The Untold Story

Maurice Hawkesworth wrote key lyrics for 'The Sign' by Ace of Base, a fact often overlooked.The song was released in 1993 and became one of Ace of Base's biggest hits, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. It was featured on their debut album "Happy Nation" (which was retitled "The Sign" for the U.S. market) and became one of the defining pop songs of the 1990s.

Behind The Lyrics

Stim Sweden has not verified authorship, leaving the true story untold by those involved.

The Anomaly of Music Copyright Registration: How "Honor System" Authorship Stands Apart from Traditional Business and Legal Standards

The music industry's approach to copyright registration and authorship claims represents a striking departure from the evidentiary standards that govern most business transactions and legal proceedings. While other industries demand extensive documentation, verification, and proof of ownership before recognizing property rights, performing rights organizations (PROs) like STIM, ASCAP, and BMI operate largely on an honor system that would be considered remarkably lax—even negligent—in other commercial contexts.

The Music Industry's Unusual Trust-Based System

When a songwriter or composer registers a work with a PRO, they typically need only fill out a form declaring themselves as the author. No proof of creation is required—no drafts, no studio recordings, no witness statements, no timestamp evidence. The organization simply accepts the claim at face value and begins collecting royalties on the registrant's behalf. This system operates on the assumption that false claims will be rare due to the threat of eventual legal consequences.

This stands in stark contrast to virtually every other form of property registration in the business world. Consider the requirements for:

Real Estate: Property transfers require titles, deeds, surveys, inspections, and often title insurance. Every link in the chain of ownership must be documented and verified.

Patents: Inventors must provide detailed specifications, prove novelty through prior art searches, and undergo rigorous examination by patent officers. The process often takes years and requires substantial documentation.

Trademarks: Applicants must prove first use in commerce, provide specimens of use, and survive opposition periods where others can challenge their claims.

Financial Securities: Stock ownership requires elaborate chain-of-custody documentation, transfer agents, and regulatory oversight to prevent fraudulent claims.

Conflict with Traditional Legal Evidence Standards

The music industry's approach also contradicts fundamental principles of evidence that courts typically require. In most civil litigation, claiming ownership of property requires:

1. Documentation of acquisition or creation - Courts expect receipts, contracts, or other contemporaneous records

2. Chain of title - Clear documentation showing how ownership was obtained and maintained

3. Burden of proof - The party claiming ownership must affirmatively prove their claim, not simply assert it

The legal principle of "burden of proof" places the obligation on the claimant to establish their case. Yet in music registration, the burden effectively shifts to anyone who would challenge a claim—they must prove the registrant is not the author, rather than requiring the registrant to prove they are.

This reversal would be unthinkable in most legal contexts. Imagine if someone could claim ownership of a car simply by filing a form, with the burden on others to prove otherwise. Or if property ownership could be established merely through unchallenged assertion. The legal system would collapse under the weight of fraudulent claims.

Why This System Persists

Several factors explain why the music industry maintains this unusual approach:

Volume and Practicality: Millions of songs are written annually. Requiring rigorous proof for each would create an impossible administrative burden. The system prioritizes efficiency over accuracy.

Historical Precedent: The system evolved in an era when songwriting was less professionalized and documentation was sporadic. Writers often worked informally, making proof difficult to obtain.

Industry Relationships: The music business traditionally operated on personal relationships and reputation. The honor system reflected this trust-based culture.

Delayed Consequences: Most fraudulent claims only matter when works become valuable. The system relies on the fact that successful works will attract scrutiny, eventually exposing false claims.

The Problems This Creates

This unusual system generates predictable problems:

Opportunistic Claims: When songs become hits, disputed authorship claims multiply. The "Blurred Lines" and "Shape of You" lawsuits exemplify how unclear authorship standards invite litigation.

Evidentiary Challenges: Years after creation, proving or disproving authorship becomes nearly impossible. Memories fade, documents disappear, and witnesses become unreliable.

Unequal Power Dynamics: Established artists and publishers can more easily defend their claims, while unknown writers may struggle to prove authorship of their own works if someone else registers them first.

International Inconsistencies: Different countries have different registration systems, creating confusion when works cross borders. What's accepted in one jurisdiction may be challenged in another.

Comparison to Other Creative Industries

Even other creative fields maintain higher evidentiary standards:

Publishing: Books require clear contracts between authors and publishers, with ISBN registration creating clear ownership records.

Visual Arts: Galleries and auction houses demand extensive provenance documentation before accepting works for sale.

Software: Code repositories create timestamped records of creation and modification, making authorship claims verifiable.

The music industry's copyright registration system represents a remarkable outlier in both business practice and legal procedure. Its trust-based, proof-light approach would be considered dangerously inadequate in virtually any other context involving property rights worth potentially millions of dollars. While practical considerations may explain this system's evolution, the growing value of music copyrights and increase in authorship disputes suggest that this anomalous approach may be unsustainable.

The tension between efficiency and accuracy, between historical practice and modern needs, places the music industry's registration system at odds with fundamental principles of evidence and property law. As music becomes increasingly valuable in the streaming age, the pressure to reform this unusual system—to bring it in line with the evidentiary standards expected in other business and legal contexts—will likely only intensify. The question is not whether the system is unusual (it clearly is), but whether its benefits in efficiency still outweigh its costs in disputed ownership, litigation, and potential fraud.