Handing over copyright: is it a good idea?

[michaelshawbond]

Hi, apologies if this has already been asked. As a newcomer, I'd love some advice about the positives and negatives of signing songs over to a music library.

I've been approached by a publishing company / music library that is interested in a song of mine that was forwarded to them by Taxi. The deal is that the writer (me) keeps 100% of the writer's share and ownership of the master recording, and the library takes 100% of the publishing and the copyright to the song. They also take a 10% admin fee for every licensing deal they land.

Given that this would mean I couldn't market the song anywhere else, does it sound like a reasonable deal or not? Or does it all depend on the reputation of the company involved?

Many thanks for any insights.

Michael

[kurtkreimier]

Hello Michael and Welcome to the Forum. Handing over copyright to a music library is pretty common when signing a song or songs exclusively. The writer and publisher share splits you mention are also very common. Many of the better libraries work this way. I would think they would want to own the master as well. It sounds like they are only taking 10% of the licensing which sounds very generous on their part. Or perhaps I am just not understanding what the term admin fee encompasses.

The wisdom of doing something like this depends entirely on how comfortable you are with the library and their ability to place your music. Since you got this offer from a Taxi forward they are probably a good library. A few other things to keep in mind if you move forward. You cannot have the song signed to anybody else either now or in the future. If you have the song copyrighted and/or registered with your PRO you will have to assign a new title to the song. This may be a sticking point for some libraries. But I would think that as long as rights to use the song have not been assigned to anybody else they will probably be ok with this. I'm sure there will be some others here who will offer their insights as well. In any case, I hope this helps.

[guscave]

Hi Michael, congrats on the offer. As Kurt mentioned this sounds like a common exclusive deal. The only thing I would add is to see if they offer a reversion (2 or 3 years) where if the song doesn't make "x" amount of money you get all the rights back.

[coachdebra]

Yeah, the reversion thing is a good point - that allows them to prove themselves to you as a legit rep for your music. Here's the key to remember - 100% of nothing is - wait for it - nothing.

So, if it's a song that you're making a ton off of in other ways - perhaps not. But if you're not making anything from the song in other ways, then go for it. Isn't that why you submitted it in the first place?

For the experts - an add on question - what if a song has already been released on a CD or is being performed live by the band? How does that affect the exclusive deal?

Debra

[mazz]

Debra, depends on the contract. Some deals are semi exclusive where you can't pitch to competing opps but can still release on iTunes, etc. It's on a case by case basis.

[coachdebra]

Thanks for clarifying Mazz - Hey, wait a minute - aren't you somewhere in paradise with Jean right now?

Wow, that's forum commitment!

[DaNolman]

Hi Michael, congratulations on getting your song signed!

This all depends on the agreement. We had a library contract that stated that they owned 100% publishing and we owned 100% songwriters with the 10% admin fee and that meant that anything on Schedule A (in your case, this particular song) was covered by the 10% admin fee no matter where it made money. If you have it making money in existing business, you should get an exclusionary contract. For instance, if this song is already getting airplay on KROQ and being played in your local department store, you can ask them to exclude those from the publishing fees.

In our case, the 10% admin fee was for any other money that the songs earned, even if the placements weren't acquired by the library. If the library did acquire the placement, they earned their 100% publishing.

The 3 year reversion clause is great. Then you can re-evaluate if this company is doing a good enough job for you to remain with them and gives you an out if they aren't.

Best practice - get this agreement looked at by someone who can explain it to you in plain english.

For Coachdeb - I'd get them to update their agreement with exclusions so that your existing fees are protected.

[michaelshawbond]

Thanks so much for all your advice. I've done as suggested and gone back to the publisher and asked about a reversion clause. If they're happy to do that then I'll go for it. Let's hope!
Cheers,
Michael