New Ep Coming Out, Having Issues With Credits.. Please Advise!

[AdamRave]

heres the deal.

the way my band works is devided to two.

i will either send them all a fnished demo of a song, full drums bass guitar vocals keys etc..

and then we get together and practice.

another way is, me playing my song from a to z to them with lyrics and then we work on the song.

my bass player is upset i didnt mention him in the music writing credits. but does he deserve those credits?

he writes the bassline, but he writes it ontop of my music/song.

so whos right?

one source said to me that if he didnt change any chords to the music then he did not write, but arranged.

any input and help on this would be much appreciated.

[john]

hey

Every band is different. Some do just split it evenly, but it depends how the writing takes place.

I'd say writing only the bass line is arrangement, but even that is a grey area if the bass has a melody line that is key to the song. Really that aspect is up to the songwriter(s) to settle. There are many options on how you can cut it, both in terms of royalty share and rights ownership.

Really these things need resolved at the time, even better if there is one discussion where you decide something like "who ever writes the melody and words is the writer, everything else is arrangement" etc. unless that is overridden by a separate agreement regarding a specific piece of work.

Oh yes, and put it in writing. That stops (well minimizes) arguments later when memory fades.

Cheers

John

[Nightwolf]

I think if the bass player added more than root notes to the mix he should get something, how much? I don't know. How much did he add? Some basslines make sthe Song if you ask me, but im a bass player.

Is it really worth it to you? Sink or swim together i say.

[AdamRave]

If I'm understanding you correctly, the EP is "the band's"? What the plan for dividing revenues from the sale of the EP?

-Does everyone get a share?

- Are all the shares to be equal?

-Does all the money go to you? If so, was everyone else payed up-front for their participation in the project? If they were, did you guys put that in writing?

-If the bass player isn't going to get revenues from the EP & you didn't plan to give him credit for his contribution, why in the world did he agree to do it in the first place?

-Have you guys copyrighted the songs? If so, how......jointly or you individually? Who actually, legally owns the material going on the EP?

These are all great questions that youre asking.

I'll answer them all.

all money made, any profit from the EP goes directly towards the band, for covering costs and creating more merch buying more gear etc.

no one was payed for recording, if anything we all put money in together to make this happen.

songs do not have copyright on them as of yet. thats happening now actually, yes i know it should have been done a lot sooner.

[AdamRave]

I think if the bass player added more than root notes to the mix he should get something, how much? I don't know. How much did he add? Some basslines make sthe Song if you ask me, but im a bass player.

Is it really worth it to you? Sink or swim together i say.

Hey!

heres how it works. yes, more then just root notes were added. he creates (not for all songs) new basslines according to the music i provide him with (be it a full demo or just an acoustic guitar and vocals). yes, credit should be given but writing credits? perhaps arrangement and adaptation credits? as for 'some basslines make thw song' i agree.. but just because someone added a bassline to an already existing musical peice doesnt meen they wrote the music. going round and round on this one. hope a resolution will come soon.

[Nightwolf]

Maybe we're making this more complicated than it needs to be. Maybe you should just weigh the pros & cons of leaving things the way they are against changing things to make the bass player happy.......

- how pissed is he?

- might he quit if you don't do something?

- if he does, is that an outcome you're OK with?

- if you do change the listing of the credits, what is it really costing you?

- will it make any difference in the actual distribution of money?

- will changing it really make things OK with the bass player, or is this just one of many things he takes issue with?

........hope this helps some with the thought process..good luck!

That there is a bullseye