Musicians against royalty cheques...
Not what one would expect, but a bit of litigation on the other side of the North Sea suggests otherwise. The internationally obscure, but once big in Denmark 'Dodo & the Dodos' let slip the dogs of law when Sony BMG wrote to tell them that they were going to start selling their music as digital downloads, including the doubtless dance floor filling 'Vågner i natten’ (‘Waking in the Night’). And they won - Sony BMG can no longer sell music downloads without explicit consent from the artists under contract. More here. It is not entirely clear whether this Baltic Beat Combo is still under contract, so the repercussions could be broader still.
From what I have read, and from people I know on the fringes of the biz, musicians who get record contracts end up signing over their souls, first born children and droit de seigneur over their significant others, let alone rights over how their music is distributed and sold, so I cannot help but think that Sony BMG Denmark ought to be having words with their lawyers over some pretty poor contract drafting.
The Jyllands-Posten, from whence this tale comes, reckons this could have implications well beyond Denmark, but I suspect that contracts in the US, here and the other major markets have been drafted with more care.
Meanwhile, this is definitely the place to note the music biz quip about poor sales - 'It has gone cardboard in Albania'.
From what I have read, and from people I know on the fringes of the biz, musicians who get record contracts end up signing over their souls, first born children and droit de seigneur over their significant others, let alone rights over how their music is distributed and sold, so I cannot help but think that Sony BMG Denmark ought to be having words with their lawyers over some pretty poor contract drafting.
The Jyllands-Posten, from whence this tale comes, reckons this could have implications well beyond Denmark, but I suspect that contracts in the US, here and the other major markets have been drafted with more care.
Meanwhile, this is definitely the place to note the music biz quip about poor sales - 'It has gone cardboard in Albania'.
Labels: Denmark, Internet, Media
This entry was posted
on Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 5:11 pm.
You can skip to the end and leave a response.
Remember how EMI used to operate?
Hey, where is everyone? Hello? Mr. C? Anyone?
Graf - the footy season has restarted - you will have to be patient on Saturday afternoons/evenings for the next 9 months! Fans need to recover from the shock of their team winning/losing; or celebrating/drowning their sorrows etc..and it may take them an hour or two to get back to their computers.
James, EMI anecdotes would be most welcome....
Surely the elegant readers of the Croy don't do anything so Philistine as to follow le foot?
Esp. not Palace. Of whom I know nothing. Utter oiks.
droit de seigneur as well? Fact:
Adam Ant is still owed money for his single "Goody Two Shoes". Is he still being held at the Royal Free Hospital after being sectioned? Anybody know?
Stan
Amy - I think you will find that it is quite hard for we chaps to resist the siren call of the opening day of the season, and I would be far happier if my lot had won and / or that I hadn't dropped a tenner thinking that they would...
Stan - Well x3. I will investigate.
I don´t know when their "hit" came out. May be it´s the same thing like in the last years when a new media (e.g. CD) turned up and the legal situation was unclear.
Werner - It was back in the eighties, apparently.
» Post a Comment