robinsonjoe
07-15-2010, 10:07 AM
Hello everybody. I am a producer and a songwriter in need of a qualified opinion. I produced a new artist's debut album. On a certain number of songs I co-wrote the music with the artist and somebody else wrote the lyrics. Every composer/author has his/her own publishing rights. So, as an example,
Song 1 / Title 'I love you'
Music by John and me, lyrics by Paul.
Splits are :
John 25% (music composer), me 25% (music composer), Paul 50% (lyricist), John's publishing company 25%, my publishing company 25%, Paul publishing company 50%.
Now, due to various (unpleasant) reasons, say I want to completely change the lyrics. So I call Tony and ask him to write new lyrics. Is it correct to make a new deposit (same music, different lyrics) with the following splits :
Song 2 / Title 'I hate you'
Music by John and me, lyrics by Tony.
Splits are :
John 25% (music composer), me 25% (music composer), Tony 50% (lyricist), John's publishing company 25%, my publishing company 25%, Tony publishing company 50%.
In other words, are the two songs completely different ? Can I totally exclude the first lyricist from the second song or is it always considered an adaptation of the original lyrics ? Do I require some kind of permission ?
Thank you very much in advance
John
Song 1 / Title 'I love you'
Music by John and me, lyrics by Paul.
Splits are :
John 25% (music composer), me 25% (music composer), Paul 50% (lyricist), John's publishing company 25%, my publishing company 25%, Paul publishing company 50%.
Now, due to various (unpleasant) reasons, say I want to completely change the lyrics. So I call Tony and ask him to write new lyrics. Is it correct to make a new deposit (same music, different lyrics) with the following splits :
Song 2 / Title 'I hate you'
Music by John and me, lyrics by Tony.
Splits are :
John 25% (music composer), me 25% (music composer), Tony 50% (lyricist), John's publishing company 25%, my publishing company 25%, Tony publishing company 50%.
In other words, are the two songs completely different ? Can I totally exclude the first lyricist from the second song or is it always considered an adaptation of the original lyrics ? Do I require some kind of permission ?
Thank you very much in advance
John