Copyright AFTER Band Splits?

[akg414]

I've been in a band for 3+ years and wrote about 80% of the MUSIC on our CD that just came out. We split up one day before the CD arrived at our door.

Me and the drummer are on our own now and I've taken my songs with me. I'm writing new lyrics for my music.

My question is: Can I copyright the songs I wrote to protect myself against any future success the other guys might enjoy since they insist on using the songs I wrote?

[P.P.T.]

You wrote them, so they are yours.
I think you can copyright them.

The performances on the cd represent a different thing than a song copyright.

When royalties are paid, there is a performance royalty and a separate publishing royalty that only goes to the song writers. The performance is owned by the band.

I doubt that they have any legal right to insist on using the songs that you wrote. If they do use them and you have the coyright, you would recieve publishing royalties if you allowed them to use the songs.

If you intend to confront them in a serious way about not using the songs you should probably copyright them first before they get the idea to copyright them and claim them.

Considering how much work goes into working out full song arrangements and rehearsing them to the point of making good recordings, I can understand that the other guys would feel put out by being cut out of the songs that they put so much work into. Even if someone else wrote the songs.
Maybe you could come to some sort of compromise situation with them?

Even if you copyright them at this late date you might have trouble convincing a court that you were the writer unless you have some sort of solid proof.

You can copyright them as a collection for about $30.
The copyright office has a website that explains it all.

Good luck.

[whomper]

Originally Posted by akg414

I've been in a band for 3+ years and wrote about 80% of the MUSIC on our CD that just came out. We split up one day before the CD arrived at our door.

Me and the drummer are on our own now and I've taken my songs with me. I'm writing new lyrics for my music.

My question is: Can I copyright the songs I wrote to protect myself against any future success the other guys might enjoy since they insist on using the songs I wrote?

short answer is NO

lawyers will argue both ways
chances are this is considered a collaboration under the law
and all of you have equal rights to copyright

you can REGISTER the copyright
that does not mean you own it exclusively
or that it is valid

from what you say they can keep using the old stuff
and you cant do anything abuot it except cause yourself problems and waste a lot of money on attorneys

move on
write new stuff

next time
get it in WRITING , signed first , before you do note 1
and have a lawyer write it !!

[tiberius]

I think you can copyright what you wrote.
If you collaborated with anyone on say lyrics either agree a percentage with them or re-write them.
If they've written a cool bass line or whatever that you still want to use
similarly you'll have to negotiate, otherwise change it.
I've been in a similar situation but it hasn't turned ugly. I've used
songs in a band from a band that split and took what i wrote - eg the
nucleus of the songs the melody, lyrics and guitar parts. I just hope that the
new guys write equally good bass lines and drum parts and don't let the
new guys hear the original version of the song - so they don't 'lift' anything.

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by whomper

next time
get it in WRITING , signed first , before you do note 1
and have a lawyer write it !!

This is the kicker right here. For a collaborative effort, such as yours, do all the nasty paperwork and agreements beforehand (yeah, yeah, hindsight is 20/20).

[jagcmos]

Originally Posted by TonyB

This is the kicker right here. For a collaborative effort, such as yours, do all the nasty paperwork and agreements beforehand (yeah, yeah, hindsight is 20/20).

Sign here, here, here and here. Hold up your right hand and repeat this pledge.
Cool - now let's write some kick ass music.

Sorta takes the fun out of it....

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by jagcmos

Sign here, here, here and here. Hold up your right hand and repeat this pledge.
Cool - now let's write some kick ass music.

Sorta takes the fun out of it....

Welcome to the music bizzness!

[P.P.T.]

"If they've written a cool bass line or whatever that you still want to use
similarly you'll have to negotiate, otherwise change it."

I don't think parts of an arrangement can be copyrighted.
The laws on music are very odd.
You can write a simple 5 note melodic fragment and a few words and copyright it, and collect a royalty for it, but all the rest of the work that makes it into a recording worth listening to is not copyrightable.
It does offer a performance royalty.

[tiberius]

Originally Posted by P.P.T.

"If they've written a cool bass line or whatever that you still want to use similarly you'll have to negotiate, otherwise change it."

I don't think parts of an arrangement can be copyrighted.
The laws on music are very odd.
You can write a simple 5 note melodic fragment and a few words and copyright it, and collect a royalty for it, but all the rest of the work that makes it into a recording worth listening to is not copyrightable.
It does offer a performance royalty.

However, you can do an instrumental version of your work and copyright that.
Then all details of the arrangement are copyrighted

[whomper]

Originally Posted by P.P.T.

"If they've written a cool bass line or whatever that you still want to use
similarly you'll have to negotiate, otherwise change it."

I don't think parts of an arrangement can be copyrighted.
The laws on music are very odd.
You can write a simple 5 note melodic fragment and a few words and copyright it, and collect a royalty for it, but all the rest of the work that makes it into a recording worth listening to is not copyrightable.
It does offer a performance royalty.

not if it was a collaboration
everybody has all rights to do anything and everything

once you mix things you will not be able to claim it was not collaboration unless you have signed agreements beforehand

you can copyright anything you fix in a medium

5 notes is adequate

whether the courts will uphold it depends whether somebody else did it first . whether you can use someone elses notes in a BIG composition and not get sued (successfully) is an open question

never heard of your example. can you provide an actual case for it? you can register a copyright anything you send in.

as to copyrighting - that happens the instant you fixed your creation in a medium - write, photo, sound/score
and that is separate from the registration