Music

Adam Levine's NBC show 'Songland' steals music from contestants

by Jeremy Mersereau

Sweet-as-sugar Maroon 5 frontman and The Voice rotating chairperson Adam Levine is about to become the face of another inescapable media property, NBC’s Songland. No, it’s not a reality show about children giving up their organs for transplants to their dads, it’s purportedly a competition show for songwriters, not performers, in which contestants vie to have Adam Levine judge their songs favourably. This is supposed to be something the songwriters want to happen, strangely. Hey, it’s TV, suspend your disbelief.

Unfortunately, that’s not all NBC/Universal will be taking from Songlandcontestants, going by the contracts the songwriters will have to sign before auditioning. In a LinkedIn post from last week titled “URGENT WARNING: SONGWRITERS BEWARE OF NBC/UNIVERSAL’S SONGLAND SUBMISSION FORM” entertainment lawyer Wallace Collins looked over Songland‘s contracts and warned prospective contributors that they would be signing away all royalty rights to the songs performed, including songs used only in their audition, and even if they don’t even successfully make it on to the show.

“The NBC/Universal submission agreement for the Songland TV show states that NBC will own all rights to use and exploit all of your songs involved in the show including the songs you submit in the initial application” writes Collins, and going by the language originally used in the contract, they covered every conceivable base. Here’s the original, most troubling part of the contract:

I grant Producer the right to record, reproduce and publicly perform any such music in and in connection with the Program or any other work. Without in any way limiting the waivers and releases set forth herein, I waive any claims to royalties of any kind, whether accruing now or in the future, from Producer and NBC/Universal for the use of any such Music or any other music, including, without limitation, any applicable copyright, public performance, mechanical and synchronization royalties.

NBC has since dialed back the language used in the contract in the wake of Collins’ bombshell, adding the crucial words “if I am selected to be a participant on the Program” to the beginning of the contract’s most egregiously-overreaching section. That takes care of any hit songs used in the audition process, and should be enough to protect anyone who’s written the next “Stitches” or “Hello” but unfortunately looks like Gollum and thus can’t be allowed on TV.

Still, if you’ve written the next #1 hit and don’t look like Gollum, you should still be wary of granting a giant media corporation unrestricted rights to your work just for a moment in the spotlight. “Ahh… my precious…” – songwriter thinking about TV exposure.

[h/t The Wrap]