Need Some Advice From You All

[SALT]

Thanks for taking a minute to read this and hopefully offer me some advice!
My situation is this. I have been writting alone for YEARS and YEARS. Now I have formed a
small band, SALT, I have been writting a little bit with one of my members. He is the guitar player
for my group and has come up with some of the chord phrasing for a few of my new songs. I want to
include him in the percentages when registering my songs with BMI but not sure how to achieve
what is to be considered fair in this business. I want him to know I appreciate him
but at the same time I dont want to hurt myself when it comes
to the royalties etc. Any advice? I write all of the song titles, lyrics, hooks, and
even on the songs he has a tune idea on I add to them all like the bridge chords etc...Just not used to working
with someone else when it comes to the actual ownership of the work so need help from those of you who
are in that type of situation...Im all ears
Thanks,
Kevin~SALT~

[stevecollom]

Hey Kevin,
Most Nashville writers split everything 50/50. Regardless of the other persons input. With that said, a writer that doesn't contribute a lot, may find his/her requests for co-songwriting limited.
In a band situation..... everyone would agree you want the best songs....... But it does get tricky........ cause you not only write together but, usually you'll hang, gig and maybe tour together......
one solution for not burning yourself or your band member/members is write a lot............ with or without them. But remember what the goal of the band is ....... MAY THE BEST SONG WIN.....

that's just my 2 cents
hope it helps
steve

[SALT]

Hey Steve and thanks so much for your input. Yeah that is pretty much what I felt personally as well.
My biggest concern is the fact that the whole "Band Thing" could be a here today and gone tomorrow thing if
you know what I am saying. The guy I am referring has not really written anything at all to be completely honest.
He has just come up with a few 6-7 chord progressions that I liked the sound of for some lyrics to pop along with.
Been weighing heavy on my mind because I feel appreciative towards him but dont want him getting the wrong idea
about the other 120 songs I have written all by myself haha...

[stevecollom]

Yeah I hear ya. I have written songs with other people that after the song was done ( before recording) we have talked about percentages and came to a mutual agreement 80/20 ect. I'm a member of APRA and when i register a song it gives me the option of how much % i wrote.
Steve

[BruceBrown]

I agree withSteve. I've been living in Nash. since 1980. If I work with someone in any way on a tune, it's a 50/50 split.
Easy/ Done deal.
Bruce

[Tim_Behrens]

I haven't had too many opportunities to write with serious songwriters (meaning, where the intention was to have some marketable success), but the few occasions I did, they were all of the same opinion. Regardless of what percent a person contributed, the ownership was 50/50. That doesn't, however, mean that they suddenly become a co-writer on everything you've ever written. If your intent is to get these songs out there, it's best to have some kind of mutual understanding up front.

In my mind, the other trick with bands is knowing where writing ends and performance begins. A band gives a song it's sound and style, but if it's something you bring to them in almost finished form (lyrics, chords, melody, etc), are they just performing it? What happens when the band is no more and the song is earning royalties? Or if the song is registered under your name, but ends up on an album that gets airplay?

I know I'm more questions than answers. Am curious to see the replies, too.

[Kolstad]

50/50 if you co-write.

The idea is that you are also responsible for how little he contributes with. In principle, you could back down and let your cowriter contribute more. The fact that you are contributing more, might just suggest that he/she may just be slower than you, or that you may be too dominant, not really prepared to wait or listen. You could also spell out your division of work as your cowriter may contribute more if he/she is met with higher expectations. You are both responsible for your relationship and the outcome of it, and the relationship design matters as much as the music output.

If you are concerned about percentages, you can always write your own stuff aside from the projects you co-write. But when you engage in co-writing, the whole point is to get inspired by each other, allowing the differences to merge into something new.

justmy2cents