Musician Release Form

[goalie composer]

Hi all,

Does anyone have or can point me in the direction of a release form that can be used for musicians when recording for film? Preferably it would be some kind of a buyout and protect the composer / production company. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!

GC

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[Daryl]

What country?

 

[goalie composer]

What country?

Canada

 

[JohnG]

I'm not sure how magic the document is; if you're in Canada I would bet people would recoil from the lengthy screeds common in the USA.

When I wrote cartoon music for Disney, they made us sign (and have notarised) a separate, half-inch thick document for each cue.

 

[goalie composer]

I'm not sure how magic the document is; if you're in Canada I would bet people would recoil from the lengthy screeds common in the USA.

When I wrote cartoon music for Disney, they made us sign (and have notarised) a separate, half-inch thick document for each cue.

Would still love to check out the doc if you've got it handy.

 

[JohnG]

Bruv I'm not a lawyer and this is legal advice; even if I were a lawyer, you are in Canada and I don't know into what jurisdiction your music will be released. I suggest you either scour the internet or ask your client(s) what they want to see.

In my case, just ground up and re-debouched what the game company wanted (they told me) into a one-paragraph thing.

Brevity is beauty, but inevitably introduces ambiguity, which is not nice in a legal document if it comes to some kind of litigation. If the project is for the EU (or world-wide) there are "moral rights" and all that. If you are going to be asking the musicians to improvise, you will be venturing into gray areas -- arguably they are composing, in that situation, so you might need a more comprehensive form if the project is like that -- (example: you provide them only with a tune and chord symbols, and they are making up the rest).

Possibly the book, This Business of Music has a release form? I can't find my copy.

An internet search reveals innumerable results for "musician release form," if you don't want to spend any money or very much time.

 

[goalie composer]

Bruv I'm not a lawyer and this is legal advice; even if I were a lawyer, you are in Canada and I don't know into what jurisdiction your music will be released. I suggest you either scour the internet or ask your client(s) what they want to see.

In my case, just ground up and re-debouched what the game company wanted (they told me) into a one-paragraph thing.

Brevity is beauty, but inevitably introduces ambiguity, which is not nice in a legal document if it comes to some kind of litigation. If the project is for the EU (or world-wide) there are "moral rights" and all that. If you are going to be asking the musicians to improvise, you will be venturing into gray areas -- arguably they are composing, in that situation, so you might need a more comprehensive form if the project is like that -- maybe a tune with chord symbols.

Possibly the book, This Business of Music has a release form? I can't find my copy.

An internet search reveals innumerable results for "musician release form," if you don't want to spend any money or very much time.

Thx for your thoughts, much appreciated.

 

[chillbot]

I have a real simple one-page letter I can PM you if you want. It basically says in clear terms that I own everything we recorded and can do whatever I want with it, just to cover all the bases. Some musicians might object to this but I have good relationships and they know I would absolutely not take advantage of them. It helps if you pay them well. Sometimes I'll add an extra clause like we'll only use the recordings for one season (TV) or whatever. Ultimately it has to be phrased in this way because if you are doing work-for-hire and don't own the final music you have no say over what happens to it or where it goes.

 

[goalie composer]

I have a real simple one-page letter I can PM you if you want. It basically says in clear terms that I own everything we recorded and can do whatever I want with it, just to cover all the bases. Some musicians might object to this but I have good relationships and they know I would absolutely not take advantage of them. It helps if you pay them well. Sometimes I'll add an extra clause like we'll only use the recordings for one season (TV) or whatever. Ultimately it has to be phrased in this way because if you are doing work-for-hire and don't own the final music you have no say over what happens to it or where it goes.

Yes, please!