Leaving A Band......future Royalties

[sarahjaneni]

Hi,

I would appreciate some advice.......

I've been in a band for the last few years and we've recorded quite a few songs. Most of the songs were written by the singer and presented to me and the other girl in a pretty basic way. We would all then go about fleshing them out and adding to them to create the finished project. The singer would write the lyrics, although i did throw in the odd suggestion on some songs, the other girl wrote the piano parts and I would write the drums/bass and lead guitar parts. After some discussion we decided to concentrate on the singers songs because she was, at the time, the only one to have enough money to pay for studio time etc. We came up with a system to divide any monies that are made selling the albums and this has been documented in several emails sent by the singer. The problem is, I now want to leave the band but i'm not sure the singer will keep to this arrangement as she can be a bit dodgy, especially when it comes to money. I know we're not gonna be selling millions of albums but we could cetainly shift thousands and I wouldn't mind getting my cut as i've spent countless hours on these songs and really it's a matter of principle. I didn't do it for the money but if there's some going, count me in.

What i'd like to know is, where does the law stand with this, is an email proof of the deal we made?

Thanks

Sarah

[john]

Hey

What country are you based in?

Your email is not a contract, or at least it is very weak form of contract. How do you sell these CDs? I ask because if you don't trust the singer and the majority of the CDs are sold by direct sale rather than through a shop then you may well be relying on her book keeping anyway... either way to be able to know if you are being fairly paid you would need to inspect the books... additionally with a contract the majority of your earnings would come through collection agencies as you would be due income from a number of potential source (radio, tv, and performance earnings). Access to the books of a business is normally done by agreement within a formal contract. i fear if you don't have that stipulated anywhere then you may well have no luck..

While you are still a member of the band i would suggest compiling the emails into one document, then take it and go to see a music lawyer as a band and working out your contract. It's easier to do this as part of the band than it would be trying to put a contract together after the fact, from the outside.

From what you say you would be due an arrangement payment and on some songs the possibility of a songwriting royalty split, but really it all depends on what was agreed. Have the songs been registered anywhere? What names were on the registration of the songs? Who got credit for what?

Cheers

john

[sarahjaneni]

Hey

What country are you based in?

Your email is not a contract, or at least it is very weak form of contract. How do you sell these CDs? I ask because if you don't trust the singer and the majority of the CDs are sold by direct sale rather than through a shop then you may well be relying on her book keeping anyway... either way to be able to know if you are being fairly paid you would need to inspect the books... additionally with a contract the majority of your earnings would come through collection agencies as you would be due income from a number of potential source (radio, tv, and performance earnings). Access to the books of a business is normally done by agreement within a formal contract. i fear if you don't have that stipulated anywhere then you may well have no luck..

While you are still a member of the band i would suggest compiling the emails into one document, then take it and go to see a music lawyer as a band and working out your contract. It's easier to do this as part of the band than it would be trying to put a contract together after the fact, from the outside.

From what you say you would be due an arrangement payment and on some songs the possibility of a songwriting royalty split, but really it all depends on what was agreed. Have the songs been registered anywhere? What names were on the registration of the songs? Who got credit for what?

Cheers

john

Hi John,

thanks for the reply.

I live in the UK. We were selling the CDs directly and on itunes(i think) until we ran out of them and then we decided to change the album track listing. We have not registered the songs anywhere (as far as I know) but I didn't think you needed to because of automatic ownership of copyright etc. The CDs were professionally made and have a credit listing showing who played what instruments and it also says that the singer is the main writer of all the tracks. Would that not be evidence enough to prove involvement in the project if I left and if so does the fact that the singer is listed as the main writer for the tracks, even if we all played a part in the direction of some of the songs, does it mean me and the other girl would just get our share for performance on the album and not arrangements/writers? What sort of % would a player get on a song he played on, sold on itunes for 70cents? What is the norm? I assume if your a professional session musician and you go for a cut (if offered) instead of a one off fee there must be an average amount expected.

Thanks

Matt

[MikeRobinson]

Hi John,

thanks for the reply.

I live in the UK. We were selling the CDs directly and on itunes(i think) until we ran out of them and then we decided to change the album track listing. We have not registered the songs anywhere (as far as I know) but I didn't think you needed to because of automatic ownership of copyright etc. The CDs were professionally made and have a credit listing showing who played what instruments and it also says that the singer is the main writer of all the tracks. Would that not be evidence enough to prove involvement in the project if I left and if so does the fact that the singer is listed as the main writer for the tracks, even if we all played a part in the direction of some of the songs, does it mean me and the other girl would just get our share for performance on the album and not arrangements/writers? What sort of % would a player get on a song he played on, sold on itunes for 70cents? What is the norm? I assume if your a professional session musician and you go for a cut (if offered) instead of a one off fee there must be an average amount expected.

Thanks

Matt

You obviously neglected some serious copyright-related paperwork issues here. I suggest that you all sit down with an experienced barrister and discuss what paperwork needs to be filed and what your working agreement with regard to these songs should be. You need an explicit, binding contract and all the proper materials in place ... and, you all need (the same) professional attorney consulting closely with you as you do it.

The music deserves this. And, so do you. So do all of you. You apparently are not at each other's throats, yet, but your paperwork is clearly not in order and this could have serious, and entirely avoidable and unnecessary consequences which would be a huge waste of time to all concerned. You need information. You need accurate advice from a qualified professional source. You need someone who knows how to dot all the i's and to cross every one of the t's.

Remember: music is a property of long-lasting value which might well be important "to your children's children." Do it right.

Edited June 10, 2010 by MikeRobinson