[JW]

We've written and published our songs the usual way, since the early 70's.
you sign a contract -  the record hits the shops - and your royalties filter through over a two year period.
As it's hard to get a large advance payment these days -  we've recently sold a song outright to an American producer.
So we no longer have the copyright and the the new owner now puts his name as the composer.
OK - we don't have the pleasure of our name on the song - but we have the cash in our account, to fund other ventures.
Have any other members done this?
JW.
Midlands songwriters.
www.songwritersandproducers.com  

[seriousfun]

Don McLean was once asked what American Pie means to him, his answer was that he never needs to work again unless he wants to. If he had sold the song he would have had a vastly different reply.

A better way to go may be to sell the non exclusive rights to use the song either with royalties or royalty free for use in tv, movie, video game, DVD production etc. there are lots of avenues for this sort of income stream and It is an easier market to be succussful in as it is a widely graduated payment scale system.

[terrysains]

Do you put a price on your song copyright too?
Or open to offers? Or auction? How do you price up the worth of a song? Terry Sains.

[Jess]

...more importantly- HOW do you make a poll!? That's so cool! I love a good poll!

[man of simple pleasures]

We've written and published our songs the usual way, since the early 70's.
you sign a contract -  the record hits the shops - and your royalties filter through over a two year period.
As it's hard to get a large advance payment these days -  we've recently sold a song outright to an American producer.
So we no longer have the copyright and the the new owner now puts his name as the composer.
OK - we don't have the pleasure of our name on the song - but we have the cash in our account, to fund other ventures.
Have any other members done this?
JW.
Midlands songwriters.
www.songwritersandproducers.com  

so how much have you sold it for then?

[basshead]

I'm with serious ( if I may address u formally, sir ) on this one. I, personally would never sign away more rights than I had to and call me mr suspicious but if someone is willing to offer u a one off lumpsum they are either a: stupid and have no business savvy or b: very astute. mmmm........... 

[Alan Starkie]

Is this the song you sold for £45k I read on Twitter?

Good for you I say but there is a very un-nerving degree of dishonesty with someone who would buy a song you've written and then have the balls to put their name as the songwriter. I would have problems sleeping at night knowing that was happening with one of my songs. I'd have real trouble accepting that to be honest.

Having said that, it's your song. Or was rather. ;-)

[seriousfun]

Now changing the composers name brings up an interesting point. Michael Jacksons estate owns there entire Beatles copyrights if I recall. Does that mean he is now the official writer of all those great songs?

I know he was a terrific entertainer but I guess now we have to refer to him as the worlds greatest songwriter as well


Allan.

[Gallowglass]

I doubt I'd ever sell my copyright unless the amount of cash offered was spectacular, and that would only come after I'd put my name on a few songs anyway so as to build up a portfolio worthy of that price tag.

'Spectacular,' by the way, means like a grand

[andy5544]

Chance would be a fine thing !
Can't be many on here who have actually earned any money at all from the songs they wrote , me included.

[hardtwistmusic]

So we no longer have the copyright and the the new owner now puts his name as the composer.

JW.
Midlands songwriters.
www.songwritersandproducers.com  

This is not a fact... it's my opinion about how the law reads (in the U.S.) 

You can sell ownership of your song.  That is acceptable and legal. 

You cannot sell, (and they cannot buy) AUTHORSHIP of your song.  They either wrote it, or they did not.  Your name cannot be (legally or ethically) REMOVED as an author as long as any tiny snippet of your work remains in the song. 

What all this means (if I am correct) is that the part of the sale that allows them to claim authorship is illegal - and thus null and void. 

Since you cannot be demonstrated to have benefited from the illegal part of the sale (and they can - or they would not illegally claim authorship they didn't earn) you could almost certainly sue them to have your name re-instated as author.

In the U.S., there is no contract you can sign that would allow you to transfer rights that are forbidden by law to be transferred.  You still have every right (in my admittedly inexpert opinion) to be listed as AN author (presuming they modified the song substantially) and as THE author if they did not. 

If you are satisfied with the result, you are not obligated to claim your rights.  But I'm offended at the very idea that someone would claim authorship they had not earned, and if I were aware of who they were, I'd attempt to hold them accountable. 

It's bad for songwriters everywhere, it's almost certainly illegal, it's unquestionably unethical, and it's  bad for the music business and the music world. 

The only people who benefit from this are not good people.