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Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

bbc.co.uk

231–240 of 363 posts

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked this up and while some of her older hits were just credited to her, a really impressive number of them were co-written by Liz Rose, who I’ve never even heard of.

> I looked this up and while some of her older hits were just credited to her Haha. "Some". I think if we dove deeper we'll find that number shockingly close to zero.

She wrote her whole third album alone.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps it's naive of me, but I can't help but look down on this kind of behavior. I know that tax money is rarely spent in the most efficient way possible, but (ideally) the point of taxes is that they go to benefit the general public. Moving just so one doesn't have to pay as much, after (presumably) living in the state for some time feels selfish and greedy.

Some states actually have laws specifically to prevent this. For example, if you work remote for a company based in NY, PA, CT, DE, AR, or NE; your income is taxable in that state regardless of where you live or work. This is known as a "convenience of the employer" test. In fact, before a certain SCOTUS ruling you couldn't even claim a refund on that tax for your residence state's tax return (and even after, that re…

> Emigrate from the US and you'll still be expected to pay US taxes on foreign income.

That's because you still have U.S. citizenship. You can give that up and not be taxed, as I understand it.

Also, it looks like there are provisions to give you exclusions on your foreign income,if you have any.[1] That seems sane to me, if you live their the whole year and that location is your tax base, then you can exclude all the income from their in your U.S. taxes. But living elsewhere won't protect you from U.S. taxes if you still have the benefit of U.S. citizenship and make a lot of money from the U.S.

California considering a wealth exit tax seems a bit different on first glance, but I could see it making sense if it's somewhat similar in use. If you make your money from California and continue to after moving from there to elsewhere, that money being eligible to be taxed by California because otherwise it's extracting the benefit of California's laws and markets without paying into the system that provides them.

1: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/fore...

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#233
post #76
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Several people, all listed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAP_(song) . The song has topped numerous charts, for instance Pitchfork and Rolling Stone's best song of 2020. Why wouldn't they want to take credit?

I'd be proud even if it wasn't a massive hit. It's an insanely catchy song, performed by two women who deliver the lines perfectly, on top of a very creative production (I especially like the repetitive "there's some hoes in this house" line that plays throughout the entire song). I don't think it's fair to the people involved to paint it something it's not just because the sexual language makes you uncomfortable.

fwiw, it's not the sexual imagery that bothers most people, it's the degradation they hear in the rest of the song.

"Hoes in this house" for example.

Sex is natural, calling women whores is not. One is a fine thing for a kid to see, the other is problematic and requires you to explain that their language shouldn't be repeated, that it's probably indicative of depression or systematic oppression of women, etc.

Nothing in the song appears to be feminine empowerment as they defend it by saying - it's just soft-core porn masquerading as music. Porn is porn and when made without harm is a lifestyle choice, it's the masquerade that makes it icky.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Though it's not millions in this case, the top marginal tax rate in CA is 12%, so he's saving at most $850K if this was a one-time $7M payment. Not sure that 12% is worth picking up my family and moving to another state if that's the only reason to relocate. CA and WA weather and lifestyle is much different than what he saw in Southern California (I'm guessing that's where he lived since he was in the music industry)…

850k is worth moving to another state for a year, especially if this is not repeatable income, but that’s just me.

I think it'd have to be more than a year if you really want to escape taxation. If you leave the state, earn $7M, then move back a year later, California is going to be taking a close look at when you actually earned that money.

Though moving is easier and cheaper for a single person living in an apartment than someone with a family and house.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#235
post #54

It seems as though this is not a well understood issue from reading the comments here. This isn’t artists doing interviews and saying “I wrote this”. The problem is that the artists are bullying their way into getting points for the song writing credits (publishing royalties) when they had little(change a word in the lyrics) or no input into the song. I fully support artists getting as much of the live performance/me…

If Rihanna sings your song it might have a much greater chance of being a hit.10% of a million dollars is better than 100% of 10000 dollars. You just have to do the math and figure if its worth it or not.

Yes, this is well covered in the article.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You get whatever you and your legal team negotiate. Just like in any other business contract.

Yes, and when you regularly ask too much of the other party in those negotiations they band together and ask you to stop. Much like what's happening in the story.

Then they go on twitter and make it into a moral imperative to demonize you. Just part of negotiations.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is simple. Just remove "work for hire" from your contract.

Have you read their contract?

If you're being taken advantage of because of X it's a safe bet you don't have an anti-X clause in your contract...

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Now anyone can record high quality music at home." Eh, to an extent. Audio production is a highly involved process. Few people have the equipment and knowledge to mic instruments & track sound properly, mix audio properly, apply professional-level production, master the tracks properly, master the album properly... It's not as easy as having a computer and some software. You can get a pretty good sound at home now f…

My macbook pro and a decent USB microphone can produce far more professional demos than the Beatles could produce in 1964. If you listen to, say, the Lost Lennon Tapes, a high-school student can do higher-quality production today, based purely on youtube how-to videos. Sufficient for a pro album ready for radio play? Probably not. But good enough to monetize on youtube? All day long.

There is a lot more to making good quality recordings then having good equipment. There's arrangement, mic placement, room acoustic treatment, mixing and EQ, mastering.

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#239

A friend of mine decided to pursue music production around the same time I started in software engineering. We're both 20 somethings. We swap war stories now and then. I get to hear about how he's working with his mentor to do vocal production on a track getting pitched for Maroon 5, The Chainsmokers, etc. Sometimes the tracks take -- the artist likes them and decides to move forward. Usually they don't and it's a lo…

> I get to hear about how he's working with his mentor to do vocal production on a track getting pitched for Maroon 5, The Chainsmokers, etc. Sometimes the tracks take -- the artist likes them and decides to move forward. Usually they don't and it's a lot of getting your hopes up for nothing

This lines up with stories I’ve heard from a friend who had some success in the music industry (2 gold records), was signed to a major label, then dropped so went into song writing.

It’s a hyper competitive industry to operate in

Re: Hit songwriters ask pop stars to stop taking credit for songs they didn't write

#240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He moved to WA to dodge CA income tax If he waited for the big check before he made that move, CA will find him - it's not where you live when you got the check, it's where you live when you earned it.

Perhaps it's naive of me, but I can't help but look down on this kind of behavior. I know that tax money is rarely spent in the most efficient way possible, but (ideally) the point of taxes is that they go to benefit the general public. Moving just so one doesn't have to pay as much, after (presumably) living in the state for some time feels selfish and greedy.

Have you ever worked for a Delaware corporation in a state other than Delaware?
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