Harvey/Grey Music

 

Hi folks,

Welcome to the often confusing world of song rights management—an independent songwriter’s worst nightmare. It’s a challenging but necessary journey if we want to protect our work and, more importantly, earn revenue from it. We can’t do that if our ownership is in question.

In today’s article, I’ll guide you through the process, so you can confidently navigate this critical area.

Song Rights: A Cautionary Tale 

Few songwriters make it through this aspect of the music industry unscathed. Almost everyone has their own horror story—including me. So, what can go wrong? And how can we prevent it?

As an indie artist and songwriter, learning to safeguard your work is crucial. It took me years of trial and error to figure this out. A combination of ignorance, naivety, and a bit of laziness led to my music being ripped off and used without my permission… more than once.

I won’t sugar-coat it: music rights and publishing are complicated. Even industry insiders often admit it’s a bit of a mystery. But while I don’t claim to be an expert, my 25+ years as a songwriter and performer have taught me a thing or two. And I now have a fabulous music publisher who is honourable & trustworthy! 

So today, I’ll share my hard-earned lessons, so you don’t repeat my mistakes.

Let’s start with my story.

My Experience: How I Got Ripped Off

Once upon a time, there was a young, hopeful singer-songwriter (names and dates have been altered to avoid the wrath of the musical litigation gods). She joined a band, and they wrote a few decent songs that—by some miracle—landed on the desk of a well-known record label and production team.

Excited beyond belief, the band met with the head honcho of this team, thinking they’d hit the big time. Unbeknownst to us, the producer team decided not to work with the band themselves but passed us on to someone else, without explaining this clearly. In our youthful ignorance, we thought we were still signing with the original team.

To make matters worse, we were too green to understand the ambiguity of the situation. We eventually realized we weren’t signing with a major record label, but a publishing company. By then, it was too late, and we naively signed the deal that was offered.

The outcome? A disaster. Promises were made but quickly broken. The songs we submitted were deemed “not hits,” and we were dropped from the label after our music was altered and used by other artists—something we didn’t find out until much later.

To top it all off, none of us had joined a PRO (Performing Rights Organization)—a decision that came back to bite us, but more on that later. The band eventually broke up, and I turned to cabaret to make a living.

The Second Time Around: Another Costly Mistake

Fast forward a few years, and I found myself working on a completely different project. This time, it was a distribution deal for an already completed album. The deal was vague, the terms loose, and—like a fool—I signed it again. You guessed it: my publishing royalties vanished, and I had still not joined a PRO!

At this point, you might be thinking I deserved to be ripped off, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But I licked my wounds, carried on with my cabaret gigs, and kept writing songs, guarding them fiercely for many years.

Learning the Hard Way: Protecting Your Rights

Eventually, the internet arrived, and with it, the realization that I needed to get serious about protecting my work. The mistakes I made have allowed me to help others avoid the same pitfalls.

So, let’s start with a fundamental question:

What is a PRO, and Why Do You Need to Join One?