OFF: Procol Harum's copyright case news

[gary shindler]

I think I back the organist on that one. Gary Brooker says that he wrote the song, well yeah he may have written the song's melody but the organ is pretty much a part of the song. For instance: Pete Townshend has songwriting credit for most of the Who's songs. Did he tell Entwhistle and/or Moon what to do on each song? I doubt it. As distinct as their parts are... Bill Wyman also came up with some pretty good bass parts but most of the Stones' songs are credited to the Glimmer Twins. Etc. etc. etc.

Jonathan Jarrett <jjarrett at CHIARK.GREENEND.ORG.UK> wrote: On Wed, Dec 20, 2006 at 09:51:30AM -0500, Jason M. Scruton typed out:
> Big news about a big song from bbc news site below.  This is why it's  
> always best to credit the whole group with writing credit.

 

 An equal share isn't always the answer either, though. Something 
I've quoted before, though I don't think it was here, is the notes from 
the remaster of Deep Purple's _Machine Head_ where, just after noting 
that despite the five-ways writing credits, actually Blackmore wrote six 
of the songs and Glover two, they then quote Roger Glover saying, 
"_Machine Head_ was the beginning of the bad period. It was coming 
because as far as the writing side of it was concerned we'd agreed at 
the outset that we were going to share everything five ways, because 
everything we wrote was part of a jam, and in those days we had nothing 
to lose. It's only when you realise how much money is involved in 
publishing that people turn round and say, `he had nothing to do with 
that and yet he's getting a lot of money for it'. Those kinds of things 
caused tension."

 And would you really want to try to break it down into shares 
for contribution? 5% for a solo, 20% for a melody line, 30% for 
lyrics, minimum 40% `finder's fee'? No perhaps not. Basically, if your 
band's OK with each other it'll work out and if they aren't, you have 
bigger problems I reckon, that will find some other way to come out. But 
it's a shame how money can polarise them I guess.

 Actually, that reminds me... but that's probably better in 
another post. Yours,
       Jon

ObCD: Ten Benson - _Satan Kidney Pie_
-- 
"When fortune wanes, of what assistance are quantities of elephants?"
     (Juvaini, Afghan Muslim chronicler, c. 1206)
 Jon Jarrett, Fitzwilliam Museum, jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk


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