Does anyone here ever share songwriter credits with others? I'm not talking about co-writing - but rather as barter for other contributions?
I write with the primary purpose of getting published and placed (generate revenue vs. simply a "vanity recording"). While I can be mostly self contained (I play several instruments, can engineer, arrange, etc.) I do choose to use outside singers and on occasion, musicians who have better chops on instruments that I don't consider myself strong enough (fiddle, pedal steel, banjo) - perhaps you can tell I write mainly in the country genre.
Since there is no assurance that any songs will actually general revenue - I try to control my "front end costs" - so I offer a % of songwriting credit in exchange for standard session fees (or I may pay a reduced fee and then a %). If the singer/musician has faith in the song, they can choose to take a calculated risk that maybe the back-end pay-off will be better than a one time session fee. If they arn't willing to have some "skin in the game" I then have to decide if I'm willing to pay a higher session fee up front (normally, I'm not)
The % I offer is subject to the value of the performance. As an example, a dynamic lead vocal which can really "sell" a song has more value than an 8 bar fiddle solo. So I may offer a vocalist up to 25% vs. maybe 5-10% to a musician.
It costs me less up front - and if the song does place getting a smaller % of something is better than 100% of nothing (if I can't submit the song because my vocals aren't strong enough or my fiddle part sucks).
I draft up a basic Agreement which dictates the % and indicates any material that generates income most contain that person's performance (I sometines record a song with more than one lead vocalist to see which ultimately sings strongest). The Agreement also indicates the contracted singer/musician has the obligation to keep in touch and provide current contact information (so I don't have to try to hunt them down if some money does roll in). Lastly, I provide a copy of the Copyright Form, so they can see they are listed as a partial "writer"
Everyone understands this is primarily a "fun" endeaver that "may" pay somewhere down the line. Worst case, we've created music that hopefully we can feel proud of.
Does anyone else use creating ways to defer up front costs? If yes, how do you structure your barter "Agreements"
I write with the primary purpose of getting published and placed (generate revenue vs. simply a "vanity recording"). While I can be mostly self contained (I play several instruments, can engineer, arrange, etc.) I do choose to use outside singers and on occasion, musicians who have better chops on instruments that I don't consider myself strong enough (fiddle, pedal steel, banjo) - perhaps you can tell I write mainly in the country genre.
Since there is no assurance that any songs will actually general revenue - I try to control my "front end costs" - so I offer a % of songwriting credit in exchange for standard session fees (or I may pay a reduced fee and then a %). If the singer/musician has faith in the song, they can choose to take a calculated risk that maybe the back-end pay-off will be better than a one time session fee. If they arn't willing to have some "skin in the game" I then have to decide if I'm willing to pay a higher session fee up front (normally, I'm not)
The % I offer is subject to the value of the performance. As an example, a dynamic lead vocal which can really "sell" a song has more value than an 8 bar fiddle solo. So I may offer a vocalist up to 25% vs. maybe 5-10% to a musician.
It costs me less up front - and if the song does place getting a smaller % of something is better than 100% of nothing (if I can't submit the song because my vocals aren't strong enough or my fiddle part sucks).
I draft up a basic Agreement which dictates the % and indicates any material that generates income most contain that person's performance (I sometines record a song with more than one lead vocalist to see which ultimately sings strongest). The Agreement also indicates the contracted singer/musician has the obligation to keep in touch and provide current contact information (so I don't have to try to hunt them down if some money does roll in). Lastly, I provide a copy of the Copyright Form, so they can see they are listed as a partial "writer"
Everyone understands this is primarily a "fun" endeaver that "may" pay somewhere down the line. Worst case, we've created music that hopefully we can feel proud of.
Does anyone else use creating ways to defer up front costs? If yes, how do you structure your barter "Agreements"
