Work for Hire

You may or may not have heard of the term “work for hire.” It is actually a term that is used in the US Copyright Act. Essentially when someone writes and copyrights something like lyrics or a music score they own it and have rights to it. They're allowed to do pretty much whatever they want to do with that piece. They are allowed to exploit and use the piece to generate income because they own the copyright to the piece. Work for hire is an exception to that rule.

There are times when a company will actually hire someone outside of their company to write music or lyrics for a song. So the songwriter will put together some words and if the company that hired them likes it, it will head out for a copyright. Once that piece is copyrighted, the actual writer of the song no longer owns it. This is what is meant by “work for hire.” The copyright is completely handed over the company also, there will be no hint or clue that the song itself was actually written by someone else. The original writer is essentially erased and will have no rights or connection with the song they just made.

This may seem like a pretty unfair or shady deal. I mean you've put in all the work, but you get zero credit for it, but there are several instances where this will work in your favor. One of the big ones is writing music for commercials. These little jingles are very rarely created on a “per-play” basis and are almost always a work for hire situation. You will still be getting something out of the deal though. I mean the company is paying you to write for them, but rather than you making money every time the commercial is played, you will get one lump sum for your work. This also comes into play when you tour with another band or singer. In many cases this will be a work for hire situation as well. The band will pay your a certain amount of money to tour with them, but any work that you put in with the band, you will have no credit for. This means if you write or record a song with them, you will get nothing from that song, not even a credit for being there. You will be receiving no royalties for any of the sales either. All that said, you will also not be liable if the jingle or song that you helped create tanks. You've made your money and no matter what happens with that song, you aren't connected to it in any way, whether it does good or bad.

Keep in mind however, that work for hire is not the same thing as transferring a copyright. The US government allows people to transfer or sell their copyrights to songs whenever they would like to. The big difference here is, you can get the copyright back after a while. In fact the Copyright Law states that if a written notice is filed to the company within the 35th and 40th year of transferring, the original writer can regain the copyright for his/her song. With “work for hire” you can't ever gain control of the copyright, mainly because the song was never yours. At no point in a work for hire situation will you have any kind of control or connection to your song.

If having full ownership of the work that you do is important to you, a work for hire job may not be the type of work that you will want to be looking for. There are a few protections for you also, just so you don't end up in a situation where you aren't getting credit for anything without your knowledge. Normally this type of work will come from outside of the company that you work for. Rarely will the company you report to ask you to do a job for which you will get no credit or ownership. Also, when a company is expecting you to do a job without credit, only money, there must be a contract written up detailing that this is a “work for hire” position and not something that the artist or songwriter will be receiving credit for. Understanding what you are getting into before signing a “work for hire” contract is important, so be sure you read the terms and understand that you will have no connection or ownership of the works you will produce under that contract, ever.