Registering catalog with PRO?

[Penz2nz]

I am preparing to start registering several songs from my Publishing Co. catalog with my PRO and I need some insights on certain questions before moving forward.

(1) If multiple writers are involved do I need contracts with each writer when those writers are retaining their own publishing.

(2) In listing the "performer" on the demo do I need their signed consent.

I am aware of at least one publisher who has registered songs with their PRO without this being resolved and it sounds a little risky to me.

[onglee]

there are split sheets to record down each co-writer's contribution to the song and their signatures. if you don't have a split sheet, you can also write it down and have everyone sign and agree on it. i'm not sure if these other co-writers have their own publishing companies or if they are under your publishing company. this is going into legalities that i don't think i would know enough to answer. you can also check with your PRO. but let's say you go ahead and register the song anyway. if your PRO collects money for it and one of your co-writer claim he isn't getting his cut, they will freeze all monies until this is resolved. so it's best to get everything done right.

as for the performer, that has to be the performer of the master recording. you are still the owner of the song, so i'm not sure why you would want a "consent" from the performer. this is just so you get paid. if you leave it blank and the song is played on radio or tv, you're not going to get paid for it. if it's a demo singer, than you should leave the performer as blank until the song is cut.

[mojobone]

Yes, you must get work-for-hire agreements from the performer(s) if the track is to be licensed; if it's a song demo that will be re-recorded, you don't, but I believe in a suspenders and a belt approach; more than one demo has ended up getting released as is, and some have even been hits. Though rates can differ when using union musicians; there's a premium rate for releases as opposed to demos.