JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Industry Message Forum Copyright Issues....Ignorance or Thievery

hey... some great advice here... a couple of thoughts from me...

1) the lyrics may have been bandied about, tweaking, re-written, etc so that they are a joint item

2) but you wrote the music

I suggest, renaming the piece and making it an instrumental only (or writing new words).

BEFORE you do that, I would contact this other person IN WRITING and inform them that, since they have chosen to remove their contribution to the song and go elsewhere, you are free to do whatever you want with the music/melody. I'd get them to sign an agreement.

In the future, always sign a co-writing agreement. It should clearly spell out any revision clause.

I've done a number of collabs and always state up front that I expect to sign an agreement and send a draft to the co-writer for approval & then we both sign. Once the work is done to our satisfaction, I always make sure it is copyrighted as per our agreement.

Lastly, in my view, the co-writer in this instance is in the wrong. You contributed far more than the melody. He/she is not free to just yank the re-written lyrics and get someone else to write music. You could concievably, if the 'new' song makes money, claim a portion of that for yourself. But, if there isn't any income coming from the 'new' or 'old' song, seeing an entertainment lawyer and establish your rights could be costly.

I hope that makes some sense. This is all just opinion, by the way. If you are really concerned, then either see a lawyer, or get an agreement signed now so you can get on with your creative life.

cheers
Hummin'bird

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Vikki Flawith, Canadian Singer/Songwriter & Voice Teacher

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