To Fight (Or Not) For A Songwriting Credit?

The idea about copyright and people receiving credit for their work has caught my attention for a long time. Some recent posts over at The Number Ones have made me do some research.

But first, some context:

In 2019, Mexican singer José José (who, in my opinion, if he hadn’t surrendered to his inner demons and addictions, could have been bigger than Julio Iglesias) died after a long battle with cancer. Not too long after this, I heard from an entertainment journalist who said that at least two of the performer’s greatest hits were inspired by some of Jose’s own personal memories.

What José did was tell a songwriter a story. Who then turned it into a song.

The journalist believed that the songwriter should had given José a proper credit, or at least share the royalties with him. According to some, this is the current practice for many reggaetón songs: the singer sometimes just throws out an idea or comes up with a line, and then a group of songwriters will put the song together – yet the artist retains a songwriting credit.

So this leads me to think about some things that we have learned from The Number Ones columns. One example is what Toni Basil did with Mickey: she basically reinvented an existing song, switched genres and created a chant that no one’s forgotten to this day.

Tom Breihan thought that Toni deserved songwriting credit, and I agree.

Throughout the years we’ve seen some examples of sampling in the rap and hip-hop genres, some of which have led to lawsuits. Over at the mothership, the song I’ll Be Missing You was recently analyzed. Many of us noted that Sting has secured 100% of the royalties. Whether this was his lawyer’s idea or his own, we don’t know.

I never understood why Puff Daddy didn’t ask Sting for his permission in the first place; perhaps this was an ego thing? Maybe he simply thought that he could get away with it? Or thought he could ask for permission later, because he saw the urgency to release the song quickly? Who knows?

​Is it fair that Sting has credit for all of lyrics, even as Faith Evans and Puff’s ghostwriter put their creativity into the process? It’s debatable.

Last decade, we witnessed the infamous Blurred Lines lawsuit. It ended badly for all the people involved, especially Robin Thicke. After this, he has been incapable of creating another hit. And for better or for worse, it had change the way how the songwriters are credited now. For instance, the late Tom Petty received a credit practically without asking for it.

But the question here is: should someone demand a songwriting credit? What would be their motivation?

First of all, it’s about justice – what’s fair is fair. If someone puts his or her effort and creativity, their name has to be written.

Then, it’s a matter of recognition. Whether you’ve made a masterpiece, or complete trash, you still would want that everybody knows it was yours.

The negative side of looking at this would be: for pure greed and ambition. Without getting inside this subject… the theme of the royalties is complex and there are many artists that are receiving insane amounts of money.

It’s lucrative and everybody wants a piece of that. Ask the Marvin Gaye estate.

Of course, the work behind a song should be rewarded, but do you think it’s fair that some producers can be called songwriters just by shouting a line, name checking themselves, or making just a small contribution to a song?

If you could create the new “Old Town Road”, would want your name in the credits?

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