Nick,
There are a LOT of considerations at issue. Your question is about what is "fair" . Well, that is up to you. You will enter a contract with the recording group and the record label. Here are some things to consider: what if a major movie company wants to use this song ( which YOU wrote ) as part of the sound track for their new film? Is it "fair" that the record company, or the "band" reap the benefits of this, or should YOU be included? This is just one example. My good friend Ganey can give you a lot more advise than me, but I would say, ask ALL the questions first before signing a contract.
Jude

Jude gives good advice.

As far as radio/internet play royalties, it is customary to split 50/50 between the composer and the publishing company.

Be sure to submit the songs to library of congress to get your copyrights ASAP.
(if you have not done so already)

Nick, when I lived in Los Angeles, I heard about this all the time about how important it is to consult an entertainment attorney. There are many issues you need to resolve, especially where you are a writer. Don't give up or sell the rights to your songs. You must maintain full ownership of all your original material so you can receive the royalties you are legally entitled to. I know that going to an attorney is expensive but down the road you will be glad you did. I knew a woman who had a punk rock band in Boston in the 80s. She wrote all the songs and explained to me how important it was to retain ownership of her material. It is very complicated and a good attorney can be a valuable asset. Good luck. I wish you well.

OK, everyone .. thanks for the responses.

Yes, I have registered the songs with the library of congress. That
process is so much easier than it used to be. It can all be done from
a computer by uploading an mp3 and paying for the copyright!

I did write Ganey to get his perspective,

I'll likely be checking with an attorney for more information!

Thanks again,

--Big Nick

Copyright is good. I wouldn't discourage it. You are protected as soon as you press record, or write it on paper. Copyright doesn't get you payment. Proper registration with a PRO gets you payment.

Tom,
First, are you registered as a writer with a performer's rights organization?(BMI,ASCAP, SESAC, etc.)You can only be a member of one. Registering your songs with a PRO doesn't guarantee payment, but not registering guarantees that you won't be paid. I don't know who the label is, but I am certain that they aren't educating you enough.

All of the pros pay to the publisher and to the writer, usually 50/50 unless otherwise stated. If the label/publisher is telling you otherwise, they are trying to take some of your writer payments with no reason. If they are going to actively pursue placement of your songs in television, movies, etc., then it may be worth it, but I can guarantee that isn't going to happen either.

There isn't a lot at stake, here. The only payments you would receive are mechanical and performance. Performance will come from radio play, or public performance if it is performed live at a large venue that pays a large licensing fee. Radio pay is unlikely because it has to be one of the songs played during a random 30 minute sample which is done about twice a year along with 2000 other radio stations. Those payments come directly from the pro.

Mechanicals come from people recording your song. They are required by law to pay 9.5 cents per copy that they make. ($95/1000 CDs) They pay the publisher, and the publisher pays you according to your agreement. There is no way to keep this in check unless you hear your song on the radio by someone else.

You can also get payment from synchronizing, which is placement in TV and movies. Like I said, they aren't gonna pursue that.

You know you can email, or call, anytime.

Ganey

Ganey has some good advice.
One small correction about radio play.

All stations are required to submit play lists.

Also the sampling is vastly improved and now has computerized song recognition.

No, stations are not required to submit playlist, and even though the technology is available, they do not use it. By ASCAP's own admission, it would be too costly to monitor and pay using the technology. I stand behind what I said. You won't get any radio pay. In five years, even with my new CD being played on over 300 stations, I've gotten $150.

The following is pulled from an email exchange that I had with a top ASCAP exec who I know from another forum.

"Since blanket licensing / share of fees is the principle, it can never be completely fair. The courts have ruled many times that this is better than no system at all (which is what the broadcasters really want).

My job in ASCAP: I help make that pile of money as big as I can so that your share (and mine - I am also a member) is worth as much as possible.

A "per use" system only works in a blog when someone is asking why it can't be done? The short answer: It would cost more to administer than there would be money to pay out. Because such a system is impossible, it was ruled unacceptable in 1939 and every other time it's come up.

The broadcasters' argument: 'since "per use" licensing is impossible, there should be no licensing at all' is routinely rejected by the courts. The broadcasters formed BMI just so they could press this impossible argument. The courts responded with the Consent Decrees that bind both ASCAP and BMI (oops!). The last time the broadcasters/BMI sued to dissolve the whole system was 1997."

All of this is verifiable and laid out on both the BMI site and the ASCAP site.

Hi Nick, a few remarks. Why deal with publishers if you already got your deal, especially with a video or film company? All i ever got from their publishing dept was an empty bucket of promises; was something i really regretted i did when i was a rookie - greenhorn way back, cost me at least some 10.000 bucks over the years, maybe more even. If you register with BMI or ASCAP, mark your filmscores as "classical, jazz or blues", you might get higher royalties that way. Most money you make is from mechanical rights BTW, that is when they print DVD's etc, don't sign them away cheap if they want you to. Get advice and assistance from s specialized (oops) lawyer when it's a large thing, worth every cent. - Nout

Quotes from CNI web site.
BMI requires that radio stations submit airplay logs on a regularly scheduled basis. BMI notes that it includes only a portion of the submitted logs for distribution purposes. The stations do not know if they are part of the selected group. Computer-generated song rotational systems provide hour and minute listings of these airplay schedules. Other stations fill out handwritten logs days after the actual performances have taken place.

Quotes from BMI web site.
We use performance monitoring data, continuously collected on a large percentage of all licensed commercial radio stations, to determine payable performances.

We use our own digital tracking technology to identify performances of your songs that aired for less than 60 seconds. We create a separate quarterly royalty pool for these brief uses.

BMI uses a “follow-the-dollar” payment process for commercial music services. Royalties for services like DMX,
Muzak, Music Choice and PlayNetwork are calculated using data that each service provides us. Royalties are then
paid out to our writers and publishers whose music is used on each service.

Interesting that they say they "require" stations to submit playlists. Of the eleven stations I polled in my immediate area when releasing my CD, none confirmed that they report to anyone.

I am an ASCAP writer and publisher. I only deal with BMI when licensing; however, the info you provided still confirms what I said. They don't pay for every play. Which reinforces what I originally told Tom, Properly registering your works doesn't guarantee payment, but not registering guarantees that you won't get paid.

No truer word were spoken!

Reminds me of the old Thibodeaux joke were he goes to church to ask God for a winning lottery ticket. (I'll tell the short version)

After several weeks of asking without success, He challenges God as to why he has not won the lottery.

A big voice comes down from on high and says,

"Thibodeaux, buy a ticket!"