A LIL' SOMETHING FOR SONGWRITERS

Disclaimer: The aim of this article is information and enlightenment; please consult a solicitor for individual professional advice.


A LIL' SOMETHING FOR SONGWRITERS

A songwriter is usually one of the most important persons in the process of bringing a song to life. In acknowledgement of the usually unknown (relatively) heroes, here's a little something.

In Nigeria, the artiste is usually d songwriter, and so this may generally simplify a lot of things, at least where a regular pop song is concerned. However, there are always people who write songs and do not actually perform them or record them, they just 'give' them out or 'sell' them. And of course, they're those who write songs not just for regular pop radio, but also for films, movies and commercials.

Songwriters can get a wealth of useful and practical information from so many entries on this blog. However, I'd like to briefly mention an area of songwriting that may be a little knotty: the area of 'Works for Hire'

In terms of songwriting, a song is a WORK FOR HIRE where a person (corporate body or individual) commissions a songwriter to write a song specifically for them for a person, product, service or event. In that situation the ownership of the song (including its present and future revenue) belongs to the person who commissions it, and does not belong to the songwriter. In such an arrangement, the writer is paid a one-time fee for the composition, but he/she then sacrifices all ownership of the song.

Some songwriters may not be pleased with this arrangement, and may want to retain rights to their song, its use and its revenue, current and expected. There's nothing wrong with wanting the creative control and financial payback for one's efforts. However, once the agreement is that the song is being written for another person, then the songwriter should be aware that he/she may be letting go of its ownership.

Since some works for hire may not be called or defined as such (sometimes, even the person commissioning it may not be aware of the term), both parties, especially the songwriter should be careful to put the agreement on paper and read the fine print. Or better still, get an intellectual property lawyer or practitioner to review it.

All the best. Keep on churning out more songs for us (just keep the trash out, please).



Copyright 2011 Tinukemi Alabi
Questions/Comments: tinukemi@gmail.com