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Other music and off-topic => Any off-topic beyond music => Topic started by: kevcollard on January 12, 2016, 08:17:51 PM

Title: Songwriting business questions
Post by: kevcollard on January 12, 2016, 08:17:51 PM
hello!!! i'm new here. i normally write songs on my own for fun or with my band. here you guys are a lot more knowledgable and i have a few questions that since im a newbie in all this i don't quite understand.
for example. i write a song and i want todf2 sell it to an artist, first i copyright it, but after that i don't know where to go from there. i heard that as a songwriter you need to be with BMI or ASCAP or something similar, and that your song needs to be in a publishing company but i don't understand that. i hope that anyone can help me here, im quite intrigued by it. thanks in advance!!!
Title: Re: Songwriting business questions
Post by: J_A24 on January 25, 2016, 05:07:01 AM
Quote from: kevcollard on January 12, 2016, 08:17:51 PM
hello!!! i'm new here. i normally write songs on my own for fun or with my band. here you guys are a lot more knowledgable and i have a few questions that since im a newbie in all this i don't quite understand.
for example. i write a song and i want todf2 sell it to an artist, first i copyright it, but after that i don't know where to go from there. i heard that as a songwriter you need to be with BMI or ASCAP or something similar, and that your song needs to be in a publishing company but i don't understand that. i hope that anyone can help me here, im quite intrigued by it. thanks in advance!!!

You don't need to be in a publishing company. You can self-publish (you'd own the writer's share and publishing share). You just register your song on ASCAP, SESAC or BMI and enter the splits.

If you "sell" a song, you should define what you're selling. The publisher's share (partially or completely), the writer's share (partially or completely) or all of it.
Title: Re: Songwriting business questions
Post by: soundoffhear on February 18, 2016, 07:06:50 AM
Quote from: J_A24 on January 25, 2016, 05:07:01 AM

If you "sell" a song, you should define what you're selling. The publisher's share (partially or completely), the writer's share (partially or completely) or all of it.

It's not possible to sell a writer's share. Common misconception.
Title: Re: Songwriting business questions
Post by: J_A24 on February 18, 2016, 09:33:13 PM
Quote from: soundoffhear on February 18, 2016, 07:06:50 AM
It's not possible to sell a writer's share. Common misconception.

Yes you can. You can come to an agreement with your publisher to dig into your writer's share to cover even some unrelated expenses. You can sell your catalogue in which you also sell your writer's share. In music licensing, there are buyout deals ect.

Those old copyright laws don't hold much ground nowadays. I mean yeah they do, but a lot of people just do what's convenient to their own party.
Title: Re: Songwriting business questions
Post by: soundoffhear on February 19, 2016, 03:06:41 AM
You can 'license' your writer's share to transfer the financial gain from you as a party to another party. That is what you are describing. The copyright can never be transferred. It will always be legally bound to the writer/writers.
Title: Re: Songwriting business questions
Post by: j.fco.morales on February 19, 2016, 02:55:19 PM
Quote from: J_A24 on February 18, 2016, 09:33:13 PM
Yes you can. You can come to an agreement with your publisher to dig into your writer's share to cover even some unrelated expenses. You can sell your catalogue in which you also sell your writer's share. In music licensing, there are buyout deals ect.

Those old copyright laws don't hold much ground nowadays. I mean yeah they do, but a lot of people just do what's convenient to their own party.

A simple example: Michael Jackson bought the whole Beatles catalogue.
As far as I know, you can be the owner for 50 years and then prescribes.
Title: Re: Songwriting business questions
Post by: soundoffhear on February 20, 2016, 04:31:16 AM
Michael Jackson bought the publishing side of a lot of the Beatles songs. The writer's share is still maintained by Lennon and McCartney's respective estates.

Every song has 100% publishing royalties and 100% writer's royalties. The writer's ownership can never be sold, only the publishing.