Millions for a Song Read Online Free PDF Page B

money songwriters make? Chump change, that’s what! You have to be crazy to write songs in Quebec. You’ve got to understand that the clause is meaningless. In fact, I’m not even sure why it wasn’t deleted. I asked my lawyer to do just that; he must have forgotten.”
    But Mélanie doesn’t back down. She insists that he cross out the paragraph and initial the change.
    Eventually, he does as asked, not without drafting a new clause that says, more or less: The parties agree that the songs (lyrics and music) for which they hold a copyright belong to them. This agreement comes into effect on the signing of the contract and nullifies all former provisions.
    â€œWhat does that mean?” Bruno asks.
    â€œJust that we’ve withdrawn the crossed-out clause. That’s what you want, isn’t it? As long as a copyright has been taken out on the song or proof is provided as to who wrote it, the song belongs to that person. Seems clear to me. Who says you won’t start singing some of my songs down the road? In case you didn’t know, kids, I too am a songwriter …”
    We decide to back down. Why wouldn’t we sing his songs if they were any good? One thing for sure, we can’t challenge his right to write them.
    So we initial the clause. And Tom’s smile returns.
    But that one detail makes us wary. We decide we’d best be careful around our manager. Maybe he’s right and songwriting isn’t very lucrative in Quebec, but it remains to be seen. We decide to do some checking as soon as possible and remember to take care of our copyrights, too.
    Finally, an exasperated Bruno cries, “Let’s not get all paranoid. Our songs are our songs after all. We wrote the lyrics and the music together. We can all be called on as witnesses to that fact and as authors of the songs. Just let Tom try to challenge that right and he’ll see who he’s up against!”
    We say good-bye, knowing we’ll be playing at St. Pierre Clavier in a week from now … No doubt about it, the wheel of fortune is turning in our favor.
    Tom didn’t lie. Since signing with him, we haven’t stopped. We haven’t had a single weekend off. We’re being showered with contracts. It’s been a crazy whirlwind!
    My parents aren’t nearly as thrilled. Especially not my dad, who’s been driving us to and from every show. Thankfully, Bruno’s and Jean-François’ parents have agreed to help out or it would have been game over for us. My dad was done with being our taxi service. His mood greatly improved when he found out he’d only be “on duty” once every three weeks from now on.
    At any rate, his suffering won’t last forever since Jean-François should have his driver’s license any day now. We won’t have to be so dependent. Better yet, Jean-François will have the use of his mother’s car since she doesn’t need it on weekends.
    So everything is coming along nicely. We’re definitely starting to make a name for ourselves. Kids are humming our songs all over the place. Too bad we haven’t been able to do any recordings yet. Tom says he’s doing his best on that end, but times are tough and we’ll just have to wait a few months, maybe even a year.
    But we’re so gung-ho. You’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot, my dad always says—not that he’s your blacksmith type.
    If only we had CD s to sell after every show, we could sell dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands. The crowds just keep getting bigger. We are without question the “it” group. Our first audience had it right: we’re almost as popular as The Box.
    Our biggest asset is our female singer. You might not think it, but it works doubly in our favor: girls identify with Mélanie and guys fall for her. The more shows we do, the better she gets. She’s dynamite on stage. A real firecracker!
    Needless to