What is Work for Hire & How Does it Affect You As an Artist?

[KatManDude]

Bad analogy. A single newspaper article does not generate millions of dollars of income. A single song can.

[Whatisthescore]

Get off the cocaine, lady.

[wnieke]

Well, ok, the good news to me is: The RIAA didn't get to secretly modify existing copyright law, hence artists can revert the copyrights. But ... I'm sorry 35 (!) YEARS? Who will want to listen to a record that's been spinning for 35 year AFTER that time? At that point, the product is likely to be dead anyways (because it's been sold a gazillion times). So... is it good news then?

[IHaveDimensia]

@wnieke Um, dude. The Beatles. c'mon. There are tons of songwriters who wrote their songs YEARS ago who are still making money off of their songs.

[wnieke]

@IHaveDimensia Point taken, o.k. But seriously - 35 years? And I heard on the news somewhere that they've upped this to 70 - *cough* - se-ven-ty years just recently? That's about the average lifespan of a human being in the western world! So the major labels are making sure that once you've sold the copyrights to your masters, there is no way in hell you'll make a buck from a song while you're alive. (or before falling sick with dementia, to quote the nickname you've chosen....)

[FTWyousuck]

What a major rip-off tactic "Work for hire" really is! Its just a fancy way of stealing with white gloves on to appear proper!

A blatant sleight of hand were the rich guy sees the poor kids with talent off the road and thinks to himself,

"Gosh, if I can only swindle them kids into thinking their talents are mine, I can get richer and send my kids off to HARVARD"

Piss on MAJOR labels!! They're all a bunch of crooks after easy money.

Their days are numbered as technology will debunk them :)