Band member Leaves do they control songs?

Aug 08, 2010, 03:38 PM

We have a band that was put together, a few months ago we had a singer who we hired to join the band and wrote a song as a group, but we broke up for a while got back together with a different singer now she says she owns the chorus to the one song. We sent her an email offering credit, but she turned down credit but is insisting we can change the chrous as she says thats what she wrote and she a has a recording of one of the days we were writing the song. There is not contract or papers, but she’s telling us to take down the youtube videos from our performance. What rights do we have?

Aug 08, 2010, 10:40 PM

Copyright law ‘endows’ the creator of a piece of intellectual property with the exclusive ‘right’ to ‘copy’ their property from the moment it is set in ‘fixed form.’

Whoever wrote words, however few or many, ‘owns’ the copyright for those words. More than one writer means they are co-writers, with a general practice of equal shares of ownership.

Whoever composed melody to sing those words owns the copyright for that melody, however many or few notes they may have contributed, in equal shares. The lyric and melody comprise a song, and all co-writers are generally considered to own equal shares.

Once the owners contribute their word or words or note or notes to the composition it is generally-accepted practice to maintain the composition as a whole. If it has been registered with the copyright office I would consider it a ‘marriage’ without the ‘until death’ clause; in other words, forever.

If it’s not registered, and the attitude is hostile, I recommend allowing the aggrieved party to have her contribution and rewriting to replace the lost lines.

An alternative is to try to get agreement for all parties to continue the joint ownership, and keep the song intact, moving forward to possible play in a revenue-generating venue, radio, internet, TV or movie synchronization, and sales of CD’s. Each ‘owner’ can pursue their own releases.

A third alternative is to abandon the song altogether.

Aug 08, 2010, 10:51 PM

Thanks Gary, I’ve been reading up and the songs we worked on actually weren’t finished when she left the band, so we’ve changed a few things in the song around and we’re going to be recording it in a demo, which I think is when it’s “in fixed form” so she really doesn’t have any say cause it’s a different chorus now. Yes?

Aug 10, 2010, 07:45 AM

Fixed form can be as simple as written on paper. Recording is also fixed form.

If no word of the exiting songwriter remains, in the disputed chorus or anywhere else, and no melody created by her remains, you should be clear.

If you have recordings to prove that it would be wise to preserve them in case she disputes it later. Make a file, formal like a company taking care of business. Keep contemporaneous notes of the dispute thus far and if anything further unfolds, and what you have done to eliminate the other party’s contributions.

It would be wise to register the finished work with http://www.copyright.gov

Aug 10, 2010, 12:18 PM

I would suggest dumping the song and replacing it with another. In these situations it can be MUCH easier to divest all vestiges of an unsatisied member. It will never be resolved to anyone’s satisfaction. You can always write more songs.

MAB

Aug 11, 2010, 06:52 PM

http://www.songwriter101.com/forums/viewthread/84249/ Good thread by Darlene on “Cowriters’ Rights.”