Negotiating Music Licensing Agreements
13. Dezember 2020
Almost all songwriter agreements contain songwriter delivery obligations that must be met before the end of a contract. These minimum obligations can be formulated either in the form of the provision of rewritten compositions to the publisher (z.B. at least eight (8) rewritten compositions), or the provision and commercial publication of a minimum number of compositions (. B, for example, ten (10) of compositions rewritten, recorded and published in the United States by four (4) through a national broadcast label. If the author is a recording artist, the minimum requirement may relate to a minimum number of compositions recorded and published under the author`s recording artist agreement (for example. B one (1) album per contract period that represents the songwriter as a recording artist and contains at least seven (7) compositions by the songwriter). There are countless variations on this subject; Many of them are dictated by party expectations and the amount of money paid to the writer in advance. Now that we knew that this person was using a free outdated model to try to license my friend`s music, we could also accept a few things. 1) She probably didn`t have enough money to hire a lawyer, or she was cheap. 2) She was not very educated about what the agreement said because it was obsolete and did not offer adequate protection for her. The song „Happy Birthday to You“ is one of the best known songs in the world and generated more than $2 million in royalties for Warner/Chappell Music, until September 2015, a U.S. judge ruled that Warner/Chappell could not prove that it had copyright to the song.
On February 8, 2016, Warner/Chappell Music agreed to end a group action against these rights. After mediation, Warner`s payments would amount to more than $14 million to the „thousands of individuals and entities“ who have paid royalties to use the song since 1949, plus $4.6 million in lawyers for the plaintiffs. [36] Working with experienced music licensing companies can be beneficial because they can provide you with options that meet your project needs and budget. Avoid frequent music licensing errors by making sure you free up the mastering and timing fees, pay your bills on time, avoid misuse, and be sure to get all your options in order when negotiating an agreement.