Search options
"easier to seek forgiveness than receive permission" - you're not married are you? <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing">
No worries - I lecture my teenager about downloading from peer-to-peer sites ALL THE TIME (not that he listens of course - it's my job to nag and his to ignore me <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_rolleyes.gif" border=0 alt="Rolling Eyes"> ) I would never deprive anybody of their paltry 2 cents a track (or whatever it is these days) as I am so in awe of people who write well enough that others WANT to record their music!
My first real songwriting effort was an homage to Burton Cummings, and while I'm sure he'll never hear it I did have occasion to correspond with his mom; she LOVED the lyrics so that made me feel really good. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy"> (when I learned that a mutual friend had introduced B.C. to the woman he married I asked "how could you do this to me?" - he replied "how could I do this to HER!" - good answer...roflmao)
Star Spangled Banner? I love it! That's right up there with singing the lyrics to the Gilligan's Island theme song to the tune of House of the Rising Sun.
You're obviously quite knowledgable about all this business - are you a published songwriter yourself?
A friend of mine claims to know the wife of Murray McLauchlan (that's the Canadian singer/songwriter, not to be confused with Murray McLachlan the British concert pianist <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_confused.gif" border=0 alt="Confused"> ) and when I asked him to make a few calls to try and get me permission to record Murray's "You need a new lover now" he informed me "that's not how it works". He said SOCAN would come after me for royalties if I ever actually made any made performing or from the recording - completely missing the whole fantasy of having Murray be so impressed with my singing that he would perform on or perhaps even produce my debut CD. Some people have NO imagination. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing">
I think it's important to remember that copyright laws vary a great deal from country to country. It's because of the potential for allegations of copyright infringement that a person needs an agent to submit work to a publisher, or so I've been told anyway!
The registered mail thing I heard about from Jack Richardson at a music industry conference in Montreal in 1980 or '81. He advised against paying a fee to any government agency as he opined that it was "a voluntary tax" to do so. (he was the producer who mortgaged his home to bankroll the Guess Who's recording sessions before they became HUGE).
In Canada it's SOCAN that is the arbiter of who's entitled to royalties for what material - actually I think there are two agencies now that I think about it but it's the middle of the night and I'm having a "menopause moment".
Here's the bottom line boys and girls - nobody sings "Happy Birthday" in restaurants anymore because that song is not YET in the public domain and the restaurant chains are unwilling to pay royalties. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_confused.gif" border=0 alt="Confused">
Posts found: 3
