Unapproved Artist

I have an artist friend who sang a demo for a songwriter. That songwriter released the demo under the name of the artist without him knowing it. It is now on iTunes and comes up when this artist friend is searched. The songwriter is selling the song using the artist's name without permission or a contract. My questions are: #1 - how many laws does this violate and #2 - what should the artist do about it?

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Permalink Reply by Robert Xeno on May 1, 2012 at 4:47pm

With no paperwork involved it would be easy (and relatively inexpensive) for the artist to have a lawyer draft up a Cease and Desist Letter demanding the songwriter remove the artist's name form any publications.

However, is it really worth it and isn’t the artist garnering some modicum of notoriety from the unwarranted release?

Like they say (I've said ) doesn’t matter what they are saying, or where or how, long as they are talking about you then you are winning.

Is it really worth the expense, and cant the artist leverage the track for his/her own use in some way?

My 2 cents of an answer on a dollar question.

Robert

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Permalink Reply by Judy Rodman on May 8, 2012 at 4:47pm

This voice stealing scheme is not new... it has been happening for decades. It's why I choose not to sing solos on other people's demos anymore unless they are really dear, trusted friends.

I see the biggest two problems as (and I don't know if they apply for the singer in question)

Sometimes demos are embarrassingly bad as to sonic and/or performance quality... enough to color a singer's reputation.
The songs may not reflect the musical definition chosen by the artist, therefore confusing the artistic definition and image of that singer for the public. Especially for new artists, this can be problematic.

For these reasons I'd suggest that if the singer is or aspires to be an artist, get an attorney involved, as Robert Xeno suggests. If all the singer wants to do is demo work, no problem. Enjoy the couple minutes of fame:)

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Permalink Reply by Bret Teegarden on May 8, 2012 at 5:11pm

Judy, great points that I had not thought about. I was mainly concerned with the ethics and financial aspects but your points about image and artistic direction are perhaps much more important!

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Permalink Reply by Judy Rodman on May 12, 2012 at 9:27am

Yeah Bret... ask Karen Taylor-Good about that sometime! Years ago when she was going after a deal, she was horrified at a demo she sang which the songwriter released without her permission. Argh.