who owns the copyright on this original song? - please read and help?

Question

Hi there

i understand a fair bit about copyright but not the specifics when put into practice in music.

Heres the scenario:

a band of 4 people create and record an original song and record an EP. all 4 have an input by 2 maybe do the majority.

The 2 who arguably put the most into the song ie:created most of the lyrics and the chorus etc decide to leave the band and go their seperate ways.

The 2 remaining members recruit 2 new people and 1 year later decide to re-record the song that was created by the old members. Who owns the copyright?

Where do they stand if the new band want to re-record the song and release it potentially for financial gain?

any advice gratefully accepted, however please ensure it is relevant to the music industry and the situation rather than general basic copyright details

Many thanks in advance

Answer 1

if you go and record that song without asking for permission from the song writer, then you will be in big trouble, as they will be due some of the money you would make, be really careful, your best bet is to contact your local citizen advice office,they are great, hope it all works out for you,keep safe all the best

Answer 2

You won't find the answer in Copyright Statutes. Copyright law is just a safety net that kicks in when there is no contracts to the contrary. The group should have had a written agreement on who owned the property. In the absense of a contract, then the courts would rely on custom of the music industry. For a group, the leader generally is responsible for rights issues. However, it sounds that this was more a gang of four than an organized group. i would guess that all the original 4 have to share in the copyright, including others that may have sat in at the recording session, but it would take actually litigation to prove the point.

Since an EP was made, ANY group can now cover the song for a new recording according to the mechanical rights law. So your group is good to go on that. A royalty payment will have to be made to the copyright owners or to the copyright office on their behalf.

My suggestion is to have the 2 that left the group agree to sign over the song rights to a designated person. Also get your current group to do the same with an agreement as to how to payout any royalties. Share and share alike works, but get something on paper. Having one person designated to hold the copyrights will greatly enhance your chances of getting royalties from others that cover your music.

Also you should join ASCAP or BMI to get performance money from radio stations that play the EP. Being a member of a professional composer group will provide you with help in copyright issues as well.

Answer 3

All of the original members of the band own the copyright jointly, unless an arrangement was made to divide it. There is also intellectual property involved as well, (who's ideas the song was). Unless the copyright was properly registered, then in fact there is no copyright at all. It is not automatic as you know. The two members who left the band would be legally entitled to royalties unless otherwise arranged between all members. They could , if they so desired prevent the song from being published or performed if there was a legal copyright.

Answer 4

The companies that produce Vocaloid intend them to be used as any other commercially sold synth instrument. You are allowed to sell music created using Vocaloid without contacting the software creators for permission, and you own the copyright. Even though Crypton has a music label (KarenT) that helps promote Vocaloid producers, many other people self-publish with no trouble. There are some exceptions, for instance I believe Nekomura Iroha (a Vocaloid marketed by AH Software) requires some contact with Sanrio, as she was created as a Hello Kitty product and Sanrio joint-produced her with AHS.

Answer 5

From what i know of the law would say the original guys but if they didn't register the song then I think anyone can recordit

Answer 6

if the song was published and the writers names are credited to the writing then they hold the copy right,lennon and mccartney wrote the beatles tunes and george and ringo played on them they all recieved royalties ,ie when recording played on radio/tv/jukebox in establishmeant
try here first and i hope its of help
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/p07_music_copyright

Answer 7

this sounds like the Beatles

Answer 8

ask a lawyer