Re: [Harp-L] my recording rights?

[Tom Ball <havaball@xxxxxxx>]

> > >  "Brian Stear" asked:17.05.2008 2:56:40 >>>
I recently got asked to play harmonica on a song someone is recording 
for a CD. He's then going to tour with the group. He's very happy the 
way it turned out. He paid me some gas money and plans to give me a 
healthy discount at his used record store. At the time I said that 
was fine.
  My question is this;
 Since we verbally agreed ( no handshake ) on compensation, am I 
within my rights to ask to be given credit on the CD for my part on 
the song? Mind you, I don't want royalties or anything. I just 
realized after the fact that without my name on the CD, I really 
don't have any way to prove my work. I can say I did it, but have no 
way of proving it. For example, I used to play with Koko Taylor, but 
I don't have any pictures or something in writing to prove it.
This won't happen again. I'll ask the person this next week when I 
see him. Hope it works out, but.......
 Is this something in the future that should always be in writing?
---------------

Hi Brian,

In a nutshell, yes you are perfectly within your rights to ask for a 
credit on the CD.  If you played on it, you should be credited, and 
you probably will be.  Most CDs list all the contributing musicians 
as a matter of course, and I would be surprised it you're not 
credited.

Having said that however, the guy who hired you (let's call him the 
producer for lack of another term) is also perfectly within his legal 
rights not to mention you (or any other musician on the CD) if that 
what he/she wishes.  It's not terribly ethical, nor likely to happen, 
but it can happen on any recording. Take a look at virtually any 
recording from the 50s and 60s -- the sidemen almost never got 
mentioned.

As to trying to get things in writing for the future: a fine concept 
but not altogether practical on most of today's recording scene. I've 
played on about 200 CDs and there were contracts on perhaps 20 of 
them -- union sessions requiring paperwork.  The other 180 were loose 
sessions where I played and got paid. No paperwork. Theoretically 
*any* of those recordings could have been issued with no credit for 
my playing, but I can't recall any that actually came out that way...

Most musicians and producers are pretty ethical, but even when there 
are contracts, screwups can happen. I sang and played in an Eddie 
Murphy movie years ago and the screen credit listed the songwriter as 
the performer instead of moi. <shrug>  Another time I sang the end 
title to a feature film, and when it came out there was no screen 
credit at all.  Sh*t happens.  Sure, I could've initiated lawsuits -- 
and if the films had been huge hits maybe I would have --  but the 
films kinda tanked, and besides in suing I would have burnt my 
bridges with half the film scorers in the country.  So instead I got 
a piece of the song's publishing, which ended up being more lucrative 
in the long run anyhow.  :)

Long story short, welcome to the Recording Industry (Motto: "Where 
every day is better than the next.")

cheers,
Tom Ball