Songwriting Software Express, Issue # 31 - Collaboration

August, 2005 Issue

To help your songwriting with a focus on the benefits of innovative songwriting software, tools, resources and programs for your songwriting craft and career.

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First up: Editor's Note from the laptop of Robert Curtis,
your songwriter in residence at Songwriting Software Plus.

1. Collaboration (or Co-writing) - Get It In Writing
2. One Minute To Better Songwriting With Evyn Charles
3. This Month's Notable Quote
4. Songwriting Software Plus Super Savings Zone

This month's issue is about collaboration or co-writing. It's the act and spirit of creating something with another person or persons with rewards not only in the final outcome, hopefully a great song :-), but in the process itself.

With that in mind, in view of the horrific natural disaster here in the United States, Hurricane Katrina, a collaborative effort of the the most essential type is certainly needed right now.

I just wanted to note that, if you can, any donation to the American Red Cross for this terrible event would be greatly helpful to those desperately hurting right now and indeed many of our fellow songwriters are among them.

And on the writing side of all of this certainly new songs of hope would be a great salve to this and the many challenges that face humanity today and on into a hopeful future.

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Co-writing songs or song collaboration as it is also referred to involves the creation of a song from two or more songwriters. In a simple song collaboration one person may write the lyrics and the other the music.

If you decide to collaborate (co-write) the best advice I have ever been given is to clearly define, right from the beginning, in writing, how the song will be divided up.

It helps establish and preserve a good relationship among co-writers and it is good practice to have these items in order when you go to negotiate a song publishing deal.

A basic songwriters collaboration agreement should list the song title, the date of the agreement, who the writers are and their contact information and then what percentage of earnings each writer will get.

In a simple collaboration example if there are two writers and one writer wrote the lyrics and the other wrote the music then a clear division of %50 to each would be fair. It is also good to decide how to divide up the expense of recording or demoing the song.

For deciding the division of recording expenses in the above example 50/50 would be a fair agreement.

However, if one writer is broke a common scenario would be for the writer who pays for recording expenses to recoup the money spent from the other writer's share when and if the song earns money and then a 50/50 split of earnings would resume.

I've provided a link to a pdf copy (below) of the agreement I've constructed from various discussions and agreements I've encountered and it's what I use myself modifying it slightly from one situation to the next but overall it remains the same.

Please note this agreement below is for general reference only, it is not formal legal advice. Please don't hesitate to consult an attorney if you prefer but make sure they specialize in music law.

COLLABORATORS' AGREEMENT (in pdf and txt formats)
For Viewing And Or Downloading

Please note for the pdf you will need Adobe Reader (the latest version is recommended) installed on your computer in order to open and read the Collaborators' Agreement. You can get Adobe Reader here (a new window will open so you can download without leaving this page).

If you want to simply open the file in your browser window for viewing you can just click on the link.

However if you want to download the file to view and use then right click on the link and choose "Save Target As" or "Save File As." Then select where you want to save the file on your hard drive.

Once you have saved the file, locate where you saved it, and double click to open.

In order to print the pdf, open the downloaded file, and select the "Print" option from the Adobe menu.

Internet Collaboration

If you are collaborating with someone on the internet feel free to email this agreement to a potential or current collaborator and use it as a template as is or develop your own agreement (create your own document by downloading the txt file and pasting it into your word processor, then reformat it to the font style and spacing you want and then save it possibly as Collaboration Agreement Template).

Or to start off you can just refer them to this page (just copy and paste the address link at the top into your email).

Let me elaborate; to use this agreement via email fill out the above agreement (once you've typed it into your word processor (for this you need the TXT file), by fill it out I mean type in the relevant information (name, percentages, etc.) and then send it to your collaborator in the body of your email (just copy and paste it in from your word processor).

You may send it back and forth a time or two but once you have agreed upon the final terms you then send them and they send you an email saying you agree to the terms of the document that you've finalized and save a copy of that email (printing it out would be best) to show agreement to the terms.

A tip for emailing - first copy and paste your Collaborators' Agreement into a text editor like Notepad in Windows (found under Programs>Accessories>Notepad in most Windows programs), to get the alignment right, and then copy and paste it into the body of your email. Then of course send it off for review.

Whether you use the agreement as is from the pdf or make your own in your word processor you may ultimately want to get original hand written signatures on it (this would be best) so once you've agreed on the agreement you'd have to use regular mail, unless you live close by, to get it formally signed.

Remember if you do this send as many copies as there are writers so you each get a copy with all original signatures.

For a full line of music contracts for all of your songwriting dealings, from co-writing to gigging to running a band, that won't cost you high attorneys' fees click here to check out 101 Music Business Contracts.

Think about all the different love songs you have ever heard and all the different ways to talk about the same thing.

In my opinion however, almost anything can be interesting as long as you find your own unique way of telling it. The story may be simple or not greatly original but it has to be compelling.

Good characters are important --"A little ditty about Jack and Diane"; "This is the story of the Hurricane," and also a well-defined attitude. That way, your audience more easily grasps what you are trying to say and relates to the characters.

Evyn Charles is a singer-songwriter and musician in Los Angeles and graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music. He regularly performs on his own and he's played stints from Club Med to a current Orville Redenbacher popcorn commercial as well as with numerous classic touring acts.

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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