Copyright and Publishing (Musician's Union)
I'VE WRITTEN A SONG/RECORDED A DEMO. HOW DO I COPYRIGHT IT?
There is no formal registration of copyright required in the UK. When you create
a piece of work and it is set in a permanent form i.e. it is recorded or written
down (there is no
copyright in an idea), copyright is automatically created. What you do need to
do is show when you created the work.
There are various ways of doing this, but the safest way is register your work
with a place called Stationers' Hall in London who accept tapes or manuscripts
for a period of seven years (renewable). This service costs around £30 plus VAT
but there is a 15% discount available to MU members.
Another thing to remember is always keep a record of who has had access to your
material and on what dates, particularly if you are thinking of sending off your
demo tape to record companies.
I'VE CO-WRITTEN A SONG WITH SOMEBODY, HOW DO WE SPLIT THE
PUBLISHING/SONGWRITING ROYALTIES?
There are no set rules. This has to be discussed and common sense used. Some
bands split all publishing royalties equally amongst all band members,
regardless of who actually wrote the songs. Other bands may have one songwriter
who collects all the publishing royalties. Obviously, if only one person ever
collects the publishing royalties, this can lead to an imbalance of earnings and
frustration on the part of the other band members. The old days of splitting a
song 50/50 (lyrics and music) have gone.
Some people divide it into thirds (lyrics, top line melody and music) but again,
this is just one way of doing it. If you feel you have both made an equal
contribution to the writing process then a 50/50 split would be sensible. If
your contribution was small, then anything from 5% upwards may be right. It's
all down to negotiation.
The Union has co-writers' forms that we can send you to photocopy and use as you
go along. Fill them in for each track as it's written and as soon as you decide
how you want to split the song.
SOMEBODY WANTS TO RECORD MY SONG BUT I DON'T HAVE A PUBLISHER.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
You don't necessarily need a publisher to collect your publishing royalties. All
you need to do is to become a composer-member of the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright
Protection
Society - 0208 769 4400) who will collect and pay publishing royalties generated
from the sale of records/CDs to you direct. You must have a commercial release
imminent in order to join. You may also, at some point, become eligible for
membership of the PRS (Performing Rights Society - 0207 580 5544) who collect
songwriters' royalties generated from the broadcast and public performance of
members' works. It is more difficult to join the PRS (ask them for an
information pack) and it costs approximately £50 (MCPS membership is free,
although they take a small administration charge) but once you meet the
criteria, it is in your interests to join.
WHAT ARE THE STANDARD ROYALTIES PAID BY A RECORD/PUBLISHING
COMPANY?
There are no standard royalties. The Union has leaflets outlining what you might
expect to find in the average recording/publishing agreement but basically
everything is negotiable. Our advice is to get the company to make you an offer
and then submit the contract to the Union for vetting through the Contracts
Advisory Service. Our solicitors will look at the whole agreement and let you
know if you're getting a fair deal.
The same thing applies to management commission. There is an average of around
20% but, again, this is not set in stone and there would be certain
circumstances (covered by a good agreement) where the commission would differ or
even where no commission at all would be payable.
HOW DO I COPYRIGHT MY BAND NAME?
There is no
copyright in a band (or artist) name. That isn't to say you can go and call
yourselves The Rolling Stones or REM. Basically, the only legal action you can
bring against another band using the same name is one of 'passing off'. This
means that you would have to be able to prove that members of the public were
being mislead and paying out to hear or see one band and ending up with another.
This is very difficult to prove.
The Union usually advises common sense negotiation to see if the matter can be
solved between the two bands amicably. It makes no difference who has had the
name longer - it really is a 'first past the post' situation whereby whoever
becomes 'well-known' first (normally whoever signs a record deal first), will be
able to use the name.
There is a National Band Register, a voluntary register set up to try and
minimise the problem - the telephone number is 01734 755396. You can register
the name of your band and check if anybody else is using the same name or
similar. It should be remembered that registering your name does not copyright
it.
I WANT TO USE A SAMPLE OF SOMEBODY ELSE'S RECORD / I WANT TO DO
A COVER VERSION. WHAT SHOULD I DO TO GET PERMISSION?
Contact the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) and ask for their
sample clearance team (0208 769 4400). They should be able to advise you. Even
if you're using just a few notes, you could be sued for copyright infringement.
I'M PERFORMING COVER VERSIONS LIVE. DO I NEED PERMISSION?
You don't need to obtain permission. It is the venue you are performing at that
will need a PRS (Performing Rights Society - 0207 580 5544) licence and who will
be responsible for providing PRS with details of whose songs have been performed
(only PRS 'significant' venues make these returns - but all venues with live
music need to have a PRS licence).
For more information and updates, please do check the Musician's Union website at www.musiciansunion.org.uk .