Songwriter calls out Beyoncé for stealing writing credits

[Mission249]

Nicca, Taylor swift don't write her own shiet and if you believe she do, you're on crack

Nobody does. Everyone has a team. All the way back to Motown and before. The band alone has always been adding stuff, coming up with riffs, etc. Only the Stevie Wonders and Princes were playing all the instruments.

But there's levels to it and some of our current heroes are getting kinda extreme with how hands off they are. They're karaoke artists while demanding singer-songwriter respect.

 

[ajnapoleon]

But it didn't sound like Beyonce "stole" anything from Kelis herself.

It sounds like she cleared the sample by whomever owns it (Pharell? Neptunes?), but Kelis objected to it as the original singer.

Beyonce removed it due the pushback from Kelis but didn't legally have to.

it was handled correctly

im thinking kelis wanted her name out there maybe a spot on the tour

 

[BigMoneyGrip]

But it didn't sound like Beyonce "stole" anything from Kelis herself.

It sounds like she cleared the sample by whomever owns it (Pharell? Neptunes?), but Kelis objected to it as the original singer.

Beyonce removed it due the pushback from Kelis but didn't legally have to.

I’m talking about the chic making the accusation.. Same way meek mill crashed out when he said Drake had ghost writers… that chic if she’s a song writer will pretty much get black balled from the industry

 

[David_TheMan]

Of course the writer should own the publishing and get the lion share of the publishing... but I don't see why the person who actually records the song, adds ad-libs to the song and other vocal flourishes, promotes the song, performs the song wouldn't get a cut

Its not song writing credits

They would get a cut of the master recording, not the publishing.
Learn about the fukking business and your questions are answered.
Owning the masters is owning the performance
Owning the publishing is owning the writing.

Beyonce would rightly own the masters or her label, but she has no reason to be asking for publishing she did not write it

 

[BaileyPark31]

I’m talking about the chic making the accusation.. Same way meek mill crashed out when he said Drake had ghost writers… that chic if she’s a song writer will pretty much get black balled from the industry

I think since she's not making no real money writing (at this time), she's trying to change her lane to activist / influencer. .... Cuz no way in hail I'm admitting to writing for CASSIE for years AND expecting a payout from her under BadBoy.

 

[Formerly Black Trash]

She blackmailed herself

You mean balled

 

[FeverPitch2]

Of course the writer should own the publishing and get the lion share of the publishing... but I don't see why the person who actually records the song, adds ad-libs to the song and other vocal flourishes, promotes the song, performs the song wouldn't get a cut

Its not song writing credits

How Music Royalties Work | Xposure Music

If you're a musician, you need to know about music royalties. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about how to get paid for your music.

info.xposuremusic.com

Songwriters usually write the music and the lyrics to a song, and they’re entitled to receive mechanical, performance, or sync royalties, depending on how their work is being used. If there are multiple songwriters credited for the same song, they will all be entitled to a percentage of the royalties, and these percentages are usually established through the use of a split sheet. This is a written agreement deciding how much each writer is entitled to get in terms of royalties, so there is no confusion later on.

Recording artists get a percentage of the sale of a song or album based the points (percentage of the Manufacturers Retail Sale Price) as stated in the recording contract with their record label.
Record labels give recording artists an advance against future royalties.
All revenue due to an artist from sales will go to the label to repay the advance.
Only when the advance has been paid back (recouped) in full will the artist receive any money from sales.

This is where shyt usually goes left because record companies employ all kinds of shady tactics to ensure an artist never recoups.
Unless you're selling gold or platinum, an artist usually never sees a dime on record sales.
Artists make the majority of their money on shows and merch.

 

[FeverPitch2]

But She's literally operating as a ghost writer, not an artist allowing others to sample her work.

That's not what ghost writer means.

 

[MoveForward]

That’s the cost of doing business. You give your song to another artist and it likely won’t be as big, so you’ll get 100% of nothing.

 

[MostReal]

nikkas in here defending the theft out right. nikkas is living hand to mouth writing hits and y'all telling them to hire lawyers. fukk are you even talking about???

Breh like for real.
When you can write like that, it's a real gift. Your words move masses. You should be compensated correctly

 

[CashmereThoughts]

That’s the cost of doing business. You give your song to another artist and it likely won’t be as big, so you’ll get 100% of nothing.

it is unfortunately how the music business operates. It's dead wrong and needs to continue to be exposed. If the writers were properly unionized they could bring the music industry to its needs. none of these hits write themselves and Beyonce, swift and all of them are nothing without a handful of writers in the industry.

 

[MegaTronBomb!]

The levels of secrecy that go into Beyonce's music/projects is kind of unreal.... like there really hasn't been a more controlled product we've ever seen.

But why would anyone be surprised of this? When you've successfully crafted yourself to near-deity status with your audience.....you're nearly able to get away with anything.

 

[Da King]

I doubt Beyonce writes any of her songs her writers are to blame.

Doubt she can write, Beyoncé sounds dumb as bricks whenever she speaks

 

[IIVI]

Yeah, most of your favorite artists got writers. The music industry is BUSINESS. Nobody at the top from the top executives to the top artists got time to goof around. As a BUSINESS it also means a whole lot of people are involved. A whole lot.

Think about how much money the top artists' successful songs and albums generate. People are definitely going to try and make sure those artists get as much support as possible. Think about how much goes on in between a song going from some lyrics on a paper/phone to audio distributed around the world.

When you got somebody who has the whole singing/performing/theatric lane and the FANBASE she does, you better make sure she has everything she needs to strike while the iron is hot and to keep that glow as long as she can (can be decades).

The FANS have chosen who they rock with and it wasn't someone else.

That said, this is why there are so many layers to typical 9-5 companies: you got people who handle where the money comes from, how it's split up, etc. Those departments take care of the specifics. When you're a songwriter, those layers of abstraction are now your problem. There are a whole bunch of things happening in between the Artist - Songwriter - Producer layers.

Think about the "Search" feature in Spotify, how good it works and how much money that feature is responsible for. Those software engineers probably get paid peanuts as well compared to how impactful that feature is and don't get invited into any award ceremonies for it either. Similarly, think about how many layers there are in the music/entertainment industry and how critical they are in making the content the common fan enjoys. Think of how much money the software like FL Studio, Ableton, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, etc. are responsible for. Songwriter is just a job like everything else but man, they often sound like they want everyone else's flowers. People like Roger Linn have built the industry, seen far less money in comparison and don't complain 10% as much.

I mean, does anyone even know who the person that made the TR-808 machine is? Probably some Electrical Engineer who made decent salary, but bet it's nothing close to the hundreds of billions of dollars his machine has generated and built the music industry of the last 40 years on.

Basically, this right here:

 

[BaileyPark31]

it is unfortunately how the music business operates. It's dead wrong and needs to continue to be exposed. If the writers were properly unionized they could bring the music industry to its needs. none of these hits write themselves and Beyonce, swift and all of them are nothing without a handful of writers in the industry.

I get it. But that statement can go both ways.

You can write a beautiful sing but if you can't find a performer to express it properly, you still don't make money.