Session and Guest Musicians

Sessionand Guert Musicians Tbe aiewsand opinions expressedin this article part of your group by virtue of their NeighbouringRights not n eant to substitute for legal adztice contribution or where they have performed Neighbouring rights are an exciting wbich should be sougbt in eacb partimlar for free. development for session musicians. While "neighbouring Youcanhelp avoid such complications by not a copyright per se, rights including in the contract a declaration that are the performance rights performers Introduction you are the exclusive owner of the entire have in their performances, the makers of right, tide and interest in and to all of the Whether you are a major label recording sound recordings have in their recordings, 'artist masters that are the subject matter of the or an independentmusician paying for and broadcasters have in the communication Agreement (Sanderson,3lT), free of any (Paul own recording, you may occasionally signals they broadcast" Sanderson's, claims bythe session musician. Furthermore, ire a sessionmusician to record tracks on Musicians and the Lazl In Canada, pg. 15). you may stipulate that the session musician your record.Session musicians could include Neighbouring rights became statutory after irrevocably assigns to you, in perpetuity, all backupvocalist, cello players,a hot guitar t l99V amendment to the Copyright Act, ffia righs in and to said recordinp, thus ensuring and shortly thereafter the Neighbouring brought in to spiceup a recording, "hired S Nplayer that the gun" retains no stock in the * =ffio. it could include an entire bandbrought Rights Collective of Canada (I\trRCC) was material beyond fulfillment of the to playbehindavocalist. Regardless,ihe established to administer these rights and SRi" contractually oudined fee and,/or royalty. rmance of this musician should be collect monies generated by radio use and pay addressed in a written agreement - public performances, as well as digital musicians particularly ifyou intend on selling copies SongwriterSplits audio services.As a result, session the finished master down the road. Musicians may occasionally add a substantial may novr be entided to monies related to artistic contribution to the song thatis being their commissioned performances beyond recorded. Normallymusicians are hired to the aforementioned fee and/or royalty. .RFeefioyalty play/sing a specific part but other times they This aspect should be clearly addressed in *R- -S.Clearly one of the most important aspects may arrive at the studio with a blank canvas your Agreement. this Agreement is the fei that is paid to ffiof and be allowed to jam over a beat. the session musician. The American Is this songwriting? We discussedthis point Gonclusion Federation of Musicians ("AF of M") in a bit more deail in our last arcicle (for a copy Though often perceived as a simple regulatesperformances of its members and e-mail me at [email protected]). arrangement, there are clearly a number of major recording agreements require the There is no \DTong or right answer on this points to consider when it comes to the use recording artist to adhere to the standards point but your Agreement should be clear of sessionmusicians. Certainly, the session set out under the various rules and whether or not there is songwriting credit musician can be an invaluable asset in the regulations of the AF ofM. The session rates attached to the sessionmusician's contribution. studio - artists generally want the best set out by the AF of M provide a basic Obviously, ifyou are a songwriter/artist, you performances possible on their recordings minimum of fees required; you can pay want to ensure that you are not giving away and often the sessionmusicianis just the tool higher if required (of course). any songwriting credit unless you have needed to achieve this goal. However, the Not all recording is governed by the Atr' deemed it appropriate. nature of the relationship between yourself of M guidelines (see www.afrn.org for a and any session musicians you may hire summary of the requirements and rules). should be clearly defined in order to avoid Session musicians who are NOT members GreativeApproval any potential legal quagmires, and to best of the AF of M may opt to chargewhatever You want to make sure that the session protect your art. For the handshake fee they think is reasonable in the musician delivers a performance that is agreement may be the harbinger of circumstances. In some casesyou maybe able satisfactorytoyou. Your Agreementshould headaches. to get a musician to perform for free; stipulatethat paymentis not due unlessa whereas, others mayrequire substantial fees. technically and commercially satisfactory Chris Tayhr is a mu.si lawyer with tbe lazrfrn. You have to weigh the cost and benefits and performanceis delivered- of SandersonTaylor and ztsorkswitb Aoril negotiate the amount. Laaigte, Nelly Furtado, Surn 41 and Sam It is very rare for a session musician to Creditlntormation Roberaarnong otbers. www.sandersontaylor.eom. be paid any sort ofroyalty on the recordings; Most session musicians will be satisfied with however, this may happen where the a sandard credit that accords them the same musician is a high profile artist orwhere the credit afforded to other sessionmusicians on performs an musician for free in lieu of the recording. Language such as the equity interest in the master. Be careful "Session following normally suffices: about negotiating - royaltylequity this musician shall be accorded crediton all dbum positions must be drafted precisely to be liners as follows: 'Xylophone performed by clear and effective. <insert sessionmusician's name>'." If the session musician is already signed MasterOwnership to another record company they are It may sound like overkill but you should normally restricted from allowing their confirm in the Agreement that the masters name to be stickered or featured on the are owned solely byyou. Disputes may arise cover of the CD or in other advertising. Be where a musician feels thev have become mindfirl of this restriction if applicable. @ canadianmusiGian .

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