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I just signed away the publishing rights to a song.

21 by simmo_Archive
Thanks for everyone's continued advice. I'm sort of working through it all and trying to get my head round the whole thing.

Josef K wrote:Simmo, fistly it's great that your song is going to be used in a film. Wow.


I'm pretty happy about it too! Although I'm not sure anyone will actually see it.

Secondly, think it through. Is someone other than you likely to make money from having the publishing rights to this song? If so, fuck them.


Well, I guess... I don't know. If they're providing us with a service that enables us to receive money we would not otherwise have had - maybe it's fair enough that they take a cut?

Earwicker wrote:It's quite possible that, despite the London speak, they aren't really sure what they're talking about.

If they are a small outfit and are avoiding £200 an hour entertainment lawyers they might have just got the wrong end of the stick and think the Synch agreement means the Publishing Rights.


Yeah, they're a small outfit all right. I have a feeling they're not sure what they're doing either... there's probably a lot of truth in what you say.

Then again it could be 20th Century Fox or something and I should shut up.


Happily it isn't. I wouldn't have anything to do with this kind of operation.

It’s a little, London-based production company. The film is called “Searching for Diego”, and is a documentary about street footballers from the UK travelling to South America, in the hope of finally playing football with their hero - Diego Maradona. If I remember rightly, the budget is £500,000.

I am still baffled by their choosing to use us, but hey.... the modest fee we will receive will go towards recording the next record I guess.
Rick Reuben wrote:
daniel robert chapman wrote:I think he's gone to bed, Rick.
He went to bed about a decade ago, or whenever he sold his soul to the bankers and the elites.


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I just signed away the publishing rights to a song.

22 by Josef K_Archive
simmo wrote:
Secondly, think it through. Is someone other than you likely to make money from having the publishing rights to this song? If so, fuck them.


Well, I guess... I don't know. If they're providing us with a service that enables us to receive money we would not otherwise have had - maybe it's fair enough that they take a cut?



Yeah, I guess so but it's down to your assessment of the risk. What if EA Games see this great film about football and decide to make a game around it featuring your song? They sell a million copies and pay the Film company a licence fee or royalties, financing their next film....?

I just signed away the publishing rights to a song.

23 by daniel robert chapman_Archive
simmo wrote:The film is called “Searching for Diego”, and is a documentary about street footballers from the UK travelling to South America, in the hope of finally playing football with their hero - Diego Maradona. If I remember rightly, the budget is £500,000.


I would go and see this film, I would listen to the music, and I would remember your teeth.
Twenty-four hours a week, seven days a month

I just signed away the publishing rights to a song.

24 by daniel robert chapman_Archive
Josef K wrote:Yeah, I guess so but it's down to your assessment of the risk. What if EA Games see this great film about football and decide to make a game around it featuring your song? They sell a million copies and pay the Film company a licence fee or royalties, financing their next film....?


And, yes, Simmo, you ought to keep hold of your publishing rights, unless you are getting, and want, top dollar. The film people should be paying you to use your music, because you hold the publishing rights. Otherwise, should lightning strike twice, other people will be paying the film people to use your song. As other people have said, it sounds like this is what they mean - I don't see why, as part of making their film, they should need or want to buy the future rights to your song.

I'm sure Tom will have told you, we nearly had our photos taken with a life-size cut out of Diego Maradona in Barcelona. Tom got one; but when we went back, the owner of the pizza joint told us that Diego was "tired, and gone to sleep in the basement."
Twenty-four hours a week, seven days a month

I just signed away the publishing rights to a song.

25 by hogrot_Archive
Gratz Simmo this is great news.

Same thing everyone else said, I'd highly recommend having a lawyer or a with-it law student take a look at the contract.

If it was me, I'd want them to spell out exactly what they mean by publishing rights in clear terms. Does it mean they can license it to someone else? Do the rights revert back to you at some point?

Some stuff I've written, poetry, short stories, feature articles and stuff, publishers typcially buy one-time publishing rights, so if I wanted I could pitch these things to other publications because I still have the rights to the content. Some publications won't deal with you unless you give them exclusive rights, and that should be worth more money.

This is in the US, and it's in publishing, but the general logic might not be that far off.
http://www.myspace.com/bottombracket

I just signed away the publishing rights to a song.

26 by Marlowe_Archive
You need to check your contract.

Here's how it works in the US... I imagine it's similar in the UK.

It's possible that they want you to sign it over as a "work-for-hire" which means they can copyright it and it's theirs as if they wrote it. You are done being compensated for that tune. Don't ever do this.

The more likely situation is this:

You are signing away 100% of your "publisher share". In music publishing, for each song there is a publisher share equal to "50%" (assuming you were the sole writer) of the total and a "writer share" that equals the other 50%.

So, in this case, even though you are signing over 100% of the "publishing" you still own 50% of that song (the writer share) AND you will remain credited as the writer.

If, per the contract, you are in the second camp you are still going to receive 50% of all proceeds unless specified by the contract. Make sure you are set up with PRS so you can get paid if it gets any serious airplay on TV.

Also, as was mentioned, as 50% owner of the song you have to have a synch license (license to use the song in the film) where hopefully you can get some money upfront. Also, there's matter of the "master license" which is a license for the filmmakers to use the recording (aside from the song license).

Essentially, if you are in the first situation, you are fucked. Even if the song is old you are giving it away. The second situation is an opportunity for the song to earn money for you. I don't know how big these folks are but even if you don't get much upfront, if the thing gets airplay, you can get some money out of a song that you didn't think would generate any.

Hope that helps. Music publishing can be confusing. I guess I didn't waste all those years working for a big corporate music publisher... well, maybe not.

I just signed away the publishing rights to a song.

28 by steve_Archive
You don't have to sign anything.

If they insist that you sign something, draw-up a strictly-limited synchronization license agreement. Should be no more than about ten sentences allowing them to use the song in the film and the film only.

You should not need to surrender control of your master, your composition or any durable rights.
steve albini
Electrical Audio
sa at electrical dot com
Quicumque quattuor feles possidet insanus est.

I just signed away the publishing rights to a song.

29 by daniel robert chapman_Archive
simmo wrote:It’s a little, London-based production company. The film is called “Searching for Diego”, and is a documentary about street footballers from the UK travelling to South America, in the hope of finally playing football with their hero - Diego Maradona. If I remember rightly, the budget is £500,000.


This is in the Yorkshire Evening Post today, Simmo:

Former homeless crack dealer stars in Maradona movie

By Debbie Leigh

AS a kid he kicked a football made of plastic bags, elastic bands and a stone.

But never in his wildest dreams could Sami Hall-Bassam have dreamed his soccer talents would take him on to the big screen.

Just a couple of years ago the Somalian refugee was homeless in Leeds, taking drugs and selling crack to survive.

But now the 19-year-old is starring in British movie In the Hands of the Gods. It follows five English football freestylers determined to meet their soccer hero Diego Maradona.

Sami said: "If you had told me this would happen two years ago I would have laughed at you.

"I'm so glad I've proved so many people wrong.

"This was about making my family proud of me and showing you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it. Football is the only thing that never hurt me – the only thing that made me happy."

A spokeswoman for the film said it was the smallest budget for a British documentary but with the biggest release – in 70 cinemas across the UK in September.

Sami fled war-torn Somalia in his mother's arms and they moved between refugee camps before moving to Leeds 10 years ago.

He started football freestyling – which involves trick moves – aged 13 and honed his talent at Simon Clifford's Brazilian Soccer School in Leeds.

But he was kicked out for disruptive behaviour then kicked out of home at 15.

He said: "I had a phase where I sold drugs. I was drowning in self pity and drugs didn't really help."

Luckily he and pals who met on the freestyling circuit came up with the idea of making a documentary about a mission to meet Maradona.

Paul Wood, Mikey Fisher, Danny Robinson, Sami and Jeremy Lynch pitched it to Lionsgate Film who agreed to film them but didn't give them a penny towards the trip.

The film sees the friends travel from London to Argentina, via New York in around six weeks, with no money, busking and showcasing their skills on the streets, in bars and at sports shows.

Sometimes they sleep rough along the way.

But it also shows the emotional journey of all five lads, who each wanted to prove to themselves and friends and family they could overcome their particular hurdles.

Despite his lifelong dreams of Premiership glory Sami also harboured dreams of becoming an actor.

The soccer stars turned movie stars were in Briggate yesterday and shared their skills with youngsters at a Leeds United youth team summer programme in Hunslet.

The film is released nationwide on September 14 and will be on in The Light in Leeds city centre and Showcase, Birstall.


The title seems to have changed but it must be the same film, right? Seventy cinemas, rocking out to Souvaris!
Twenty-four hours a week, seven days a month

I just signed away the publishing rights to a song.

30 by simmo_Archive
Yup, that's the film! They changed the title.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1051231/

They still haven't paid us though. BASTARDS


70 cinemas rocking out to Souvaris! That's hilarious. I wonder if they'll be showing it somewhere near me....

The thing that makes me laugh is that the track they used is really badly recorded... I'm guessing they must have put it through the biggest wall of compression ever.


Man. 70 cinemas!

Insane.
Rick Reuben wrote:
daniel robert chapman wrote:I think he's gone to bed, Rick.
He went to bed about a decade ago, or whenever he sold his soul to the bankers and the elites.


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