Remakes Add Up

Over the past few years, an increasing number of artists have returned to the studio to re-record some of their biggest hits.

While this is hardly a new practice – artists ranging from Roy Orbison to Bananarama have revisited their catalogs to take advantage of new technologies or freshen up the sound of the originals – the inspiration behind the current trend may spell more trouble for already struggling music companies.

The latest wave of artists hitting the studio to re-record – including Wang Chung and Twisted Sister – apparently have a powerful motivator: The growing profits to be made through licensing their music for television, movies and advertising, according to the New York Times.

Since the mid-’90s, the stigma of having a song used in a commercial or on a television show has been eased by the amount of money to be made by doing so. Now it appears artists have found a way to hold on to more of the profits.

Under the terms of a typical recording contract, fees from licensing a song are split between the label that owns the recording and the artist who recorded it. If the artist re-records the song after its contract is up, then licenses the new version, all the money goes to the artist.

Music lawyer Donald Passman told the Times that some labels are trying to essentially prevent artists from producing any re-recording that sounds similar to the original, while representatives for the artists are trying to reduce the waiting time between the originals and any remakes.

Another group with a stake in this battle are music publishers. In fact, publishers have actually been encouraging artists to re-record because they can often score a better deal when they represent songwriters who own the recordings, thus leaving the labels out of the picture.

The Times reported that Prince, who produced his original recordings and was involved in a well-publicized battle with Warner Brothers Records for control over his work, has re-recorded significant portions of his catalog and produced new recordings that rival the original versions.

One thing is certain; with huge amounts of money at stake – a major label with a healthy catalog can make as much as $20 million a year from licensing before paying the artist’s share – this is a fight that’s likely to grow hotter.