The low down truth about song writing

[blackcoffeeblues]

     1st, it has to be controversial; 
     2nd, it has to be, different, something totally off the wall.
            A subject;  no one else has touched on  before.
     3rd, you have to have a punch line  (as it is called) that
            sticks in peoples mind.

    now  Lets say you write this killer song...you got a killer arrangement on it; you got the copy write, you send to a publisher, they find it to be  one of the greatest songs they have heard in months...maybe even years....what happens next...one of there "MOLES"   leaks it out to some SUPER STAR.. WHO OWNS HIS/HER own record label and publishing company....who gives it to their writing staff....who takes your punch line...writes  around it change A word here and there... then they take your arrangement "TWIRK" it here and there..add a minor chord here & there, pickup the tempo/slow down the tempo...then they give it to there hot Star...and before your song is even published (usually about 6 months)..they have already made there bucks  ($1,000,000s)... and when your song gets published everybody says "I already heard A song like that---not interested...So the bottom line is..."YOU JUST MADE SOME MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL intro SINGER" & there publishing company who are already (MULTI_MILLIONAIRES)... another couple million... while your sitting around drinking draft beer...Sorry it is the "COLD HARD FACTS"   (BCB) 

 

[tommytubetone]

Do you speak from personal experience?  :-?

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

YEP..plus a couple other songwriting friends; Can't mention no names because I would be the one getting sued..

 

[JD1]

I saw this the other day and was going to comment as well, that I sure hope that wasn't from personal experience....one of the things that we were always advised to do when I was in a Songwriters Association, was to register any material with SongGuard or similar type company for the record. BUT, I am not sure that would do much good if they break it down and re-vamp the idea..depends on who can afford the attorney the longest....

JD

 

[cowboy]

BCB gives us the sorry truth...hopefully the internet age will help change that...later.

cowboy

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

J.D. it does not do any good....Back before the computer age, there was tons of places to supposedly "PROTECT" your lyrics...for A fee...(but the bottom line is I was feeding the Bear)..I am not going to go as far as saying   "THEY AR A PART OF THE PROBLEM".....But by the time "The hackers get done TWERKIN" you have no "CASE" in A court of law.....And I would also like to add...."Writing "BLUES IS PROBABLY THE HARDEST ONE OUT THERE, REASON BEING...it's been around the longest---and I can not think of A subject the Blues Guys have not covered....the best 12 bar blues song to come out in the years... (IMOP)  would be.....ELOs---"HOLD ON TIGHT TO YOUR DREAMS" ....BCB.. :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

 

[CaptainMoto]

Grrr
Your comments don't surprise me.
It's cold cruel world out there.
Reading your comments though, is very depressing.
I scribble down lot's of songs and it would demoralize me to find them re-tooled under somebody else's name.

 

[Rick_Cichon]

That would take the wind from your sails

 

[Wylo]

Lost a great friend who was a patent attorney. Told stories just like this about common folks & inventions that got hijacked by big-dollar opportunists. You would hope that the music industry would be different, but alas, seems everyone sings the blues. Sure somebody has written a tune about it, and sure someone else stole it before they could get it out there.

An old Irish golf pro I used to work for always said, "A good day is breaking' even."

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

Hate to revive this---(I don't know what all those funny looking As are in it but--I was new to computer back then---DUH) but felt it needed some attention again. Sorry

 

[dwparker]

I have no experince with in the music publishing industry. Here is a thought though: what if someone took their newly written song, and recorded a quick video which was immediately uploaded to various social media platforms at the same time copyright protections were granted to the new piece of music. Would this help an individual in substantiating their claims for possible copyright infringements?

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

I have no experince with in the music publishing industry. Here is a thought though: what if someone took their newly written song, and recorded a quick video which was immediately uploaded to various social media platforms at the same time copyright protections were granted to the new piece of music. Would this help an individual in substantiating their claims for possible copyright infringements?

By rights yes.

 

[CaptainMoto]

I've gotten a little more educated on this topic over time.
At least as it applies to the U.S. , your material is copyrighted as soon as you publish it. That could be as simple as posting it hereon the forum.
The problem is people don't always play by the rules.
So, the problem ends up in the court system and the expense of fighting it out is what kills the little guys.
The flip side to that is,........ if a big label, big artist turn the stolen material into a hit, then the attorneys are more then willing to fight for you because they can make more money if they win.
They are less likely to take your case if it's not a multi million dollar hit.

 

[Elwood]

Might not enjoy this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwG0bQ7WC3c

I usually don't post stuff here from other teachers, that's my thing. This seems appropriate to the topic.

In another post, Paul Davids talks about the Cease and Desist he got regarding material he wrote (clearly documented) that was rushed to the public by another. He gives the tune to the pirate.

I just hope I have a nice airplane.

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

That is pretty scary. There are some countries that do not recognize Copyright laws-so it is a fruitless venture for some. Only the billfold judges and lawyers make the real money. But that's the way it goes. You can be dead right and be wrong---or---you can be be dead wrong and be right---if you got more lawyers & $$$$ than the other guy.

 

[CaptainMoto]

I sure appreciate the right to protect your own material.
On the other hand, teams of lawyers scouring the internet for bits of music just seems like corporate money grab.

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

Doing other artist songs should be done out of admiration for them---not financial gain, and anyone seeking financial gain should have to pay the piper. I watched a AXEs interview with Bob Seager a few years ago---he said he didn't make anything off his biggest hit "Old time rock n roll" he heard it in a Wendys hamburger commercial and added to it, and they got all the $$$ made off of it.

 

[Shodai]

A little late to the party, but...

It is a cold hard world for the little guy.
Some years ago my brother came to me with an idea for a movie. He wasn't a writer, and had his ideas for scenes on scrap paper and napkins, and some that he never actually wrote down.

I am a writer, so I took his ideas,a them into a movie script, registered the copyright, (he was listed as co-writer) and tried to get it sold. No takers.

Now, this was a comedy about some guys that pretend to be mentally challenged to participate in the Special Olympics. Sound familiar? It should.

We submitted our script to a "Promotional Service". Paid a fee, and signed an agreement that if the script sold they would get a cut. They sent it to everyone. Some time thereafter we started getting the "thanks, but no thanks" letters in the mail.

A while later a Johnny Knoxville movie came out called The Ringer... About a guy who pretends to be mentally challenged to compete in the Special Olympics. The line in that movie where the mentally challenged kid says, for no apparent reason, "do you want fries with that" is a word for word scene out of our script. Stolen.

We consulted a copyright attorney and were told that there is a legal principle called "parallel development", and we'd never win our case.

Shortly after that, a South Park episode where Cartman pretends to be mentally challenged to complete in the Special Olympics. Again, several scenes stolen.

After that, "Grownups". The swimming pool scene with the dye in the water? Our script.

So, yes, the little guy always gets screwed.

My only solace through that ordeal is the knowledge that thousands of people on the planet talk about writing a movie script, or a book, or releasing a music album, and never actually do it. I actually wrote a script, and I have that original script with the original copyright registration.

So one down, two to go!

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

It just ain't right is it---how many people in the world would wake up this morning and say--"I'm going to write a movie script about a guy that pretends to be mentally challenged to get in the special Olympics". Just the idea of it being such a unique subject ---parallels may be parallels
BUT--to many parallels ---equals---something just ain't right. You got my sympathy.