In the United States, in the absence of a written agreement, each co-author automatically owns the same share of a song. To get around this, you need to create a shared sheet that puts each songwriter`s possession on paper. A shared sheet is a short document that describes which author owns what percentage of a song. Although it is a legal document, it is likely that you will not have to hire a lawyer, especially in the early stages of your career; Instead, you can download this free model. You have to create a splitsheet for every song you write with someone else. If there is no written agreement, the law generally assumes that ownership is evenly distributed – thus 50/50 between two writers, in three between three writers, etc. This is the simple and simple approach, especially when the workload is similar. It is important that there is only one registration of APRA, because if there is a dispute over ownership, we will not pay royalties to anyone until the dispute between the authors is resolved. Of course, you can agree, no matter what you like. Just make sure that you clearly indicate this distribution when you register the work at APRA. Often, the registration of APRA is the only written reference to the distribution of the property. APRA allocates all royalty costs based on the shares indicated at the first registration of the plant with APRA, until all owners tell us otherwise. Remember that a co-written work should only be registered once with APRA – so make sure all employees are clear about who will register the plant and the agreed ownership terms for registration.
You can change the route report (with the consent of your employees) – be sure to inform your publisher and APRA of the changes they have made so that they can adjust their records and pay you accordingly. What if you were a vegan and you preferred that your music not be allowed for animal product advertisements, but that your employee, who only wrote a bridge, decided to use it in a national commercial for a hamburger chain? Would you agree? If this is not the case, it is important that these issues are discussed and agreed in advance in a cooperation agreement. In this scenario, the license to promote animal products could be limited or limited to being granted only by the vegan employee or his publisher. Beyond the issue of equitable income sharing, there is the question of copyright ownership and copyright control (sometimes referred to as administrative law). Many songwriters prefer separate management between different authors and their respective publishers, if at all. In other words, each author retains control over his respective share of copyright. In this way, each author retains some control over what happens with the song, the extent of the licenses and the calculated quantity. Under U.S. copyright, any co-owner of copyright can take advantage of the song and grant non-exclusive licenses to third parties who are held accountable to co-authors for each money generated. Each author could also transfer a portion or the total share of his copyright (z.B to a publishing house) without infringing on the ownership of another co-author`s share in the copyright (although no author can grant an exclusive license or transfer the copyright to the entire song without the written permission of each co-author). A split sheet collects all the publication information about the co-authors of a song.
This information is mainly used to track the ownership of a song. This is the source of the truth in the recording of songs in music rights organizations. It is an agreement between the co-authors on the sharing of publishing revenues. But just because you own part of the post doesn`t mean you automatically have the right to manage your share of the post.