I saw on MySpace today that a film is looking for a song and they're running a contest to find said song. The film is called "Henry Poole is Here," and the prize is to get a video made by the movie's director for the submitted song.
So, I looked at the rules. Apparently, the song MUST be named "Henry Poole is Here" and MUST use those words in the lyrics; you grant them all rights in perpetuity for the song, and allow them to be listed as the author in the copyright. Then, they reserve the right to not let you be in the video, and the video may not be used at all... and the song may not be used at all. They won't give you royalties or any money at all for the song, either.
WTF? What a shitty deal.
The sorry part is that there will be bands and songwriters who will enter this contest simply to get a music video. They won't even read the rules and realize what they're giving up. Might be a decent promotional opportunity, but it looks like another ripoff to me.
In related news, I just entered a contest, but a real one this time, that actually has benefits for me. It cost me $35, but the grand prize is $50,000, so, yeah... worth it. Cross your fingers for me!
