Am I wrong? Give credit where it is due.

[Nashrakh]

I like how TBs first reflex to problems like this is always to just take it lying down. "Ain't nuttin' you can do, man..." Doormat behaviour.

 

[Gaolee]

LOL.... I just checked to see if I could find some of the tunes I played on and got no credit for. I didn't get paid either.

Not the kind of stuff I usually play, but I thought it was cool. It was the first time I ever used my Big Al.

Karma. Look at the amount of views since 2015 ...

I didn't look. That will show 'em!

[/wiseass]

 

[SactoBass]

Real men don't need to put anything in writing

Temples,

You are most definitely *NOT* wrong for requesting credit where credit is due. Your request is noble and reasonable. However, since you do not have a written and signed agreement with your former cohort, all you can do is submit the request to him and "hope" that he chooses to oblige. And if he doesn't, then he doesn't.

A wise man once told me this: "A verbal agreement is not worth the paper it's written on."

 

[MDBass]

The material belongs to whomever holds the copyright.

The recorded material actually belongs to whoever owns the master

 

[Das Jugghead]

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.

^^^This^^^

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.

I learned the hard way if a band balks over the mere mention of the word "contract," RUN - don't walk, in the opposite direction. Wrote a fair amount of the music, wrote one song in its entirety, arranged all of the songs, wrote all of the bass lines, recorded all of the bass lines for the third album. Got "relieved" shortly after the final mastering session. What was once a hard rock band is now an acoustic act playing to bare floors ala Spinal Tap's foray into Jazz. Losers always get what the deserve - Karma just doesn't provide front row seats very often.

 

[SactoBass]

If you did the work (and you know you did), let him claim what he likes. He is perpetuating his own "phoniness".

OP: Kipp's post above is right on the mark!

What goes around comes around. You reap what you sow. Your cohort's dodgy behavior will eventually catch up with him.

It's kinda like a driver who has a habit of running red lights. Eventually he will either get busted, or worse, crash.

 

[MDBass]

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!

Unless you actually own the masters and want to go the "cease and desist" legal route, chalk it up to a learning experience and move on.

The other guy is being a dick, but it's not worth the time or effort involved.

 

[Wood and Wire]

The recorded material actually belongs to whoever owns the master

Whoever paid for the recording, owns the mechanical copyright.

Whoever paid for the song, owns the publishing rights.

Whoever wrote the song, is perpetually credited as the writer.


They're three separate things.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

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!

Ownership of ideas, along with the potential income breaks up more musical entities than you can shake a stick at.

Before starting a project, expectations need to be ironed out and in writing before commencing work. Without it, you are a volunteering contributor. Yeah, I know, hindsight is always 20-20. Sorry for your situation.

 

[J-Bassomatic]

Because I don't believe 2 wrongs make a right. I did not write the songs in question. I performed on them, recorded them, mixed them, mastered them for the band we were in together. When the band dissolved they were posted as his solo project. Like I said, it's not a big deal. I just don't like when someone takes credit for work they did not do.

This is where the concept of a 'hard-ass' comes in, and you hate to be this way but sometimes people are weasels and you have to prepare for it.

By the way, I would like to tell you of a product I have coming to market soon, the 'Shifty Weasel Detection System'. Only $79.99. after that $12.50 per weasel sniffed out by this remarkable technology and placed on the National Weasel Registry.

But seriously you hate to do it but I think you have to let it go, focus on the straight ahead. You seem like a person with integrity. You just have to get a little 'tougher' but not unkind. Education is like that.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

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.

Joe, I don’t believe in Karma. We come into this world with nothing, and are leaving the same way. What happens in between is largely comprised of (If we are truly honest with ourselves) the sum total of the choices we make.

In this case here, we have the op that operated in good faith which was his choice, and now bears the consequences, and the gained wisdom not to do it again when potentially there is much more to lose.

As for the other guy in this episode, also making a choice, and while currently may seem to have the upper hand, usually those that continue on this path arrogantly disregarding people tend take on more and more risk, and eventually come up on a bridge too far. Or in your word karma. I call it a series of poor choices that pay off with bad consequences.

 

[Mr.Ace]

Sometimes X band mates are lame. I would personally send him a text, and just say: you’re taking credit for my stuff, and that makes you lame. See you around lame-O.

 

[Pbassmanca]

Real men don't bitch on the internet either but here we are.

What??? Yes we do!

 

[Adhesive_X]

if the Ex-member is saying that he wrote and recorded your parts and did the mixing and mastering then its a D*ck move on his part.

But you did say on the OP that they were "songs of his" ....If that's the case, as in he wrote and arranged and you came up with and recorded your parts, I don't see the harm.

there is a big difference between taking credit and not having super detailed liner notes everywhere a song is posted.

I've been in similar situations and didn't care as long as they weren't making money off of it, or getting signed off of one of my signature bass lines

 

[RoadRanger]

I'm talking about personal integrity. Have some.

But - you're talking about musicians here?

 

[HamOnTheCob]

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.

Real men don't get things in writing. That's why when I sold my house, I just let the people move in and pay me whenever they can, cause dude had a real firm handshake and a trusting eye, and hey, this is America. It's not a casual outlook. It's man code.