Reading the fine print!

Do you read all the fine print associated with ALL the songwriting competitions you enter?

Here is a great reason why you should....

Stevie Nicks is looking for a new shawl... a designed can submit a design...and possibly win $2,000 to help create it...it will be used in a photo shoot....then returned to you....you get a digital pic and some words on her website....and great exposure to your talent.

While I love the thought of Stevie wearing a shawl designed and made by me...there are literally thousands available that Stevie could pick from...already designed and made! The competition is hosted on design "community" Talent House and there are some quite concerning "conditions" around entry....none the least of which is...

"By submitting User Content to us, simultaneously with such submission you automatically grant, or warrant that the owner has expressly granted, to us a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, fully sublicensable, and transferable right and license to use, distribute, publicly display, transmit, and publish the User Content (in whole or in part) on or in connection with the Website, the promotion of the Website, and/or the promotion of our clients" and/or promotional partners and their products or services."

and this disclaimer

"DISCLAIMER: When you submit a work to Talenthouse as an entry, you grant Talenthouse a limited license to use your work. You always own the copyright in your work. Talenthouse never owns the copyright in your work. If you are selected as a winner, then in exchange for a prize, you may be required 
to license or assign your work to the host providing the prize. If you do not want  to license or assign your work in exchange for a prize, an alternate winner will be selected and you will retain copyright in your work."


Right, if you don't want to give your work away - you won't win....sorry....but....



Which in my eyes seem to contradict.....but I'm no lawyer.  Seems you gave your work away when you entered....

Umm......if I designed a shawl that Stevie wore I sure as heck would want to be able to sell the design!!!! Not let someone else profit from it!

Hey, Stevie! It's my birthday soon, so I’m inviting you and some other bands to submit recordings of original songs for me. They’ve got to be original, not the same old stuff. If you’re selected, you’ll send me a quality studio recording of your song, you’ll get $2,000 for travel to come and play. But I keep the rights to your original song and any and all recordings. It’ll be great exposure right....oh and wear the shawl!!! Seriously I don't think Stevie's management has thought this through...nor have they researched the Talent House vehicle very well.....

PS songwriters should be very wary....some song competition fine print is very similar....ALWAYS read the fine print of both the competition AND the competition hosting platform(there are many).


 

2 comments