Songwriters call for recording artists to stop claiming shares on songs they did not write

By Emmanuel Legrand

A group of songwriters, operating under The Pact moniker have penned an open letter in which they ask for an end of the practice from established artists to claim a share of publishing income from songwriters, even though they have not contributed to the writing of the songs.

   According to the BBC, the letter is the brainchild of Emily Warren, who worked with Dua Lipa and Little Mix. Songwriters behind The Pact include Justin Tranter, Ross Golan, Amy Allen, Savan Kotecha, Joel Little and Victoria Monét, who have written songs for artists like Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, One Direction, Michael Bublé, Lorde, Shawn Mendes and Selena Gomez.

  "We are simply asking that we give credit where credit is due and only take credit where credit is earned," wrote UK songwriter Plested on Instagram.

Bully tactics and threats

  "Over the last few years, there has been a growing number of artists that are demanding publishing on songs they did not write," reads the letter. "These artists will go on to collect revenue from touring, merchandise, brand partnerships, and many other revenue streams, while the songwriters have only their publishing revenue as a means of income. This demand for publishing is often able to happen because the artist and/or their representation abuse leverage, use bully tactics and threats, and prey upon writers who may choose to give up some of their assets rather than lose the opportunity completely."

  The authors of the letter explain that over time, this practice of artists taking publishing "has become normalised." They lament that until now, there has been "no real unity within the songwriting community to fight back" but they have decided "to join together, in support of each other, and make a change."

  They pledge to the following: "Not give publishing or songwriting credit to anyone who did not create or change the lyric or melody or otherwise contribute to the composition without a reasonably equivalent/meaningful exchange for all the writers on the song."

Asking for respect

  They claim that their action is twofold: protect the future generations of songwriters; and "shift the rhetoric and perspective surrounding the role of a songwriter."

  They acknowledge that as songwriters, they are "fully aware of the importance of the artist who goes on to perform and promote the songs we write, the role of the producer who takes the song to the finish line, and the role of the label that finances the project and plans for strategy and promotion" and are not suggesting to "dip into those revenue streams."

  "We are not asking for something we don’t deserve. We are simply asking for that respect in return," they write, concluding: "As of today, we will no longer accept being treated like we are at the bottom of the totem pole, or be bullied into thinking that we should be making sacrifices to sit at the table. We are all in this together, and we all need each other for this wheel to keep turning. So let’s start acting like it."

  Commenting on Instagram, songwriter Justin Tranter said he was standing with @_the_pact "to try and make things better for the next generation of songwriters." He added: "My hope is that new songwriters can operate with a little less fear and little more money."