By Aremuorin — Multi-Award-Winning Songwriter, Artist & Producer
Hearing someone’s work doesn’t make it yours. Rearranging it doesn’t make you its songwriter. Access is not authorship.
Creative spaces should welcome both unfinished ideas and completed works without confusing participation with ownership.
A songwriter may share a finished composition to perform or rehearse with others. Such access does not confer authorship.
The same protection and courtesy should extend to everyone in the room.
Why I Wrote This
This article began with an uncomfortable moment in a songwriting workshop. Before presenting their song, somebody approached me specifically and asked me not to record it. I cannot say with certainty why they did so. Perhaps it was caution or anxiety; perhaps something from their own experience was being projected onto me. I cannot know what they were thinking, and I will not present speculation as fact.
They were entitled to set that boundary, and I respected it. Nevertheless, I had absolutely no interest in recording their song. I have written since I was seven, and my catalogue contains more than 1,000 works. Being singled out in that way felt like a question mark over my professional integrity as a songwriter and collaborator.
The context matters. Within the same wider creative environment, I had brought completed compositions to perform, rehearse with live musicians, try harmonies and hear alternative arrangements. The words and music were already written; experimenting with a live interpretation did not make those songs group compositions or transfer their authorship.
Genuine co-writing is different. When people explicitly invited me to create something together, I sometimes contributed without subsequently receiving the recording, a split sheet or meaningful follow-up. Recordings were also made when I performed my own material in that environment. I did not automatically assume everyone holding a phone intended to take my work.
Against that background, being individually cautioned about recording a song I did not want to record felt inconsistent. I could respect the request while still questioning why the concern had been directed at me.
I tried to discuss that discomfort with the person directly. They told me, in effect, that the conversation was over for them. That dismissal affected my trust more than the original request. I had listened to their concern; I had hoped mine could also be heard.
Only later did the host, a mutual friend, suggest that anxiety was involved and explain that the song had not yet been registered with PRS. I can understand wanting to protect original work. But PRS registration does not create copyright, which generally arises automatically for qualifying original work in the UK. Keeping dated drafts, demos and other evidence of creation can help document authorship.
I cannot establish anyone’s motives, nor do I need to. What this experience exposed for me was a need for consistent standards: permission before recording, clarity about genuine songwriting contributions, and respect for everyone’s work—not one rule for friends and another for everybody else.
Because the direct conversation could not continue, I chose to write. It was a constructive way to get the experience off my chest and offer something useful to others navigating creative boundaries, trust and authorship. Creative ethics cannot be selective.
An Arrangement Does Not Make the Song Yours
A musician may bring fresh harmonies, rhythm or instrumentation to a song without becoming the author of its underlying words or music.
PRS for Music’s distribution policy reflects this distinction: an arrangement of a copyright musical work does not usually attract an arranger share unless the interested parties agree otherwise.
Different contributions deserve accurate, agreed credits.
What Copyright Actually Protects
In the UK, copyright protection arises automatically for original musical, literary, dramatic and artistic works; there is no general copyright-registration requirement. The creator is usually the first owner of copyright, subject to important exceptions such as certain works created in the course of employment and any rights that have subsequently been transferred.
Copyright can cover different layers of a musical project. The underlying song or composition, a sound recording and a performance are not necessarily the same right. Permission to hear or rehearse a song is therefore not a blanket permission to copy, record, distribute, adapt or commercially exploit it.
This article offers general creative-rights information, not individual legal advice.
Hearing It in the Room Doesn’t Mean You Wrote It
Witnessing a performance or taking part in a rehearsal is not, by itself, a songwriting contribution. Genuine co-writing should be recognised through clear agreements and accurate splits.
Access is not authorship. Exposure is not ownership. Collaboration is not appropriation.
Recording Someone Else’s Work? Ask First
Establish recording rules before a session begins, and apply them equally to every participant.
Be especially clear about whether a recording may be shared outside the room, used as a reference or published. Consent to participate is not necessarily consent to those later uses.
When Trust Goes, the Best Work Goes With It
When creators fear their work may be reused without consent or attribution, they become less willing to share it.
That costs the entire community opportunities to learn, perform and collaborate.
Trust is a creative resource worth protecting.
Inspiration Is Not the Problem
Art inspires art. What matters is whether we transform that inspiration into our own expression or misrepresent another creator’s work as ours.
Admiration should lead to learning, acknowledgement or an invitation to collaborate—not a false claim of authorship.
Passing off another person’s creativity as your own is, to me, lowbrow: it lacks wit and wisdom. When everybody goes left, my instinct has often been to go right. I would rather find my own voice.
Give Credit. Ask Permission.
If you admire a work and want to use it, approach its creator, explain what you have in mind and secure any necessary permission or licence.
“I love what you’ve created. May I work with it?”
A respectful approach may open the door to collaboration.
Before You Take a Song Into the Room
- Keep dated drafts, demos and lyric sheets.
- Retain session files and relevant correspondence.
- Agree genuine co-writing contributions and splits as early as practical.
- Establish whether recording is permitted in the room.
- Document permissions, licences and important agreements.
- Make sure credits accurately reflect who actually created what.
Clear records support rather than undermine collaboration.
My Catalogue Is Not an Open Library
My catalogue of more than 1,000 works reflects years of independent songwriting and production.
A song does not lose its history or authorship simply because an audience hears it for the first time.
I take the authorship and integrity of my catalogue seriously. Where protected elements are reproduced, attributed or exploited without appropriate permission, I reserve the right to protect my work through the appropriate professional and legal channels.
Beyond the potential legal implications, I have not one iota of respect for anyone who knowingly takes another creator’s work and attempts to present it as their own — whether the original creator is living or dead.
If You’re Struggling, Ask for Help
If you are struggling to come up with original material, ask for help instead of clowning.
There is no shame in learning, seeking mentorship, collaborating, being an arranger rather than the songwriter, acknowledging inspiration or giving another creator their rightful credit. The problem begins when somebody wants the credit without having done the creating.
This Is for Everybody’s Benefit
These principles are not exclusive to my catalogue. They serve every artist who enters a rehearsal room, workshop or collaborative session.
A healthy creative community distinguishes authorship, arrangement and performance; establishes fair recording practices; and encourages artists to discover their own strengths.
Protect your work. Agree contributions. Credit collaborators. Seek permission where required. Keep records.
Get your own. Create your own. Give credit where it is due.
— Aremuorin
Creator Rights: Further Reading
For authoritative UK guidance, see the UK Intellectual Property Office guidance on copyright protection, ownership and using somebody else’s intellectual property, alongside PRS for Music’s distribution policy on arrangements and writer interests.
About Aremuorin
Aremuorin is a multi-award-winning songwriter, artist, producer, performer and writer with a catalogue spanning more than 1,000 works. His multidisciplinary creative practice encompasses music, performance, independent publishing and cultural commentary.
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