Am I wrong? Give credit where it is due.

[jamro217]

Welcome to the music business.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

So, why not share it yourself as well, with credit for everybody who was on it?

 

[SLO Surfer]

I'm like @Joe Nerve in this regard; Best to let it go. I was in a band for years (I'm actually back with them now but that's beside the point) and left them to attend university on full scholarship. After I left town, they recorded a music video for a song I recorded bass on. In the video there's some dude playing me (bass) in the video and belittling my vibrato skills in the intro. It was really weird to see this come out. It gave me all the jealous/betrayed/cheated and otherwise unpleasant feelings. Whether they were justified or not, I don't know. But I let it all go and am happy I did as I'm still friends with the guys and back in the band again nearly 10 years later. Also, through another avenue in life that guy playing my bass part in this video is now a great friend and the guitarist/band leader in the only other band I'm in. If you feel you don't want people using anything you work on in the future, or you want credit if they do, then get it all agreed upon and in writing before hand, otherwise just let it go.

 

[design]

FYI, there are what are known as ‘Moral Rights’, legally. Like other laws they vary from country to country. In Australia, where I am, you have the legal right to be attributed. Moral Rights are different to monetary rights, copyrights, etc.

I’m not saying you should go down a legal path. I say keep trying to speak with him to give you attribution. Or post the music yourself under the Band name with full credits, including the not-nice person.

Here’s info about the Australian Law on Moral Rights: https://www.copyright.org.au/acc_prod/AsiCommon/Controls/BSA/Downloader.aspx

Here’s a Wikipedia article about Moral Rights in various countries: Invalid Link Removed

 

[madbass6]

My original project disintegrated last year over several issues. Least of which was creative differences. I now find that one of the former members is posting songs of his that I not only played on, but songs that I recorded, mixed & mastered in my studio, without giving any credit. I'm not saying that I'm the second coming of George Martin, but in comparison to the crap demos he was releasing prior to being in a project with me, I'm a regular Rick Rubin! I have politely asked that if he wishes to release these songs that I slaved over, simply give me credit for the work I did.

He doesn't even return my calls or texts.

Am I wrong?

Ps- I am enjoying my new original project much more!

First of all, Congrats on your new project! I agree with you!
not sure if there's money involved in this like royalties etc. But if so I agree with you even more ! the least he could do is give the credit where credit is do!

 

[catcauphonic]

Did this thread get scrubbed or something already? Posts 1-3 don't line up with quoted ones, and it seems there's a few snarky responses further down directed at the OP.

(I get the use of the "be a man" phrase these days comes off as a condescending thing a cro-mag type might say), but the OP vents a bit, and describes a situation that is rightfully a bummer.

Working together is teamwork, and as long as OP didn't end their collaborative time together with something horrible like sleep with this dude's mom, I don't get why he's not being properly credited on an inset or whatever (who played what, where it was recorded, by whom, lyrics, etc are the kinds of factoids that make reading an inner sleeve or back cover interesteding!)

Burning bridges by not giving someone a verbal nod (or written credit, in this case) seems like a real ego maniac shennanigin to pull Guy sounds like a real tool.

I'd mostly just let it go after a couple more polite requests (maybe the last one with a little sarcasm/shaming), & honestly I'd probably make sure anybody that brings up the guy or his work in my presence heard the very short version of what kind of rip off 'artist' this unappreciative pr!ck can be.

I question the karma thing... as there's plenty of unrepentant & proud to be A-holes out there doing quite well for themselves. However, I like to sleep guilt free at night, and so I don't screw people over & i regularly go out of my way to be fair to people with good intentions

 

[hrodbert696]

You are talking about a legal argument/agreement - whether you should be credited for the work you did. That why we have contracts and attorneys.

This is correct. The OP may not WANT to bother with the legalities of the situation, but that doesn't mean they aren't there, or that anyone is out of line for saying so.

The material belongs to whomever holds the copyright.

True, but not the issue at stake here. The OP does say the songs in questions are "his" (the offending party's) songs, and doesn't claim to have written them. So it isn't a copyright violation. It has more to do with the "moral rights" that have been mentioned.

OP, What's to stop you from posting the songs as your own? You can even neglect to give credit as they did.

Why? Petty spite is all the payoff I see there. I don't see anything from the OP suggesting that these songs are making any money. I'm not seeing any sign that they're necessarily drawing any popularity at all... in which case, though who's getting credit for various bits of work on them seems rather a moot point. Does it matter if the listener isn't being told about your work on a song when there aren't any listeners?

...One is simply letting people hear music without busting out liner notes at every turn ...

Which is probably the most valid point on the thread so far. You can listen to music on the radio or spotify or youtube all day long and never find out who the producer or engineer was on any track you hear. Most people listening to music assume that a team of people worked on it to make it happen, and very few care who those people were. It's nice to have that information recorded somewhere that the 0.01% of people who do care can look it up (like in the small print in the liner notes), but that's it. I don't see that a wrong of any great significance has been done to the OP, nothing worth getting upset about.

Another way to look at it would be that, if it really HAD mattered to him all that much, he would have gotten everything in writing from the outset of the project. That he didn't do so indicates that he had a casual outlook on his role in the recording process. That's fine, but he can't then turn around and blame the other person involved for being equally casual about his role.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

Hit him with a "Cease and Desist" letter... there should be some templates on the Gibson website.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

This is a bit like the "band is still using my picture," thread... but IMO goes a tad deeper. It goes deeper because our creativity is being put out there, people are getting credit for it, and it would be nice (and the right thing to do) if we got the credit we deserve. Doesn't always work that way though, and as with the photo thing - I've found it's best just to let it go. I believe in karma. I keep putting out the best I can, end of story. And I do my best to do the right thing in every situation. In the future, if I have concerns I can make sure I'm paid properly, or that I do whatever I feel necessary to protect myself.

I had an even deeper scenario many years ago... my originals band split - one I had written ALL the material for - and a few months later the guys invited me to their new band's first gig. They were not only doing a fair number of my songs but the singer was claiming he had "contributed to" the lyrics, which I had written before I had even met him! As it happens I had proof of copyright so I didn't get too precious about it and in reality the material wasn't that hot anyway and never went anywhere, but it was a tiny bit irritating...

 

[Joe Nerve]

I'm like @Joe Nerve in this regard; Best to let it go. I was in a band for years (I'm actually back with them now but that's beside the point) and left them to attend university on full scholarship. After I left town, they recorded a music video for a song I recorded bass on. In the video there's some dude playing me (bass) in the video and belittling my vibrato skills in the intro. It was really weird to see this come out. It gave me all the jealous/betrayed/cheated and otherwise unpleasant feelings. Whether they were justified or not, I don't know. But I let it all go and am happy I did as I'm still friends with the guys and back in the band again nearly 10 years later. Also, through another avenue in life that guy playing my bass part in this video is now a great friend and the guitarist/band leader in the only other band I'm in. If you feel you don't want people using anything you work on in the future, or you want credit if they do, then get it all agreed upon and in writing before hand, otherwise just let it go.

The vibrato thing is kinda funny . Amazing how he can play like that and have it still be in tune. Cool song and vid.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I wrote and recorded a song with a guitar buddy of mine and one of his drummer friends towards the beginning of college. Many years later the drummer posted the song on social media but credited another bassist with the same first name as me. The funny thing is that our band name consisted of our last names, so I have no clue how he didn't realize the other bassist (with a different last name from my own) wasn't the guy. I corrected him on FB and then the drummer acted like he had no clue who I was

To be fair, the drummer and I never knew each other before the project, the project lasted 2-3 weeks, and I never spoke to him again after it. But still lol.

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

OP, What's to stop you from posting the songs as your own? You can even neglect to give credit as they did.

I like the concept except I wouldn’t claim they were my songs. I’d offer them up as examples of my playing, arranging and engineering. Tell the truth. Specify your role in putting these tunes together. And don’t mention the name of the writer/singer.

I always credit anyone that helps me complete a song (even if they are a paid performer. I generally play everything but get singers for the vocals. ).

 

[Smooth_bass88]

My original project disintegrated last year over several issues. Least of which was creative differences. I now find that one of the former members is posting songs of his that I not only played on, but songs that I recorded, mixed & mastered in my studio, without giving any credit. I'm not saying that I'm the second coming of George Martin, but in comparison to the crap demos he was releasing prior to being in a project with me, I'm a regular Rick Rubin! I have politely asked that if he wishes to release these songs that I slaved over, simply give me credit for the work I did.

He doesn't even return my calls or texts.

Am I wrong?

Ps- I am enjoying my new original project much more!

You're right in feeling annoyed, but unless you filed with copywrite office, there's nothing you can do. Just let it go.

 

[DrayMiles]

You’re spending more energy than you should. Sometimes you have to let things go. After all, he’s going to need help doing anything that is even close to the quality of your work. That’s a better time to decide if you want retribution or not. Don’t accept the stress of pursuing someone lacking moral fiber. Quote from the Lion King “it’s in the past.” That’s just my opinion anyway...

 

[lfmn16]

Am I wrong?

You aren't wrong to ask for credit. Not crediting people for their work is a punk move. You are wasting your time if you spend any time thinking about it.

 

[Medicine Man]

My brother found songs he wrote and sang on 10 years earlier being sold on iTunes by a former band mate under a different name than my brothers project. The lawyer he talked to told him the value wasn't worth the legal fees, much less a lawsuit. I would just let it go.

 

[fhm555]

So you are upset because a former collaborator is taking your credit? For a homemade demo? Really?
If you want the problem corrected, talking to anyone but the former collaborator is a waste of time. If on the other hand you want sympathy, you will find that between poopie and syphilis in the dictionary.

 

[HolmeBass]

OP you are right, he should not misrepresent the band recording as his own solo project. If it comes up he should give you credit for engineering the recording.

You are wrong about your laughably misguided ideas about lawyers, agreements, and integrity. People are masters of rationalization. Contracts help everyone keep it real. But this is a credit as a recording engineer and bassist, which is actually pretty minor in the scheme of things.

Unless you’re actually trying to make a living running a recording studio, it’s best to let it go.

 

[mellowinman]

Hit 'em with the fourth amendment, Laz.

 

[Gluvhand]

The only problem with leaving it to karma is it just doesn't always work out how you would lik it to. I'm not going to call it b/s because people are sensitive about their beliefs but plenty of bad people do bad things and never pay for it.