Is anybody in this thread a member of ASCAP or own their publishings? If your a member and register the songs like we as independent artist are suppose to, it eliminates anybody straight stealing the music on a higher level.
We're talking a few hundreds here, but let's just say, someone redoes your song and claims that it's his & makes millions. Someone takes your song & adds it to a movie or a DVD etc. You have nothing but your word that it's your song with no paperwork. Everytime that song plays, everytime someone rents that movie, buy's that compilation etc. your gonna get a percentage off it if your music is registered. Of course your only going to start seeing revenue if it really goes somewhere, but at least your protected.
I had an issue & learned the hard way by trying to help "promote" everybody. I put together a compilation & requested that everybody on it get their publishings because I was going all out on this & everybody said, "Yeah, yeah I'm getting that next week!" Yada yada yada.. I never got a call from anybody & one of the many on the comp signed to a major. Next I'm getting a call from Sony lawyers telling me to seize & desist the tracks from dude. He claimed to of not given me permission to use the tracks & was upset because (now that he had learned about ASCAP / Publishings) was stating that I was stealing from him. I had told him to get that, just like I told everybody on it so they could get paid if it went somewhere.. way before, his bad for not doing it. The issue could of easily been resolved had he just registered the songs and I would of been notified automatically from ASCAP and they would of broke him off his cut. His share is still sitting in limbo until he, himself get's at me.
Own your publishings & get it in writing (signed documents) when taking submissions for a project.
This music game is like D.O's & snitches. A whole lot of motherfuckers turnin' bitch & ratting to lawyers instead of contacting you themselves and letting you know they had a change of heart about the project & trying to resolve it with you one on one.
My .2
We're talking a few hundreds here, but let's just say, someone redoes your song and claims that it's his & makes millions. Someone takes your song & adds it to a movie or a DVD etc. You have nothing but your word that it's your song with no paperwork. Everytime that song plays, everytime someone rents that movie, buy's that compilation etc. your gonna get a percentage off it if your music is registered. Of course your only going to start seeing revenue if it really goes somewhere, but at least your protected.
I had an issue & learned the hard way by trying to help "promote" everybody. I put together a compilation & requested that everybody on it get their publishings because I was going all out on this & everybody said, "Yeah, yeah I'm getting that next week!" Yada yada yada.. I never got a call from anybody & one of the many on the comp signed to a major. Next I'm getting a call from Sony lawyers telling me to seize & desist the tracks from dude. He claimed to of not given me permission to use the tracks & was upset because (now that he had learned about ASCAP / Publishings) was stating that I was stealing from him. I had told him to get that, just like I told everybody on it so they could get paid if it went somewhere.. way before, his bad for not doing it. The issue could of easily been resolved had he just registered the songs and I would of been notified automatically from ASCAP and they would of broke him off his cut. His share is still sitting in limbo until he, himself get's at me.
Own your publishings & get it in writing (signed documents) when taking submissions for a project.
This music game is like D.O's & snitches. A whole lot of motherfuckers turnin' bitch & ratting to lawyers instead of contacting you themselves and letting you know they had a change of heart about the project & trying to resolve it with you one on one.
My .2
