DIVIDING SONG CREDITS

Work it out and write it down

When writing with others it is important to have an agreement in place as soon as the song is completed or even before you begin. Ideally the agreement should be in writing although even a verbal agreement is better than nothing. Legal formalities are not that important and even some basic dot points on the back of a napkin will usually do the trick!

Of course for more complex band agreements you may need the assistance of a lawyer. Bands often have formal agreements among themselves drawn up stipulating how song ownership is divided among band members and how income deriving from songs (not the recording of the song, but the underlying musical work) is divided. There are a few common ways that bands deal with this issue.

The first method is that the songs are registered with APRA by the persons and in the percentages that they are written (APRA will generally be the only formal record of song ownership, collaboration or splits). For example, if the guitarist and keyboard player write a song together, they then register the song with APRA as 50/50 composers. They would each be entitled to 50% of the income derived from the song while the remaining band members would have no claims over ownership or income derived from the song.

Suffice to say while this is arguably the “fairest” method from the point of view of the songwriters, it is the least often adopted arrangement. Given that songwriting can be quite lucrative, attracting juicy nuggets such as publishing advances, the above situation automatically creates a division in the band between the songwriters and the “others”. This division can often lead to resentment from the “others” who may be earning significantly less money than the songwriters while devoting just as much time to the band. This is reported as the number one reason why many established bands break up.

The second way is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Regardless of who writes the songs, the band registers them with APRA in equal proportions and split all income deriving from the songs equally. While this method places an equal value on each band member regardless of contribution, the net impact of this can be resentment in the other direction! Not only have the songwriters forfeited their ownership or control of their songs they have also given away the major share of the song’s income to which they would otherwise be entitled. While bands such as U2 are reportedly famous for such an arrangement, the reality is that in bands where there are one or two principal songwriters, an arrangement such as this is rare.

The most common outcome lies somewhere in the middle of the above two scenarios. It is important that the songwriters in a band be rewarded for their skill and effort while also acknowledging the value and contribution of the other band members. It is common that the songwriters register songs with APRA in the proportions in which they are written. This gives the songwriters comfort that they still retain “ownership” of the song and have the final say over how the song is used. However, when it comes to income, it is common that all band members receive a share. An example may be that the songwriter(s) retains 50% of the income from the song while the remaining 50% is divided equally among the rest of the band. These numbers can of course be varied to suit any particular situation and are completely negotiable.

Songwriters should note that as a general rule, a “song” consists of 50% music and 50% lyrics. Rule of thumb (and at the risk of offending those writing great guitar licks!) is that the music component of a song consists of the song’s melody. This however is open to vigorous debate and would most likely be decided on a song by song basis.

Where one person has written music and the other lyrics, composers will choose to note their interests either “jointly” or “collectively”. A “collective work” will separate the ownership into a musical and lyrical component with each party able to deal with their respective copyright separately and in their discretion. “Joint” ownership is where the musical and lyrical contributions cannot be separated among the co-writers giving each composer 50% ownership of the music and the lyrics.

It is clear from the above that a band needs to consider in the early stages how they will deal with the issue of song writing, if for no other reason than to avoid painful arguments down the track. When collaborating with others we definitely recommend keeping a personal journal noting completed songs, the relative contributions and any agreements reached. You’ll be thankful you did!