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Feel free to ask me a question relating to any music/law issues you might be having.

Hi elliot1981,

Many thanks for this,
and I trust our members,
will find this service a great help.

nice one! Keith, you beat me to it again

happy Christmas mate.

elliot1981 Wrote:Feel free to ask me a question relating to any music/law issues you might be having.

hi there! here's my question

i’m a composer/songwriter and i’m about to register my work with PRS using their online service but there are a few things i have to make sure i understand correctly before i do that.

the most important question is the following:

is the 50/50 split of royalties between the composer and the lyricist just a customary thing (a traditional way of rewarding the two roles) or is it enforced by whichever law that rules these matters?
in other words: can i possibly reach an agreement with the lyricist i work with and split the royalties differently although i haven't written a single word of the lyrics? (altho i think that sometimes lyrics are a more powerful medium than the music itself, there could be aslo many reasons for wanting this)


my last question:
if the lyricist comes up with some lyrics and a vocal melody (say he/she’s also a good singer) after hearing a melodyless piece of music that i composed:
how would you split now the royalties earned by that piece of music? to follow some possible scenarios... please tell me which one is correct and if none are please show me how the two persons should be rewarded:

1) composer       25%
    lyricist           75%  (50% for the lyrics + 25% for the vocal melody)
2) composer        0%
    lyricist          100% (50% for the lyrics + 50% since the vocal melody is the main melody of the song)

or, once again, can the 50% for the music be split differently by the two according to some kind of agreement?

thank you for your time

good question, I have my own take on this but I'll step back for a minute.

Stereo Junkie Wrote:good question, I have my own take on this but I'll step back for a minute.

hi stereo junkie!
so what's your take on my question? i guess elliot1981 is out skiing this weekend

haha.. possibly water skiing with this great weather we're having.

Well firstly I would say your obvious choice is to join the PRS for the £50? or so... then ask their advice seeing as you will be a member.

My own opinion is that you can split royalties to be weighted which ever way you like with whoever you like, i.e. 20% singer 80% writer this is how I understand it and I am a member of the PRS, however my work is listed as 50/50 with another party mainly because that seemed a fair way to split it... you will obviously need the signature of your singer on the form, you will be able to check it online once you register the work, if it doesn't look right then you can adjust it from memory.

It's worth registering any work as soon as you think it will be used, I lost out on £800 a while back, we wrote a piece of work and I didn't realise it would be used for anything... it was used a few times by the BBC and it took about 4 years for the PRS to get the money, even though we registered the song together, both signing the paperwork, the PRS only pursued the royalties for my friend who was already a PRS member, I joined as soon as my friend saw there were funds available but they do NOT back date for certain things so be a bit wary and make sure your singer registers too... I'd double check this with PRS AND get it in writing if you can, I was told all kinds of rubbish by different people there, ranging from "yes you'll get the full amount" to "no you won't get a penny" hope that helps?

Hi hiroshi

First of all

Welcome to the Forum

The best of it's kind.

As a songwriter of many years, both lyrics and music., I have to agree with SJ.
There is no written rules as to splitting of royalties.
It is up to the individuals concerned.
However, I have never shared royalties with the singers or musicians,
unless they have participated in the songwriting.
I am currently working on an album, with my keyboard player,
who sings and plays almost everything on the album,
but we are still splitting royalties 50/50.
I have just released an album, by one of my bands,
athough there were singers and musicians involved,
I retain the right to 100% of the royalties,
as none of the others contributed to the songwriting.
As a general rule, when working on a song with others,
it pays to split royalties evenly,(as SJ mentioned),
assuring full support from your co-writer

thank you guys!
i guess i found my answers now...
cheers

hiro

hiroshi Wrote:thank you guys!
i guess i found my answers now...
cheers

hiro

Hi Hiroshi,

Sorry for the late response.

Essentially what the guys were saying is correct and shows how important it is to work out splits and register them before anything happens with the music.

I would also suggest that you have a copyright/song split document drafted. This is something I have done for many of my clients and will include all relevant splits as well as any approvals and permissions regarding usage of the music so that both parties know where they stand if they receive any offers. Also I would make sure that the contract is non-exhaustable which means that you can add songs as they are written.

Feel free to message me or email me on elliot@musiclawadvice.co.uk for more info.