JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum VH1 Contest for Original Singers/Songwriters

Tamera,

If you recall in my last email to you, I specifically told you that I was giving you advice as a friend, not as something connected to JPF. But the JPF position HAS to be to inform people what they are ACTUALLY giving up. Once you indicated that you were comfortable giving up all rights to the song simply for the chance to enter it, that was the end of the discussion. But for those who may not understand what that really means, it's important to let them know.

People carelessly enter into agreements all the time. Nearly every digital site these days has an unfair and unreasonable contract you have to sign just to post things on their site. Some have no ill intent, but that doesn't mean they still don't own or control your work anyway. As Stu said above (and Stu IS a qualified Entertainment Attorney) just because this company may not choose to do anything with the music that was entered, it does NOT mean they don't have the contractual agreement to do so later. If someone enters this contest now and 2 years from now is able to license that song somewhere (TV, movie, another contest even) technically they don't have the right to do so and would owe any money collected (plus possible damages) to the new rightful owner which is MTVN. You chose to give the song away, and for you that was fine, but that doesn't mean the majority of others should blindly do the same. Most folks would not choose to do so and most lawyers would caution against doing so. That's what JPF does. The contract is too one sided. Only 1 song can win which means all the other songs will get nothing in return for the rights to their song. Just because YOU believe you can get away with it because you didn't sign a piece of paper doesn't mean others should blindly take that same risk. Whether you like it or not, you no longer control the rights to your song. They do. When this contest is over, you can't sign a deal for it with someone else without violating their rights. Why it makes you angry for that truth to be discussed is unknown. You are fully aware of what you did. Others need to be also so they can make the right decision for themselves.

And for those who emailed me and asked who "Tamera" actually is and what winning song is involved, we didn't reveal or discuss who it was on purpose. If she wants to tell anyone, that is up to her. It's her right to do what she wants with her song and it's our right to discuss the ramifications of signing that deal and give our opinions to our members about what that really means.

Brian