I never got paid for recording those songs. Do I have legal rights?

Question

WAY back in 1999, my boyfriend wrote a musical. I recorded 4 songs for the CD, which I was never paid for. It was just a verbal agreement, and since we were a couple at the time, I trusted him.

We've long since broken up, and I've NEVER seen a penny from the CD. I see the disk up for sale on various sites on the net, and it still kind of pisses me off.

Probably too late to do anything about it now, is there anyone out there who knows about this sort of thing?

Regards,
Rock E. Horror

Answer 1

If you wrote the songs and have a way to prove that, I'd say you have more of a chance recovering money. There's a standard royalty based on percentage and you'd be entitled to it. So the more he sold the more you'd be entitled to.



If you just played songs he wrote and had a verbal agreement to get paid then you'd only be entitled to whatever you agreed on. So if you agreed on $50 thats all you're entitled to whether he sells a million or not.

The real question is: Is it worth it to enforce it? I believe you can file in small claims court fairly cheaply, and you don't need a lawyer. The amount you're entitled to is usually around $3000, and sometimes you have to pay courts costs if you lose, so I check the laws of your state, because the amounts you can win and the cost, varies.

Answer 2

It might not be too late, the statute of limitation is 10 years in some states. If your songs were copywritten or you have some legal proof get a lawyer and sue. Then email me to give me my cut for motivating you to do it.