A few notes on Collaborating

Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 3:15 am

In an industry full of theives, it's vital that when sharing your music with someone, you be cautious. But how?

Well first step would be to copyright your material. Ok, so there is some lay out of cash, and in the UK is doesn't seem to be as important as it is in the States, which I think is wrong. We should all take pride in our work and want to protect it.

One easy way is personal copyright...© next to your track, lyric...that's ALT. 0 1 6 9.
But this will not protect you in a court, so having your music © in the eyes of the law is vastly important.

Follow this link to find out more about copyrighting music etc: MUSIC COPYRIGHT

Once this is out of the way ask yourself this: Do you really want to collab?
Many jump in seeing it as an easy way to write THAT song. But sometimes creative differences can be a burden.
Ask yourself some personal questions:

:Are you open to suggestions?
:Can you compromise?
:Are you willing to share profit/fees?

If it all goes wrong you will be right back where you started or involved in a battle to get your song back because once the colab starts both parties are owners of that song.

Don't just collab with anyone. Get to know people first. Going in blind can lead to all sorts of problems, not least you loosing a lyric/music piece you never placed under copyright. Hold conversations on the likes of : MSN MESSENGER and develop a good repetoire with your potential collab partners.

So take care, be cautious and be respectful too. No one wants to work with an ignorant SOB.

Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 5:08 am

Thanks for the informative post Brooksy! I definately agree that most artists don't have a firm understanding of the legal aspect of the business. Is that site for UK? I'm sure the laws are different in other parts of the world. Maybe I'll try and compile some links to music-law from around globe as a reference for bands. Thanks for sparking my thought process!!!!

Ron

Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 5:13 am

He's an American laywer, Ron. Wink

Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 5:15 am

He could certainly use a new web page, LOL...

Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 5:25 am

Make one for him...in return he represents all UBW artists for free Laughing

ubw newbie Joined: Jan 11, 2006 Posts: 15

it's good to see that you guys care enough to let everyone know about the music biz. Keep posting the TRUTH! Let's just hope they read it.

DAY

http://www.unsignedbandweb.com/music/bands/6269/
www.myspace.com/amonrawrecords

ubw newbie Joined: Apr 19, 2006 Location: Israel Posts: 4

more power to you guys!!
no one thinks it's important to protect their stuff untill something happens, but you never know, and it only makes sense; if you think your stuff is so good, why don't you think some asshole won't think it's good enough to steal...

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 1:16 am

It is my understanding that a song/lyric/creation is copyright the moment ts is fixed in a TANGIBLE media (i.e. written, published, documented performance, etc). The rest of the "legal" process is the mechanics of proving WHO created it, and when.

If I published an original lyric on this website (with my name and copyright info), would that not prove it? Anyone who came along later and tried to claim it would not be able to prove an earlier date, and simply registering it with the copyright office or royalty organizations would not do that. The internet is a useful publishing tool in that it leaves a trail with ISP's and servers that can be used later to verify dates and content (ask the people who were succesfully prosecuted for copyright violations in sharing mp3's).

I know of a few other ways:

-the "poor man's copyright" - sending yourself a registered and sealed document in the mail. (not recommended by my lawyer)
-publishing your works in the classifieds in the newspaper. (my lawyer liked this one)
-performing/displaying to an audience, and having it well documented on film/video. Any/all of the audience can be used to validate the film/video as authentic (again, my lawyer liked this, he would get alot of billable hours doing affadavits!)

Collaborating/co-writing can be the most rewarding experience for a songwriter, young or old. The key, as mentioned in the comments above, is to get to know the person(s) you are going to work with. Be very open in your communications, discuss the details of your copyrights on the shared material. You will need to assign a split or % of each piece you do. If someone is not willing to talk about it beforehand, then don't work with them. And don't let them tell you "we'll figure it out later". Be sure that everything you contribute is well documented.

I collaborate by email, and CC my lawyer on all of my emails. The people I work with also do the same (one girl uses her father). At the point when we are close to completing a work, we stop and do the % splits. If the work is to be recorded or published, the next step is to fill out the royalty forms (in Canada that is SOCAN). You can write or call your local rep and have all the forms mailed out to you. They aren't in the copyright business, they are in the ROYALTY business, so don't assume that because you filled out the forms you can prove your copyright. CYA!!!

I have found too many people who see the need to "guard" their material so tightly that it never gets heard or seen. So then what is the point of creating works if you cannot display them and share them with the rest of the world? I would personally take the risk of being ripped off, if that means my creations reach many ears instead of just my own.

That's my 2 bits, I guess. Happy collaborating! Very Happy

Cliff

ps. check out this video:

http://homerecording.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fmirrors.creativecommons.org%2Fgetcreative%2F

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:30 pm

Thanks for the info cliff, very helpful!!!

ubw newbie Joined: Jul 11, 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 10

Aye Indeed Very Helpfull

Im glad i have thought of this for everything i have done, even stuff i did 10 years ago is copywrited in 2 ways. First sending a mail to my self with the songs, text's etc. And then joined 2 music organisation called STIM and FEMA

Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 4:39 pm

Sending yourself a registered letter used to be considered an acceptable method, but most courts today will NOT recognize it if you are trying to establish/defend a copyright date. For the few dollars it costs, put them in an ad in the classifieds in your localnewspaper. The newspaper will keep records of their publishings indefinitely (now that we are in the digital realm) and can issue copies for a nominal fee.

Registering your songs with a rights organization does not protect your copyright, or establish it. These organizations are designed to collect and distribute royalties to writers and publishers.

Publish your songs!!! That is how you establish your copyright!

CliffPC

ubw newbie Joined: Mar 10, 2007 Posts: 20

good info, good website!

_________________________
www.limelightradio.com

number 1 for unsigned artists and bands!

A few notes on Collaborating

UBW Resources

Music Forums

Music Forums

Partners