CD credits

[ubbotheroom]

I recently was the tracking and mixing engineer for an album that will have fairly significant distribution. When I got my copy from the record company I found that my credits had been reduced to assisting the producer in engineering and mixing with him listed as the primary. There was also no mention of the mixing having been done at my studio.

It seems that the producers manager (who put the project together) decided to change the credits because he wanted to promote the producer, not me.

If this record should actually go somewhere I would really be pissed off with the lack of credit.

Does anyone have any suggestions (other than "I should have had a contract")

[James Steele]

That's pretty lousy... but gee... what a surprise. Politics. Doesn't seem like much you can do except increase your rates for that client when they come back. Maybe have a contract where they get a certain rate with proper credit given on the CD, or a different rate if you're going to do semi-anonymous work again and that they'll owe you the difference in the two rates should such a "mistake" happen again.

More I think about it, just charge them more. I do this for late-payers in my business. If they ask why I can always tell them it's because they were three weeks late on Net 30 the last two jobs, and that the other rate is for people who pay on time.

[denne]

just an idea: Try to get it corrected on the bands or the companys homepage at least. For some people the info on the net is more important than the 4point-printed credits in the booklet, where the producer often appears somewhere between "thanks to mummy&daddy" and "mikey stone uses blabla toothpaste".

..hmm

[wonder]

the only legal thing you can do is...well...nothing.

next time, before you start on the project, get contracts.

take it from me, i just got out of a legal battle where i spent 15k on lawyers fees alone.

contracts...contracts...CONTRACTS!!!!

[ubbotheroom]

Thanks for the input. I'm going to try to get them to agree to correct this in future CD runs. That way if it does go somewhere then I'm covered.

I suppose that this has been a fairly painless lesson. In any case, next time I will have a contract prepared.