CDs with guest musicians on them (do I have to pay them?)

Ben Lesser · #1 03-21-2008, 02:27 PM

Hi,

A bit of a strange question to ask, maybe.

I plan on recording an album, starting in a couple of months, and while it is a solo album, I would like to feature some guests on some of the tracks to lend their talents on instruments I either simply can't play, or for styles/feels that I can't imitate.

My question is this: if they volunteer to record for me, am I legally obligated to give them any of the CD sales? I plan on writing all of the parts myself and have them just do the recording for me. I would of course give them credit for their contributions and everything of that sort.

I'm probably only going to be selling the CD for $10, so having to distribute parts of that to a half dozen musicians or more (potentially up to 20, if I can organize a small vocal ensemble as I intend) is not really convenient nor financially desirable.

Please lend me your experiences and/or advice.

Thanks!

bkbirge · #2 03-21-2008, 02:43 PM

Give 'em each a $1 (or whatever more you guys agree on) and have 'em sign a receipt that says they are being paid under a 'work for hire' arrangement.

lefty007 · #3 03-21-2008, 03:38 PM

Usually in professional situations, the producer/band will pay you for the session, and make you sign a release specifying that you have no rights over the music.

If you have no money, then ask the musicians if they are willing to do it for free, and no writing rights, or offer to give them a percentage of the sales. That is complicated, but it works if you have no cash to pay people up front.

But in general, if musicians are not part of the band and did not contribute to the writing, it's better to consider them as for-hire and pay them upfront.

In any case, make sure they know the terms up front. It's awful when you show up to a session and they assume you would do it for free.

I once did sessions for free for an artist expecting to get good gigs after the recording was made, but the artist moved out of town, and went onto selling 1000s of CD, and I never saw a penny. not only that, but the musicians in the session basically co-wrote a lot of the material, but because it was all casual and we were supposed to go on tour in a few months, we never thought about it.

Ben Lesser · #4 03-21-2008, 04:15 PM

Well, it's not really a professional situation. It's going to be completely DIY, using all my equipment, etc.

I plan on making the terms available before hand, it would be kind of scummy of me to not do that. I could probably afford to pay everyone a little bit, but certainly not a lot and I'm not sure how much of it I'll make back on CD sales.

Thanks for the advice, though, both of you.

Marcury · #5 03-22-2008, 12:06 AM

It's usually professional courtesy to pay folks for their playing. Since they are functioning as guests or sidemen, it is not necessary to offer rthem a cut, but they should get something reasonable upfront.

pklima · #6 03-22-2008, 02:56 AM

In completely amateur cases (where none of the people involved have ever made any money from music) I've seen the band give the "guest stars" about 20 copies of the CD once it's pressed. Some bands even pay for graphic design that way.

That's one way to handle it, but payment up front (even if it's not much more than gas money) is much better.

oldrookie · #7 03-24-2008, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkbirge

Give 'em each a $1 (or whatever more you guys agree on) and have 'em sign a receipt that says they are being paid under a 'work for hire' arrangement.

This is particularly good advice, have them sign first...then record. Copyright comes into existence the moment you reduce your idea to "tangible form."

Music rights are particularly confounding and your best option is to make clear who will own what prior to recording.

What if you throw this up on YouTube and become a star based on this recording? Want years of litigation? Spell it out ahead of time.