One. A session musician is someone who comes to play on stage or in the studio during a “session” but is not part of the main act or band, or who makes a “one-time” contribution. When a session musician is hired, a written agreement must be made that clearly states that the musician is exercising the capacity of a session musician and not as a member of the group or act. A session musician can be a guitarist, a brass player, a percussionist, a DJ or even a “beat boxer”. For-hire work refers to an agreement between an employer and an employee in which the employee is specifically hired by the employer and, through the agreement, the employer becomes the author and owner of the employee`s work. For example, a newspaper publisher may retain copyright in articles written by its journalists because they are employees of the company. Also known as a work-for-lease contract, it is a contract by which a musician agrees to perform a musical composition for a fee, but waives any interest in the main recording and waives all other related rights such as moral rights. . but session musicians are paid for their contributions. Which part is not fair? In a previous article, we discussed the three components of a song, which legally include musical composition, lyrics, and sound recording. Contributing artists and editors have a copyright in their works.
Thus, a session musician has a copyright on his fifteen-second guitar riff or twenty-second piano hook because he is the performer. This means that the session musician can decide when and for what purposes the sound recording can be used. This is a useful agreement to prevent session musicians from claiming property rights or a share of the revenue from the performance after hiring and paying a royalty for their services. The whole process of license sharing, authorship, and ownership is already a complicated task for record companies. To avoid future litigation, they usually present session musicians with a standard contract that states that all copyright in the sound recording, as well as all royalties that result from it, will be awarded to the record company (the release of a session musician) in exchange for a session package. So these musicians simply play for a fixed amount and the record company or recording artist is named as the copyright owner. Session musicians are often deprived of the fame and royalties they rightly deserve. A popular session musician, Steve Gregory – who has played for bands like the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac – currently performs at weddings, corporate events and barn dances! The royalties that should have been paid to him for all the times his recordings were sampled went directly to bands and record companies, making them even richer. A session musician is essentially the equivalent of a freelancer or independent contractor working on a project basis. These musicians are not members of the band as they work with solo artists or bands for shorter periods of time and receive a fixed amount for their performance or, in rarer situations, receive a portion of the future income that the recording could generate, especially if the artist or group cannot afford the session musician – this is open to exploitation by both parties. Do session musicians fall into the “Work-for-Hire” category? Sound recordings (e.B. of session musicians) are not included in this list.
This means that these musicians do not fall into the “work for remuneration” category, but are independent contractors and are not obliged to give up their rights. This contract can be used by a producer who has hired a session musician; or by someone who has been hired as a session musician but has not received a contract to sign. This type of agreement is often called “release” because the musician releases the producer/label from any possible responsibility for the violations by giving him or her consent to the recording. Session musicians, also known as studio musicians, are very popular in the recording industry. These musicians usually specialize in producing one or more instruments (e.B. Trumpet and saxophone), and due to their years of experience, are hired either by the recording artist or by the label for a studio session or live performance. Take away This article is just a preliminary overview of possible terms and issues triggered while working as a session musician. .