is amazing. I have found "missing" people before using various search methods. If I can help, please drop me an email to the contact address on my caseysongs.com site. (PM is OK but I find email easier)... If you are very Internet savvy and think you have already tried everything under the sun, I may not have as many additional tricks up my sleeve but I still might be able to help... Casey

[anne]

Thanks Matt, Casey - I will keep looking for them and will keep everything in a nice little box so, ready for the day that I do. I figured I couldn't pitch them as is, but thought I'd ask you all - back to my painting (first coat of primer is going on the studio walls today!)

[vicky]

Thank-you...Anne it sounds like we're both tracking musicians fun, fun, fun!!! thanks for everyones' comments...Matto...I'll check youtube and the link....thank-you so much.... and yeah ,..I realize it takes awhile....I just want a recording fund. so I can start to separate from my personal bank account.....I was contacted for three songs on three different CDs so once the releases are signed, I'll have hopefully 26 songs to throw at contemporary jazz and instrumental listings ...thank-you so, so ,muchVicky

[spindrift]

I am a beginning songwriter and have been a member of TAXI for several years, hoping that TAXI might help me to get my songs heard. In my first two years of membership, I had about 60 forwardings of my fewer than 10 songs, and now have contracts with 5 or 6 music libraries for all of them, either with or without vocals. This string of comments regarding copyright issues has me ready to cancel all of my contracts. My songs have all been professionally demoed by session musicians and singers, and I have releases from none of them. I had thought that as the sole creator of lyrics and music, and sole owner of copyrights and publishing, it was proper to pitch these songs to music libraries as "works for hire". It appears now that I may have committed perjury in claiming that I owned the Master Rights to these songs, since I have no agreements with or releases from any of those involved in the production of these works. Most of these people are in fact union members, and now it seems they will in all likelihood be reluctant to sign such releases or agreements. I have talked on the telephone with TAXI people on more than one occasion, asking whether I was free to pitch these demos to music libraries pitching to TV and Film, and was assured each time that if I alone owned copyright and publishing, and the recordings were "Works for Hire" with no restrictions in any contract, I could do as I pleased. This string of Forum comments, and a negative response recently from a Music Library that withdrew an offer of a contract when it learned that my song had been demoed by union musicians, lead me to think that 1) I cannot pitch my songs to music libraries, and 2) I should cancel my existing contracts as soon as possible, to avoid possible lawsuits. All of this is extremely discouraging, since my songs are "dated" lyrically and musically, and therefore of interest primarily to Film and TV rather than to performing artists. I would add my disappointing impression that in the past year, listings of interest to me have shifted increasingly from individual artists to music libraries.I wonder if I will renew my membership in TAXI, and would welcome comments and advice.Mark