Jun 30, 2005 12:00 pm Christian or not makes no difference, it's business...and just like secular music, it's their living, they make their mortgage payments with their music, so they should charge just like anybody else.
Some Copy-Rights are just BULL
Posted on Jun 30, 2005 11:49 am
vdalehubbard
Lost for words with all to say.
Contributor Since: Sep 12, 2003
Okay, the EP I have been working on for a VERY long time is about done. So, I decided to look into copyrights for the songs that we didn't write ourselves just to go about it the "right" way. So, after emailing artist's websites to see if I could get any reply, one of them emailed back with a site to go too, wwww.musicservices.org. This site looks like any song that was distrubited out of Nashville, TN, you go through these guys for copyrights. Now, this is dealing with the Christian music scene and we play mostly music that has came out of the UK area. So, I know UK bands go through Nashville mostly to get their CD sold here in the US. If you go look at this site, you will notice they have "rates". They charge you $0.085 per copy, per song. This isn't a lot of money I know. But if you are doing 150 copies like I am, it will total up to $63.75. Majority of Christian artist, I hope, won't care to charge money for their music to be used. I know if I had a song that people all over the world wanted to sing, I wouldn't charge. In the first place,I know the artist actually get this money I'm paying to TN, right? It just has me thinking right now. I think it's Nashville, music city of the world, cashing in on every area they can.
[ Back to Top ]
Jun 30, 2005 12:00 pm Christian or not makes no difference, it's business...and just like secular music, it's their living, they make their mortgage payments with their music, so they should charge just like anybody else.
Jun 30, 2005 12:55 pm Yep...it costs money to use other people's music. Thankfully.
When my band released its CD, we bought the rights to use songs through the Harry Fox agency:
www.songfile.com
8 cents per song, per CD, minimum of 500. That's $40 per song that we didn't write.
Seems like a small price to pay to record songs by the likes of Lennon & McCartney and The Eagles!
Jim
Jun 30, 2005 12:59 pm I dunno, I have never recorded a song by anyone else. Well, not for anything but fun anyway, never for release. I never would. I understand the logic behind playing others songs live, in a coverband type of setting, as coverbands on a small local level often have easier times getting gigs and almost always pay better, but, what, may I boldly ask, is the point of any band trying to cut demos, get gigs and make a break for themselves, recording cover songs for CD release. Isn't a band better served spreading around their own music?
I will never understand the attraction of playing other peoples music. I did the cover band thing for a while, like most everybody, but I grew so bored of it I chose to not play at all before doing that again...I guess I just don't get it.
Jun 30, 2005 01:19 pm My bad guys, I forgot a part in my rant there. The woman who contacted me about this site said that their label goes through this site in the states. Matt (guy who wrote the song and her husband) doesn't mind at all who uses it. So, I figured I'm okay with his song but the other 4 I got to worry about. I just see these labels making money on it that I don't feel like the writer is getting any of it. If I knew they got it, no problem here.
Jun 30, 2005 01:24 pm Quote:
guy who wrote the song and her husband
wa? :-D
Quote:
I just see these labels making money on it that I don't feel like the writer is getting any of it.
And welcome to the music industry, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all time and wear your safety device.
Often, when a label signs you, you no longer have say over that stuff, you don't own it, the label does.
Jun 30, 2005 01:33 pm hahaha! I mean, it's the guy's wife that contacted me.
Yes....label owns it, the old sign your life away in that contract!
Jun 30, 2005 01:40 pm "I will never understand the attraction of playing other peoples music"
Personally, I think people play others music to make money. I wouldn't do it myself, but I can see the attraction.
Many, many times when I'm playing some of my older LP's my daughter says "they didn't write that did they? This is <insert band name here>"
It has been going on forever. Sad thing is the remakes are often more successful (although I haven't researched any of this).
Love Hurts - Nazereth
Leaving on a jet plane - Chantel Kreviasuk <sp>
Sweet Jane - Cowboy Junkies
etc, etc
Even Phil Collins is doing it. I mean he is a great writer, why would he record a remake of True Colors?? I don't get it.
Jun 30, 2005 01:45 pm Actually, I wasn't really referring to established musicians covering each other, to me, that makes more sense, as does the making money, which I stated regarding it being easier to get better paying gigs with covers...I have done that, most people have.
My basic point was little folks in the biz, like most of us are, going to a the trouble and time of actually recording a cover for release. At that stage of a career I would think most people would want to focus on getting a fan base around your own music.
Jun 30, 2005 01:50 pm "At that stage of a career I would think most people would want to focus on getting a fan base around your own music."
I couldn't agree more. Although the occasional "tribute" band will do "ok". IMO this is the only time a "new" band should be doing cover stuff. If you want to play anywhere else other than the local "watering hole" you gotta do your own tunes.
Jun 30, 2005 02:08 pm ARGH, tribute bands I find even lower on the musical scale than cover bands...I know a couple and most of them, even though being full grown adults, can't get over this juvenial idolization of the bands they tribute...it's almost erie...
If a band is set on tributes or covers, thats fine, as long as they know their identity as a cover/tribute band and don't make themselves out to be any more than that and think they'll be some sort of huge rock stars. Hell, any musician can play a song somebody else already did the hard work for, to write it. PLAYING music isn't hard...writing it is...
That may sound arrogant or rude to cover/tribute band members, though it's not meant to, just reality...it's not like I can say I am some great superior musician myself...I just chose my road...as does everybody.
Jun 30, 2005 02:38 pm I don't really see what difference there is between an established aritst, or unknown doing cover songs. In fact it makes more sense to me for an unknown to do it than an established one. I'm not talking about a CD full of covers, but 1 or 2 on a CD can be what gets an unknown noticed. Heck the Beatles first 3 albums were full of covers, it didn't hurt them any and many of them people associate the song with the Beatles more than the original artist.
I'm trying to put a CD together this year and I'm pretty sure I'm going include 1 or 2 covers, though I would/will probably do more obscure tunes. My motivations are:
a. There are songs I just really dig, that I'd like to do and its fun.
b. I'm going to do my own interpretation of the song(s)
c. If I actually get around to trying to sell a CD, there is no denying that you can't sell anything that no ones knows about, with a good cover of a popular band/artist people are more likely to at least check it out, out of sheer curiosity, giving them opportunity to hear your original material along with it.
d. It helps you fill the CD the up. :)
I agree with Jim, 8 cents per song, per CD is cheap to be able to include songs done by the greatest artists around if your so inclined. I mean if the song isn't worth 8 cents, you probaby don't really want to include it that bad and shouldn't. ;)
Dan
Jun 30, 2005 08:52 pm I bought this CD by John Ringer(some unknown dood), he recreated stravinsky's rite of spring with electric guitar, bass and drum programming. totally ******* awesome!!
Jul 01, 2005 08:57 am It all depends on your motivation for putting out a CD in the first place. If your main purpose is to represent yourself as a songwriter and creator of your own music, then of course it would make no sense to record covers of other people's music. But if your intention is to represent what you do at your live shows, then the CD needs to contain a variety of things...whatever you do live.
Our Cutaways CD has about 5 originals and about as many covers. The familiar covers are there to sell the CD and to represent what we do on stage. The originals are there to show that we can create or own music as well. I think it's win-win, and that each type of song compliments the other.
That being said, we haven't sold many CDs, but that's another story...
Jul 01, 2005 08:59 am Quote:
It all depends on your motivation for putting out a CD in the first place.
fair point.
|
Related Forum Topics: |
If you would like to participate in the forum discussions, feel free to register for your free membership.