Legal Or Not? Options

[JusClownin]

Hi guys. Wasn't sure if this was the best forum for this, but here goes.

As a hobby, a friend and I record vocals on random instrumentals of recordings that we usually find on CD singles at the record store or on the net.

They are pretty humorous and have little or nothing to do with the artist who created the instrumental. We want to create site where we can share our renditions with the public for free. We both have full time careers and have absolutely no interest in selling these songs, not that anyone would buy them, or making profit off the site. It would be fully funded by out of our own pocket and we wouldn't have any advertisers. Just a personal site.

Does anyone know if we'd run into any legal problems by doing this? Like I said, it's just a hobby. Basically, we're just two old friends from high school that get together maybe 3 times a year, drink and have some fun jamming on these recordings. They are by far from "great" quality, but they're actually not so bad, for what it's worth.

Anyway, any input or advice would be great. I just fear having some big-wig artist or label sue us for something so trivial.

[straydog]

"When you make a recording deal or a publishing deal, everything is defined in the contract. If the contract you sign and agree says you only get 0,5% royalty and the company can market your music in a "degrading way" then it's your own fault. Nobody forces you to sign any kind of lousy deals with anybody."


This sounds too good in theory, but in the real world negotiations aren't that simple... because I'm not (nor any other struggling musician) in any position to argue with them, or hire a bunch of lawyers to talk it over and review the contract. That's why we need laws determining such simple aspects as minimal royalties, to protect even those of us that are naive or desperate. In this strong capitalism we live in it is sadly not a matter of common sense and understanding, but a budget vs budget competition. And please keep in mind that I live in Greece, where the free market concept has never worked the way it should have.


"The company had no right whatsoever to release the song without the band's permission. I doubt this is possible anywhere in the civilized world today. They should have sued the company (they probably still can) and they would have most definately won the case."

Hmm... I don't know if it would have worked so easily here since laws seem to always be bent and distorted to a horrible extent. Anyway, yes they could have sued, if they had the money. But until they could have gathered it (we're talking about working class kids around their twenties) the company would have sold whatever it was intending to. And I doubt that the money they would get back (if they got any) would be more than the law fees.

"Remeber, nobody can steal your music or do anything with it without your permission. It's your property, just like anything else you own."

I still see music as something more open-ended than "My property", but I understand the point you're making. Yet even famous bands have been forced to do albums with companies they didn't want to cooperate with anymore, because they weren't able or willing to pay the huge fees for breaking their contracts. It's almost standard company policy that when a commercial artist leaves them, they make some stupid collection and publish it at the same time he puts out his new album. And many artists have heard their music being played in lousy TV shows f.e., without ever getting a chance to think (ethically, politically or otherwise) if they want it to. Yes, it's the contract, but it still means you don't have absolute control. And they are in the position to even blackmail... that's why I believe we need laws protecting our basic rights. Unless of course the whole system is torn apart, but that's a wholy different utopic subject.

(I messed up with the quote function and was too bored to do it again, hence the quotation marks)

(Still drinking beers here)