The State of the Music Biz Nation

By Fate Sensation

Issue #06 (December 2006/Janaury 2007)

1-28-07

This issue is for the songwriters among us...

Procol Harum Keyboardist Wins Royalty Dispute

In a recent English court ruling, Matthew Fisher, the former keyboard player with the rock band Procol Harum, won a share of future earnings from the band's best known song, "A Whiter Shade of Pale." Fisher successfully argued he wrote the organ music to the song and was entitled to co-ownership of the copyright with lead singer Gary Brooker, who is credited as the writer. The song was released in 1967.

Brooker's lawyer issued the following statement: "[t]he repercussions of this decision are so far-reaching that any musician who has ever played on any recording in the last 40 years may now have a potential claim of joint authorship."

Fate Sensation knows a very simple way to avoid this scenario. But first let's review…

In the United States, copyright law provides that without a written agreement stating otherwise, each contributor to a song is entitled to an equal share of ownership and royalties. Each co-owner can also enter into nonexclusive licensing deals involving the song without permission from the other owners.

So what should smart songwriters do? For songs they write with other people, they should have a written contract specifying who owns what percentage of the song, who will receive what percentage of the royalties and who has the right to enter into licensing deals. All session musicians and other contributors who are not copyright owners of the song should sign a release specifying their contribution is provided on a work-for-hire basis and does not entitle them to co-ownership or royalties.

Mary J. Blige And Music Publishing

In a recent Performing Songwriter interview, Mary J. Blige was quoted as follows:  "I didn't know what this music business was about, and I let everybody around me do everything. I just loved to sing, it was the only thing that freed me. Then I started writing on My Life [her second album]. I wrote the majority of that album and didn't get any credit for it. But that's cool. It was like that for years, until I started figuring out how important publishing is."

Fate Sensation agrees that music publishing is very important!

So what is it? Music publishing is most simply the business of selling songs (or, more specifically, the licensing of the copyright to the song [which is represented by the symbol ©]). Unless they are writing on a work-for-hire basis, songwriters own the rights to the songs they compose. They often choose to sign contracts licensing the rights to their songs to music publishing companies. The music publisher's job is to maximize the income generated by the songs. The money earned by the music publisher is typically split 50/50 with songwriter.

What are some of the key sources of income for songwriters (and their music publishers)? Mechanical royalties are paid by record labels and independent artists when they release a recording of a song. Currently, the rate is 9.1¢ per copy of the song sold or manufactured (or 1.75¢ per minute if the song is longer than 5 minutes). Performance royalties are collected by performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI and SESAC) from live venues, radio and television broadcasters and foreign movie theaters for the rights to “publicly perform” the song. Songwriters need to join one of the performing rights organizations to receive performance royalties. Additional royalties can be generated by licensing songs for use in movies, television shows, videos, commercials and video games.

In this time of dwindling CD sales and exploitive record label contracts, music publishing is becoming a more important source of income. If you are a songwriter, it is imperative you educate yourself about this part of the business. Fate Sensation hopes this brief overview helps.

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