john

Nice idea... though can I confirm that writers will get a co-write credit? I know it is free, but songs can be re-recorded etc and you or someone else might do a commercial version at a later date, so if that occurs I would confirm that your co-writer would get an appropriate share decided at the write time? For example you do the music so you get 50% for that. To simplify the lyrics side you could simply say that the lyricists get an equal share of the remaining 50%. It's better if any awkward questions are just dealt with and out the way

I'm glad you guys got it worked out to both of your satisfaction and that you are both still talking!

As we were not there, we can't say. S does have a very valid point... it comes down to how you view things... like Queen or like the Beatles. If the chords do indeed contribute something completely original then theyare the copyrightable item too. To square it in your head... is the song complete with your brothers chords? Does it sound better? If the collaboration was worthwhile and resulted in a better, more complete song, then I would consider it a successful collaboration and that you wrote the lyrics (50% of the write) and that you co-wrote the music (25% of the write each). As your brother did the rest of the arrangement (and performance?) the recording would be his. Just food for thought

Hey Ouch. Percentage issues aside (interesting that he has the money side all worked out), he has put the cart before the horse. Before getting into the who owns what side, there is the issue of what it could do to your relationship. You might want to work something out for those reasons. Not that you should have to, it is just a consideration. Unlike Tom I think that by the letter of the law your brother is wrong, but like Tom I think 1) He's your brother and 2) The chances of you making money from your song is almost negligible. In fact the cahnces of the album making money are almost negligible. A band has a better chance of winning the lottery than becoming successful, and that is with a full band working on getting success and working to learn how to make their band successful. No budget for promoting your album? Even if you have the best songs and best recordings using starts to record the songs.... it almost certainly won't make enough to cover the cost to make it. What you and your brother have is more likely to fall under what they call a "vanity" project. ie you are doing it because you want to "put out an album" as much for sentimental reasons as anything else, not to build a music career. Nothing wrong with that, but it is better that you call a spade a spade. In song copyright terms, the fact is that the parts of the song that are copyrightable, are the melody and the lyrics... only. Chords, key changes etc, fall under arrangement. You are based in Wales, I think you said in your intro post? In which case it falls under UK laws. Song copyright is managed by PRS (Performing rights society). Songs do not need to be registered anywhere in the UK 9though if you release music on the internet it is wise to register them with the US copyright office as that is the largest English speaking market place. In the UK, copyright exists at the time of writing. Recordings are governed by MCPS. Some bands divide ownership equally, like Queen, I believe, others don't (like the Beatles), but that is because that is how they each view "writing". In legal terms, those who write the words and the melody are the song writers. Those who contribute to the arrangement (such as chords) are arrangers. Those who perform on a recording are entitled to a share of the recording profits unless they waive it, even if they accept a fee... and on it goes. I am not a lawyer. My advice only comes from experience. You should be able to get exact legal advice from an Ents lawyer, either privately or go through the Musician's Union or PRS.... if you go down that route. What i would consider doing is explaining to your brother what the copyrightable parts of a song are, and that the writers of those parts are the songwriters, but that you do value his input to the song and if it is that important to him then you will in some way share the writing credits to the song. What level is up to you. Just my two cents. Cheers John

hey hey, welcome to Songstuff

Welcome to Songstuff Patricia!

Welcome to Songstuff

You're welcome Tobin. I hope the discussion went some way to answering your questions? Have you tried songfile yet? If you do it would be good to know how you get on. It's been a long time since I recorded a cover, so first hand experience of current tools and processes is always useful. I am sure other members would be interested in your experience. Perhaps, once you have been through the process, you would be willing to make a quick topic/post describing what you did, how you went about it and offering your recommendations? I am sure other members would find it valuable. Additionally, just like song writing feedback, it is possible that other members will look at what you did and suggest improvements that could help you for any future covers.

Hi and welcome to Songstuff We are always looking for people willing to contribute articles to the site, if interested, just drop me a line and we can discuss it (visit my profile and send me a message ). If not, your willingness to help members via posting on our community forums is always appreciated. You'll see we do have a breadth of experience here, and a great community support ethos, but as ever there are always many many many more people asking questions than passing on the fruits of a depth of experience... welcome!

Hey Brad Have you done much with getting an app made for your band? There are a number of off the shelf solutions, or you can make one yourself with one of the kits (if you have software skills) or hire someone to make one for you. I wondered what you found were the most effective featurtes, and the most engaging from a fan perspective? Cheers John

The YouTube form was one method using a DMCA report, but they used to have a "report this url" form on google.com that allowed any site to be reported for the purpose of removing it from search results, but it also had other effects. When you reported a YouTube or other Google url they took action themselves.

The risk is actually more, in that there is a "number of strikes" policy, that can see you banned from YouTube. Incidentally it isn't whether the publisher issues a take down (although that would certainly start the removal process). The process of removal can be started if anyone reports it, or if their policing algorithm flags it. Firstly it enters into a suspension of the video process and a time limit set on proving that permission has been given for usage. My understanding is that a ban can cover Google services, beyond YouTube.

As far as I know there isn't a shortcut. Many writers will license through HFA, but not all. Certainly I would start with www.songfile.com

S'ok, I was just joking ya know lol

Mike, I'm glad it helped. Don't be too offended at the singer/songwriter slur When it comes to gigs I view solo instrumentalists, or even duos, in the same "intimate gig" frame. Even so, most of the set list points apply to most music performance planning. A band may provide fewer stories, and the balance of story types is likely to be different for instrumentalists, nonetheless, a story about how a song/tune came to be is of interest to fans. The same is true of the experiences of the artist. Best to avoid cheesy, but the whole point is to communicate with the audience and help establish a relationship. That and to extend a set just a little!

Well if you sort your songs in to twos and threes that go together, you can start to move chunks around to get an optimum set in terms of "the journey". That's how I like to view a set. Ideally you want to pick up your listeners, emotionally, right at the beginning of the set, and carry them with you until the end. That means thinking about tempos and subject matter. By arranging chunks you still have some versatility in your set. So for example, you would have 3 well chosen songs to start, 4 well chosen songs for the set end and 2 - 3 more for an encore, and a rough guide for songs in between. Ideally you should have 5 - 10 songs in reserve, so you can swap out sections or add more songs, depending on the mood of the crowd. This helps make you responsive. If the audience is more mellow you can add in an extra chunk of mellow songs, or vice versa if they are more in an upbeat mood. Lastly, as a singer songwriter, talking with your audience is an important part of the performance. It helps you connect with them. So prepare some stories and anecdotes. Ideally, yet again, you want to have a selection you can choose from and remember to add new ones on a regular basis and or adapt existing ones. As a songwriter stories behind a song and how it was written work well, try two perspectives on every song, and that gives you a choice of 46 stories right away. Add in a few gig/audience stories and you're sorted. Obviously at each gig you only need a few stories. that wil also pad out your set. As will re-tuning and natural pauses between songs or chunks of songs. I hope this helps. Cheers John

Hi and welcome to Songstuff Cameron

If you are putting into tab, use the tab bbcode: http://forums.songstuff.com/topic/41797-guitar-tab-bbcode/ There is chord bbcode too to create chord boxes and chord boxes over lyrics... I know you don't really need either of those just now, but as a guitarist I figure it's handy to know you can do that on the forums

Pretty open. We are all just focused on creating good music. There are a few singer songwriters, but we have plenty indie, metal, electronica / EDM writers too. From a writing perspective quite a few writers are looking to write song that can work in multiple genres. Do you write for specific genres?

Hey mrun213, welcome to Songstuff! We've been around for... well ages, with no plans to disappear anytime soon, only plans for improvements for our members. Good to have you aboard. Dive in!

very soon staff will be able to promote articles onto a member article database (hopefully next week). I have been doing a lot of preparation for it. next step "upgrade forums", then some more tweaking and hopefully good to go! Nice write Rudi!

hey hey, welcome back

Hey Nat, welcome to Songstuff! You've come to the right place. There are other ways the site and community could be of benefit to you. It'll be fun discovering! I am biased lol

There are loads of these pads on most synths these days, and on many soft synths / VSTi. I like Cakewalk Dimension Pro and Z3ta+. Z3ta is more suited to sequences and arpeggios, but great synths more than capable of very rich evolutionary pads