For those of you who listen to pop music, I’m pretty sure you must have heard the Weeknd song Save your Tears or its remix featuring Ariana Grande, as the latter was pretty popular the time it came out. As of the former, it is present in Musicbrainz (recording and work), whereas the remix doesn’t have its own separate work. As I was checking the database yesterday, I initially thought it made sense since it’s just a remix but I realized the lyrics in the remix are a little bit different. Usually, that is something that justifies the creation of a new work and so I asked about this in the Discord chat. While I got a positive answer, I’m still not 100% sure if I should do it or not and I thought I could ask here.
So, here I am: Should I create a new work for the Ariana Grande remix of Save your Tears by the Weeknd? After listening to both, I noticed the lyrics are the same up until the middle of the song when Ariana Grande starts singing her own lyrics, which are different from what the Weeknd sings in the original version. As of the lyricists, I’m not sure if it’s the same people who wrote the the original lyrics, because Qobuz doesn’t agree with the Apple Music credits. Any thoughts appreciated.
I already put in my two cents for creating a seperate work in the Discord, but on the lyricists… does either platform match the originals lyricists? if so (and if the other adds lyricists or songwriters), I’d go with the longer list
Yes, it’s a new work.
ISWC: Portal gives following:
ISWC: T-304.358.013-4|SAVE YOUR TEARS REMIX
BALSHE AHMAD,
GRANDE ARIANA,
HOLTER OSCAR THOMAS,
MAX MARTIN,
TESFAYE ABEL,
QUENNEVILLE JASON MATTHEW
So, since it has it’s own unique ISWC and Ariana Grande is credited for the remix where she wouldn’t be on the original would be enough justification for a new work.
Ok, thank you both for your answers! I’ll create a new work for the remix.
Actually I just checked Qobuz again and I realized I was reading the credit list wrong! The way they credit the artists confused me and that’s why I thought the lyricists didn’t match up! They actually do and in fact Ariana is also credited for the lyrics on Qobuz (but sadly not on Apple Music).
https://beta.musicbrainz.org/edit/118010030
Ok, I just made the change. The original works requires voting before it’s removed from the recording. I’ve added all the credits I found on Apple Music and Qobuz to the recording.
If new writers are added to the creation of a new remix recording compared to the original version, no doubt, the corresponding work is new, don’t use the original work.