Poor old rhythm section

Pollyanna

Platinum Member
In the news:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/may/16/topstories3.arts
Aston "Family Man" Barrett, the 60-year-old guitarist who believes he is the author of the bass line which gave Marley's late-1970s hits their inimitable rhythm, failed yesterday in his latest legal bid for a multimillion-pound slice of the Marley musical empire.

In 1974, Marley 's original two collaborators, Neville "Bunny" Livingstone and Peter McIntosh, left. The new group, Bob Marley and the Wailers, included the Barrett brothers and Al Anderson for the first time. Wittington Winter, a studio assistant at 56 Hope Road, told the court how the Barretts would compose songs together, Carlton - "lyrical, outspoken and often philosophical" - improvising words, he said, while "Family Man" added bass lines. "He [Carlton] would be talking and they would be playing and singing and humming ... When you say write [songs], you don't sit there with a pen and paper. It's more like an inspiration."

"Aston Barrett and his brother literally created the sound of the Wailers, though not for a minute to detract from the extraordinary songwriting ability of Mr Marley," Stephen Bate, representing the musician, told the judge. "It was the Barretts' unique sound which brought the Wailers international success."

The judge, however, agreed with arguments put by Island-Universal and the Marley family that Barrett surrendered his rights to any further royalties in a 1994 settlement in exchange for several hundred thousand dollars. He said: "I conclude that all the claims that Mr Aston Barrett brings in his personal capacity have been compromised by the settlement agreement."
How badly does that suck? The contributions of rhythm sections are so woefully underestimated in copyright law, which seems to be designed to mostly benefit vocalists and treble players.
 
I think he previously settled for some sum earlier, hence why he couldn't more money again.

Hence the previous settlement.

Althought the rhythmn section kills it on every marley tune, apprently this was already done and over with.
 
It's the fact that it could be settled so easily.

It's the fact that no one could have known the way Bob Marley's rhythm section would transform the western musical landscape.

It's the fact that they created something special and didn't get commensurate reward.
 
It's the fact that it could be settled so easily. ... It's the fact that they created something special and didn't get commensurate reward.

But the court affirmed the fact that Barrett agreed to the 1994 settlement in which he surrendered his rights to further royalties.

I doubt anyone will question his authorship of the bass lines on the recordings he played on. But the question in this case is whether he is entitled to royalties. For whatever reason, he gave that up. He took the money. In hindsight, it was the wrong move. But life goes on.
 
But the court affirmed the fact that Barrett agreed to the 1994 settlement in which he surrendered his rights to further royalties.

I doubt anyone will question his authorship of the bass lines on the recordings he played on. But the question in this case is whether he is entitled to royalties. For whatever reason, he gave that up. He took the money. In hindsight, it was the wrong move. But life goes on.

Yeah, I guess. My bad. It sucks, though - he probably thought knocking it back would be the gamble.

I guess the way drummers who create parts that are intrinsic to a song's success are left off songwriting credits rankles. I think this is also true for players who develop harmonies that raise a basic song to some special.
 
Yeah, I guess. My bad. It sucks, though - he probably thought knocking it back would be the gamble.
I guess the way drummers who create parts that are intrinsic to a song's success are left off songwriting credits rankles. I think this is also true for players who develop harmonies that raise a basic song to some special.

No problem Pollyanna. I know how you feel.

But while authorship and copyright may intersect, they are not the same thing. Authorship is established at the moment of creation, and cannot be taken away. But copyright can be given away, sold, assigned, inherited, etc. In popular music, authorship should be negotiated as early as possible in the process to avoid claims such as this.
 
No problem Pollyanna. I know how you feel.

But while authorship and copyright may intersect, they are not the same thing. Authorship is established at the moment of creation, and cannot be taken away. But copyright can be given away, sold, assigned, inherited, etc. In popular music, authorship should be negotiated as early as possible in the process to avoid claims such as this.

Thanks Makinao. Just wondering, if the person/s who created the music sells their copyright, what rights does authorship give them? I'm guessing just reputation and bragging rights ...
 
Yeah, being a drummer sucks. First they rip you off, then they sit around and tell all those lame drummer jokes. (Sigh.)

My 2 cents re: the Barretts? Those guys were the best, and they will never be eclipsed. Anybody wanna take issue with that? Take your Sly & Robbie and insert them someplace where it's not sunny.
 
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