Biz Agreement with a lyricist?

[lesmac]

It's funny but I've always found these folks who are non-musical but write song lyrics are actually worse at it than the jobbing songwriters who write their own.

Ahhh.... Bernie Taupin??

[Casey H]

Generally, you would sign a collaboration agreement which specifies everything-- splits, who can do what with it, etc. (yes, 50/50 is the professional thing)

A template (needs customization!) is on John Braheny's website (RIP John)... http://johnbraheny.com/resources/collab ... agreement/

The most important thing is don't collaborate with anyone that you think will be difficult to work with. I 'get' why this person may have copyrighted their lyrics first. However, it could present problems down the road. You'd have to check with an attorney on this as to whether this could be a problem for you. What if you release a song and the lyricist wants to do something with the lyrics themselves later? Could be sticky, especially if the song was signed to an exclusive deal.

Best,
Casey