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Q&A: What's the difference between co-writing and arranging?
By Mary Dawson - 06/08/2007 - 10:35 AM EDT
Hi there,
I have found myself in quite an
interesting situation that needs some external advice given to it and would
greatly appreciate your help. I am in the process of recording a CD and it is
my first time dealing with this stuff. So I have done things in the wrong order
and feel like I am being taken advantage of a little bit because of my trusting
nature and inexperience. I have hired a man to be my producer and arranger for
a fee of $400 a song. So over the summer I had written songs and we went
through them all and he improved on my chords and the structures of the songs, I
did the melodies and the lyrics, he and I made some bridges together which are
generally solo'd over by the instrumentalists on the CD. One of the songs he
did help me alot and create a chorus and a pre-chorus, once again he did the
chords and I went home with that and made a melody and wrote lyrics. The
agreement that we signed before starting was very simple and short. It stated
that he would be paid 50% of the fee up front for arranging and producing and
then would be given the last half once I was given my master CD. So on top of
being paid for arranging and producing he wants to discuss song percents and
suggested that we do a 60/40 split (60 for me). From what I understand this
means he will have the $4000 (eleven songs) for arranging/producing...a percent
cut for co-writing...then the producer's fee that he would get from CD sales
(not sure what that's called but was told it's something like 3%). Is this
right or am I being taken a bit? I'm not sure what counts as arranging and what
would be co-writing. If I wrote something with just straight chunking chords
and he made it prettier with arpeggio chords does that deserve a percent of the
song writing or is that what an arranger does? If it is writing...what kind of
percent? I was thinking 25% on the one where he helped me do the
chorus/prechorus chords, and perhaps 10 on the other ones? On top of this he
hasn't created the sound that he said he could and agreed to make and has wasted
alot of my money in studio time (I wanted organic, simple music and I now have a
very thick wall of sound which I am undoing slowly in the studio by taking some
of the instruments out and undoubling alot of them). So he wants to discuss
song percentages soon and I'm a little paniced because i'm an inexperienced 22
year old and he's a 54 year old whos been in the music game for a long time and
he's quite manipulative. He tells me 'that's how it is' and I need to know if
that is the case.
I really hope you can help.
thanks for reading
:)
very sincerely,
K.M.
Hi K.,
Thanks so much for writing to me. I am
always honored when someone finds me on the Muses Muse and thinks enough of me
to ask me an important question like this.
Unfortunately, I receive variations of this
question regularly in my inbox. In fact, it is such a common situation that I
devoted a whole section to this kind of problem in my new book, "How To Get
Somewhere in the Music Business from Nowhere with Nothing." Aspiring
singer/songwriters often find themselves facing these kinds of issues with
producers. Many don't even have a written agreement when they begin to do the
production work. I'm glad to hear that you at least had something on
paper.
Songs consist of four elements -- words,
melody, harmony and rhythm. Of these four elements, the two non-negotiables are
words and melody. The harmonies and rhythms can be changed to suit the style of
music and the taste of the artist. Think about how many versions of Somewhere
Over the Rainbow you have heard --- everything from Judy Garland, to Ray Charles
to Israel Kamakawiwo's Hawaiian ukelele version. Yet you always know that the
song is Somewhere Over the Rainbow because it has the same words and melody. If
you have written words and melody for a song, you have a copyright. The fact
that someone comes along and adds a creative harmony or rhythm as producer, does
not mean that they have co-written the song.
It sounds like you signed a reasonable agreement
with this producer and that he is now trying to change the rules a little. Most
demo producers or producers of first-time artists do not get a producer's
percentage. They are paid on a per song basis as a "work for hire." Without
actually hearing the songs and knowing what was done by each of you on each
song, it would be difficult to be more specific. Sometimes when a producer and
songwriter are working together, the relationship DOES develop into a co-writing
relationship on some songs. These would have to be considered individually and a
separate co-writer's agreement signed for each.
I would encourage you to consider reading my
book as I think it will help you , not only with this issue, but with many other
similar challenges as you work to bring your music to the next level. It can be
ordered by visiting the website at http://www.FromNowhereWithNothing.com.
By the way, the website is really the appendices for the book....we decided to
put the information that should be in the apppendices online so that we can
adjust and add to it as we find more resources for songwriters. The resources
listed there are free -- and all of them are services we personally have used
and found to be reputable.
I hope this helps somewhat. At this point,
you may need to find a good entertainment lawyer who can help you interpret and
enforce the agreement you already have in place. Don't get a family wills and
divorce lawyer. Get someone who knows the music business and can help you
navigate these waters.
Let me know if I can be of further
assistance.
All the Best,
Mary Dawson
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