what do you call your Composition: in a band situation for a SONG.
i think= if it is a song that includes bass, drums guitars or any other instrument harmonies and the person who wrote the chord structure, melody and all the instrument parts,and all his ideas are played exactly the way he wrote them.
now
1 if the person comes up with a complete chord progression and a complete melody with no other instruments arranged or composed by him lke especially the drums, guitar solo, other instrument harmonies. and the rest of the band works on it to make it a complete song. Is it still the composition of that person who came up with in the first place.
2 if the person comes up with a complete chord progression and melody but later some parts of it like the verses are changed (along with the chord progessions)by other band members and keep the rest as it was.
then whose composition is it.
3 if the person comes up with a complete chord progession and melody which requires other instrument harmonies and guitar solo . whose composition is it.
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actually i have written down questions for a sort of agreement t
actually i have written down questions for a sort of agreement to know their vision. and the link you provided me, i found it a few days ago when i was searching for the articles like band agreements. and it is very useful infact i chose a lot of questions from that form as well.
and it's not like that fame is my first priority so thats why im curious thinking something like these questions its only because when i do work hard i deserve some respect at least from the people that im working with
and also want my band members to be aware of what they are doing for the band.
and also why i asked the "my composition" thing. because i wasn't sure how should i define my work i.e what i have done on the song.
as things are becoming clearer i believe, i'm producing,composing,song writing and arranging for my band.
also when i was searching for the band agreement article. i found that
"it should be decided who owns the right to the song."
if someone comes up with an incomplete idea and rest of us work on it who owns the right?
also i found out the difference between a Project, corporation, partnership
and many other things.
i just need all of us be responsible. not just me thinking and searching for answers and i believe putting forward an agreement will solve a lot of things . Thanks for the reply
Who owns the right? Ask your bandmates, and see what they say!
Who owns the right?
Ask your bandmates, and see what they say! :D
If they don't own any rights, then they are pretty much session musicians, and should get payed for what they do. If they own rights, then then can be considered bandmembers, and get payed by royalties (when they come).
Most bands don't have this sorted out, which is why many bands fall apart because of money issues.
I recently spoke with a lawyer in San Fran that deals alot with bands, many of them pretty well known. Things can get INSANELY complicated, especially when the rights aren't divided equally. (say you own 60% and the rest own 40%) Who has greater say? How is the money divided? If you can meet with a lawyer, DO SO. But make sure you go to one who has experience in music business...
If you are serious about your music you should take a course (or
If you are serious about your music you should take a course (or study it onyour own) about the Copyrights Laws, etc...
I am going to attempt to be very simple and very brief:
1) chord progressions are NOT covered by Copyrights in and of themselves.
2) Melody and/or Lyrocs IS/ARE always protected by Copyrights
3) If ANYONE is present during the writing of such melody/lyrics they ALL share the copyright.
4) Arrangement is a separate Copyright and is NOT integral part of a composition per se. When recording, for example, arrangement will be implied by the word PRODUCTION.
5) Copyright of the SONG (music and lyrics) is SEPARATE from the PRODUCTION and it is also separate from, for exampe, the RECORDING fo such song.
That means if someone RECORDS a band (and has wirtten PERMISSION to do so) the RECORDING is Copyright of the owner of the RECORDING. THis has NOTHING to do with the COMPOSITIONS contained in the recording and/or the right to publish such recording.
6) PUBLISHING is TOTALLLY separate from COPYRIGHT. You will have to fill out proper forms as to define who gets what percentage if/when the SONG gets published. YOu will also have to join ASCAP/BMI or other company as it exist where you live.
7) Different uses of the song will require different types of publishing (mechanical/synch/performance, etc...) agreements/licenses.
things are now getting clearer to me ,this tells me all those qu
things are now getting clearer to me ,this tells me all those questions i've been writing down , iam doing the right thing. im going to make them clear about myself.
otherwise i canot proceed like that with them. like coming up with a song and then deciding what to do with the rights.
i really appreciate all your advices and information tnank you very much.
Best thing to do is to figure this out within the band. But the
Best thing to do is to figure this out within the band. But the way I see it, the bass line, drum parts and solos do not consist of composition. I consider them arrangements. Vocals are also considered arrangement MOST of the time, but it can vary, depending on the piece.
If the song structure is changed, it's arrangements (usually that's what the producer does) The composer is usually the one who comes up with the core idea. Things get more complicated if it's just a riff, and everything is built up around that.
Again, talk about this with your bandmates. And don't be afraid to put stuff on paper. Who gets what credit. It can get complicated, but if your bandmates don't understand, think about what they actually want from the band. I cannot tell you the times I helped write a song, produce it and clean it up, all uncredited, because I felt that it would make the song sound better, might be a hit, and I engineered it. You gotta love the music, not the fame...