Old style contracts used to assign all rights to publishers..(though PRS usually shows 50% to each party) Some of my late father's songs have been transferred from company to company half a dozen times, some being part owned at one time by Michael Jackson's estate! There is one company who have transferred the rights to another branch of their own selves Emerald Music originally (now calling themselves Andoc).. and have not paid up on past or present releases and this would seem to be just crooked behaviour. These companies illegally use minimum payment thresholds which were never in the contracts. Some use £50 as being a minimum payment. They put that in themselves.. and it is in no way part of the agreed contract, but that is the power they hold. So with many companies you never know when it reaches the sales to trigger a payment - as only they get sent the usage. The reputable ones send 6 monthly statements the crooks don't. Modern song contracts can be fixed period reversionary rights (eg for a three year period), and also should include a clause that if the original company goes down the rights revert back to the writer. I feel sick when I see the terms of old contracts, there is no need to assign copyright in the way it used to be done. But hey ho.. I am stuck with unfair terms which give the rights for the publisher to transfer from party to party.
|