This happens way more than you can imagine.
As Mike said, this nothing new and has always been a problem ..

Im not a lawyer and in todays world everyone is sue happy ..So

You have a few choices that I have been witness to in the past.
You can list just yourself as the writer ...Add a letter to your own files of the other writers name and credit him/her with the percentage you think they should have.
If the song gets recorded, list your name and that writers name ,however all of the royalties will come to you. You can put that other writers share into an escrow account. If and when the other writer shows up kicking and screaming, you have their bucks in the escrow waiting for them.You can then amend the copyright.You have shown goodwill and taken care of the money end on behalf of the writer you cant find.There are other ways of doing this, of course.

If it comes to this , gee we all should have this problem that it would be a song that gets recorded.

There are other ways ,as I said ...But this post could go on and on..

A few questions...Do you know if this writer is a member of BMI or ASCAP? If they are, call the writers rep, and tell them your problem...If the writer is a member they will have the contact info. Or you can leave your contact info with them and they will contact the writer.
Do you know what part of the country the writer is in?..Look in information..you might get a number.etc.Do a google search for the name.Go to some other songwriter sites and ask.etc.

Bottom line ...if you are uncomfy with whatever way you choose to go..live with it for a while ...Many ent. lawyers would answer this for you over the phone.

What you donot want is a share of the money going nowhere..meaning a part stays with a publisher, a record company or ASCAP and BMI...It has a habit of fading away ...

Dude...

http://songconsultant.com

Last edited by Dude McLean; 06/20/07 05:44 PM.