Writer Deal???

[timejunkie]

Thanks Andreh,I agree 50% something is better than 100% of nothing... however 75% of something and ownership (or at least part ownership) in your material is better. I'm certain the reality is what you and Matto have described. I have always been taught never to give away 100% of your publishing to anyone...that may not be the best advice if you are counting on song writing as your sole income.I thought that a 50/50 split on the publishing share was much more common these days...maybe I am mis-informed. I guess it comes down to what you are willing to concede for the exposure of the song...I hope all or nothing becomes less common in the future.Thanks for the input guys...very interesting discussion.

[matto]

Quote:I agree 50% something is better than 100% of nothing... however 75% of something and ownership (or at least part ownership) in your material is better. Well I guess it depends on your point of view. Put yourself in the publisher's shoes. If a publisher has a contract with one writer where he gets all of the publisher's share, and a different contract with another writer where he only gets 50% of the publisher's share...whose material do you think he's gonna push harder? I mean he's running a business...So the 50% the one writer has may end up adding to a LOT more than the 75% the other guy has.In my personal experience (and others' may well be different) the companies with the most "writer-friendly" deals have in general be the least effective at making me money, and those with the deals that were the least "writer-friendly" have made me the most. I'm not sure I would say that's a general rule...but a company with an excellent track record of getting placements will certainly be in a better negotiating position than one that gets a placement once every blue moon. So I guess "writer-friendly" is a relative term too. I think it also depends on your attitude towrds your music (as you pointed out yourself). If you're a professional writer/producer who churns out upwards of a hundred tracks every year, your attitude towards them is likely to be different from a person who writes perhaps ten songs a year.As far as 50-50 co-publishing deals being common...they are common for established, proven songwriters. They are rather uncommon for writers without a track record. Typically it comes down to who has more bargaining power.And please remember it's not "all or nothing", it's typically about 50% vs 75%.

[timejunkie]

Thanks Matto, I will learn a lot from you in the days... if not years to come. Your obvious experience and insight is very much appreciated.Cheers,Chip