need unbiased advice on a legal question

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willow

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on another forum i have asked for help on a drum mix.. i got suspicious as to the amount of response i got.

the song is copyrighted. but for instance if a guy in another country mixed it for me, can i get cheated somehow?the music is instrumental (no lyrics)

i would only be sending the drum tracks, so i didn't really worry about it.

anyway,, should i watch out for anything or not worry?

thanks
 
now that is a good question. hopefully some 1 with serious legal knowledge can assist. my suggestion is to call the lib. of cong. and try to get one of the librarians there to guide you i nthat question. (though tryin to get them on the phone is no small task - it can be done.

also, i suggest perhaps calling the peforming rights org. that you belong to - if u dont - mibht be a good idea to affiliate/join one. again, they are not strait up lawyers, but they usually have a lot of experience in music and have seen a lot of shit go down - they could at least give an answer that is rooted in personal experiences.

if i said anything - it would be mere speculation - and f rom a standpoint of complete ignorance!!

with that said: my two cents -------- any thing that someone helps u create or finalize - if they had input in the final product - then they get to share in the copyright.

and i have heard that US copyright does not cross the seas like planes, unless you stipulate in the forms they provide that you are applying for an international copyright.

again, there is my 2 cents . . .
 
isn't there some kind of legal forms that studios (online mixing) have that waive any copyright privledges so that the clients don't have to worry?

if i get a studio to do the drum track mixing, then i should just be able to have them send me that form and then i wouldn't have to worry, right?

(songs are copyrighted in the u.s. and i would be using a u.s. based studio)

thanks
 
Ive Never Used Online Mixing Studios So I Dont Know. All The Brick N Mortar Studios Ive Been To Have Never Discussed Anything Like That Wit Me - And Back Then At That Time, I Didnt Know Enough To Bring It Up . . So . . . .

I Have Had A Stud. Engineer Ask Me If I Was Going To Credit Him In The Liner Notes - And I Asked Him If He Was Going To Give Me A Reduction In Stuio Price . . He Said That Such Wouldnt Be Fair To Him . . . So I Told Him That
1) If I Do Liner Notes, I Would Give Him Credit By Name, Not Studio -
2) Crediting His Studio Would Give Him Free Advertising, N Im Gittin Nutting Out Of It
3) -- I Chose Not To Do Liner Notes!!
 
Interesting question, which brings up another. How would you know whether he DID or DIDN'T cheat you? As for my own music, I've never worried too much about it. I figure my chances are better of getting struck by lightening! :D
 
International is probably a whole diff ballgame.

But my limited knowledge says that:

If you have proof that you did the music, then you have claims to the IP on that music, even if its not copywritten. The person recording/mixing the performance and music has no claims to any of the contents or the recording beyond getting paid for the recording/mixing. But once they have been paid for the recording/mixing they don't own it (you could, of course, make a contract stating otherwise)
 
I'm not a copywite guru. Nor am a lawer, Just a guy that does his own publishing and spent a lot of time and money educating myself in the subject. If you think your geting screwed or that you may get screwed GET A MUSIC COPYWITE LAWER.

Now some simple stuff. Ok Ur drumb tracks are they Computer generated using a sampler and a drumb machine or did u mic a drumb kit and go to town.

From what i've read computer sequneced drumb tracks are a little more in the "grey Area" under "New Tech" and are harder to prove in court that they were and are of your orignal making. If you have sent your tracks to the library of congress for registrion this will help you big time. (side note you can copywrite a whole cd with mutiple tracks as an "album" all the tracks recieve the same protection as if you submited them one at a time but it will save you some bucks.)

If ur drumb tracks were recorded from stickin a mic on ur kit ur now under two difrent types of copywrite protection... Mechanical(meaning the actual artist playing the track on the recording) and the Publishing(meaning the song) Make sure u have ur tracks regesterd with a performace org (ascap bmg) and the Harry Fox Agancy.

If you have done your homework eary its gona save you a lot of heart ache. If you havent and think your gona get screwed it boils down to 2 things, will the money u lost be more than what your gona pay a lawer at $150-300 an hour x 100 hours or more for a settlement.(u'll have a hard time geting a lawer to work on a chunk of the settlement if he/she can milk more money from you by the hour) If the awser is no then chock it up as a learning curve get a few books on the subject do you homework and dont get screwed again. If you think your gona lose $100k+ Get a lawer.

Also required reading is a book called "Music Money and Success" by Jeffrey and Todd Brabec. (should be at amazon.com) Its not the end all be all on the back side of the music industry and its leagle stuff but its a good overview and will give you a better idea of what to do and what not to do.

hope this helps

Rich
 
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