Drum Tracks taken without Credit & Respect

fzamudio

Junior Member
I wanted to write about a situation, involving my work on a demo.

I’m drummer in Southern California and less than a year ago I was involved with a band. We were in the process of recording our demo, I in the process of recording my drum tracks.

Inevitably, I was dis(sed)-missed from the band.

A few months go by & these guys put together the demo & start putting it out there & promoting it. Promoting it WITHOUT giving me credit on the drum-work. Additionally, they are also selling it for profit. Now, to give you a little back story-when I was with the band, I had a lock-out studio where we could practice anytime anyday. I paid the majority of the rent not by choice but because the rest of the guys couldn’t afford to pay their end (This alone should have been reason enough for me to quit, I think). I gave up the lock-out(bad move) to save us some cash. Less than 2 weeks go by & they decide to kick me out of the band.

So,
I cut drum tracks for this band
They kick me out
They use my drum tracks for their demo
The sell the demo & I don’t get any credit OR paid for it

I would like people’s feedback about this. Is this fair? What’s wrong with this?
For those people out side of this area, I want you to realize how bad the scene or the people in it, can be.

I can get into specifics of why I was kicked out, & who these rotten perpetrators are… ask me
 
thats terible. ive had something similar happen where i found a guitarist using tracks i recorded in my studio with him on his new bands myspace claiming they were his bands. i didnt even mention it because the songs were bad and id rather people didnt know i was part of it

i know its not the same as you. you should defently be getting a fair cut of profits made from sales.

kyle
 
Certainly not fair, but if you dig around here, you'll find a few threads with very similar issues.

Unfortunately, there's not a hell of a lot you can do as a drum part can't be copywritten.....but I would certainly approach the guy and demand that I be given credit for playing on the track. It's unlikely you'll see any cash out of it (you can ask for compensation....who knows, stranger things have happened)....but at the very least, get your name put on the credit list.
 
Fair? No, of course not.

But unless you had a contract in writing specifying the terms of the recording, there is little you can do about it.

And unless they start selling huge volumes of copies, it's not even worth going after them.
You say they're selling them for a profit. But if you back out all the recording costs and printing costs associated with making the demo, further back out all the copies they're giving away to music industry for free, and any advertising costs, I highly doubt there is a true profit for you to make a claim against.
 
If any of the songs are cover versions with appropriate permissions not gained and royalties unpaid, then you could bring the recording to the attention of the RIAA MWUHAHAHA
 
Think of it this way, the pricks have no "honor or class" in what they have done. Someday when you are rich and famous you can say you helped a few hacks, that sponged off you with some drum tracks. LOL
 
Man, what a bunch of douchebags! Typically, in deals like this, either band members share equally in the expenses or if some are "investors," they get paid off first, then the rest of the money is split according to some formula. It sounds like you just trusted them and got screwed.

On the other hand, do you have the master recordings, or any other recordings? If so, you could make your own CDs, credit yourself only, and sell them. Fair's fair!
 
Please don't get me wrong, I commiserate with you... but I don't think this is just YOUR scene. There's plenty of dishonest and unscrupulous people playing music, unfortunately. And beyond that, there's an even larger number of flakes and ne'er-do-wells.

Unless this band becomes the next hot thing, though, I would try to move past it. Many bands make many demos that end up in many garbage cans. Long after you and your good heart make some truly great music (and are credited and paid for it), these lowlifes will have gotten nowhere, because they will have burned too many bridges acting unprofessionally.
 
Never put all of your eggs in one basket, I do not trust anyone in the music business. There are a lot of lying back stabbing jerks out there,with more ego than talent. On the other hand, there are some real classy people as well, they tend to have the real talent. I have been in one band going on 2 years now,but I am always looking and taking other gigs. As far as not getting credit or paid for something, That really sucks, its happend to all of us. Unless you have a real contract,or a union card and contract know one has to pay you. The one band I play in I filled out a tax form. Now I get to claim everything I buy for my drums during tax time.
 
It's an unfortunate situation, and I agree that it's not worth pursuing at this time. Of course if you do, you'll have to prove your involvement in a court of law with endorsed checks, credit card statements, acknowledgements from the recording studio and rehearsal place, photos, videos, proof you played gigs with them, etc. Just you saying you were on a recording will be countered with them saying "no, he wasn't."

But their mentality is interesting, and not unlike music traders who feel that they can distribute copyrighted work with no culpability.

Bermuda
 
Its all about who owns the recordings, if you paid for it, you own it. If you can prove you own the recordings then you have a good chance of getting some money out of it. If you have just played on the track without any previous agreement regarding finace, you wont get nothing out of it.

This is why it pays to make recording agreements whether how small the artist is.

If depends whether its worth the hassle. If they are making tons of cash out of it i would be getting shirty. If its just a few quid i would let it lie and move on.
 
You have experience now. By the sound of things these guys ain't going to be big. They sound like a bunch of dead beats. If they won't put money into anything they won't be discovered simple as. How long can they stretch one demo?

This shows that you have drive, and will be successful in what ever you do.

As for getting money back, forget it. If you haven't all signed a contract within eachother, there is no point fighting it.

When they next play a gig, stand outside handing out flyers to promote your new band haha.


Jay
 
unfortunately without any contracts involved you will have to chalk this one up as another callus on the heart do to the music biz....

wont be the last my friend
 
Without any contract written stating that your own or have copyright of those drums on the track, there's not alot you can do. Im going through this myself at the moment, ive left a band that has just recorded a 3 track e.p.. they are now auditioning for a new drummer and ive requested that they re-record the drums, i doubt they will.
 
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