Entertainment Podcasts

In a podcast entitled “A seminar in Copyright Law with Entertainment Lawyer Greg Eveline,” Greg Eveline was asked what he thinks about copyright law. His reply was powerful and extremely in favor of the musician. Eveline mentioned that the entire entertainment industry all evolves around copyright law. “It is the only right enumerated in the constitution” was a statement made by Attorney Greg Eveline as he corroborates his claim by explaining that all copyright is is the ownership of a property.  As an aspiring CEO of a management team I agree and understand his statement about the exclusive rights to the music in having it owned. One always has liability risks when dealing with music. Conversely, the escape of this is if you own the copyrights, then you own the song.

Attorney Mark Davis in a seminar at Loyola University assists students in helping them understand how to approach copyright in the music business. He breaks down the roles of what he feels the ownership of a song is broken down into; “four roles: Artist, Publisher, Writer and record label.“ Mark Davis then defines what is copyrightable as “anything that is an original expression in fixed form.” It is important that one completely understands this when going into any area of the music business. I found that this podcast has elucidated things that I have heard over the years by the plain language that is used.

Mark Goldstein, a retired attorney of 25 years and current professor at USC Thornton School, expresses his opinions on a more facilitated skill set to work in the music business. He says that one who has worked in the music business already would be a much better communicator and manager to represent someone because of having been on both sides of the table. That is, the creative side as well as the business side. Although none of these things are fact patterns, they are beneficial and helpful information due to the fact that they are coming from experienced individuals that have been in the industry for years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhRhf4fY5as

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei50ZKq0Y_k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fqDLx0jFF0

Artist Management Liabilities

The music business is a tough business to be in. It’s one filled with sharks and smooth criminals. Having said that there are many caveats that one must consider before deciding to be engulfed with this work and these types of people. Artist managers can sometimes be the best and worst person in the music business and sadly it’s the artists that suffer the most if they don’t pay attention to who they have on staff.

At any given moment the managers run the risk of being sued from anyone they are doing business with. Be it the artist themselves or someone rom the business, venue Internal Revenue Service, etc. I aspire to run my own management company and in doing so I have had to do some extensive research on the actual many tasks of the managers, in addition to what the artist management business is responsible for. It is understood now that “the managers have to understand their managerial duties from all perspectives,” according to an article from Music Industry Form Contracts. Otherwise they simply run the risk of being sued. What is the most conundrum of the job is that the artist is the face of the product but the manager does all of the hands on duties to get the job done. The public hardly ever sees the managers as much as they do the artist themselves but the managers is the one with his or her hands on everything that the artist is into. Like a business with products, the managers make sure that the price, product, promotions, and locations are correct but the product, like the artist must sell to operate the business successfully and if it does not it is the manager’s fault.

Having said that one must consider the liabilities that come along with being an artist manager or when operating in the music business with a management company. 

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/appeals-court-raises-damages-award-music-piracy-case-202331291--finance.html
http://www.lacostamusic.com/record-labels/manageracloserlook.htm

Self-Publishing

The NY Times has published an article about the10 best books of 2012: Bring Up The Bodies, Building Stories, A Hologram For The King, NW, The Yellow Birds, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Far From The Tree, The Passage of Power, The Patriarch and Why Does The World Exist. All of these books have something in common. Not one of them has been self-published. The writer of each book felt as though it were necessary to shop around only for an agent to shop around for the deal that would make life easier for them. Whether it is done via digital media, a friend who knows a friend or just determined and dedicated human search engines that will not stop until they get what they need for their book, it is not impossible. Yes, we see that the trends for the most successful books have been that of which were published by major publications. However, I could not stress to the world of writers how unworthy a company is to receive pay from work that you have spent endless hours on creating. The World Wide Web has a great myriad of information on how to do it yourself. Including videos, blogs, publication and even self-published books on how to self-publish your own book. According to Joe Konrath (2013) some famous examples include Little Girl is Possessed by Demon, Shark Attacks New Yorkers, Scientists Clone Dinosaurs, Boy Discovers He Is A Wizard, Vampires in Modern Day Maine and Virgin Falls in Love With Billionaire Sadist.”  If you are looking to have a book published I would strongly advise that you take precaution and do it yourself. It is not an easy task, however, it is not impossible. Take advantage of the resources at hand and utilize the information provided. DO IT YOURSELF!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/books/review/10-best-books-of-2012.html?_r=0

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/

Book Publishing

Publishing a book is not an easy task. Some writers go decades without having their work published or even noticed by someone in the publishing industry who matters. Writer Nataly Kelly says it was a dream come true to get a deal with a major publisher like penguin.  Nataly Kelly (2013) explains how after years of pitching concepts to get a publishing deal. A number of writers say that social media pays a major role as a contributing factor in getting a book deal. It takes a series of reading books, blog posts, articles and just simply acquiring knowledge about the publishing process. Most writers agree that you most likely would need an agent to help you get the deal with a major publisher. As suggested by Kelly (2013), “Anyone who has ever seen a book contract knows that these are complicated legal documents with numerous terms, caveats, clauses, and stipulations.” In researching some of the suggestions that these writers had to say I have found that the majority of them have given good tips on what to do and what not to do during this process. They almost make the task easy to complete.

Although almost all writers agree that agents will make it easier for you to get your book published some would argue that you do not need them. In an article from a website call 2publishabook.com a writer explains that “agents are simply people who shop your manuscript around to publishers in hopes to land you that rare publishing deal.” If you you have the time and budget for it one would suggest that you self-publish your book and cut out the middle-man. After all, it is your work of creation ad if you self-publish then you will receive all emoluments from your own work that is deserved.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nataly-kelly/six-things-i-learned-abou_b_2412322.html

http://www.2publishabook.com/

Music Piracy

The music business is a tough business to work in. It’s even harder to run a business of your own that is in the area of music. When operating as a music management business, whether LLC, C-Corp, or S-Corp, the people in charge have alot of risks to consider.

In today’s modern technology savvy society there are so many ways to illegally download music rather than simply purchasing the actual music. This issue, during these technologically advanced days, is the biggest and most ubiquitous of all.

It began over a decade ago when Napster, the audio file-sharing pioneer of the twentieth century, became the beacon for illegal music piracy. It was the beginning of a nightmare for future album sales and digital music. As a result of this pandemonium, management teams have to work overtime to evade what a great myriad of music listeners do and that is illegally downloading music. Although the illegal downloading of music does not inhibit the fame of the celebrity, it does terribly ruin the revenue for the business. According to Senator Ihenyen (2013) in an article from the Nigerian Law Today “In the electronic age, digital transfer of information through the Internet has simply become increasingly seamless.” As the management team they have to assume the risks and persevere regardless. As aforementioned by the Recording Industry Association of America “the accumulative impact of millions of songs downloaded illegally – and without any compensation to all the people who helped to create that song and bring it to fans – is devastating.” Despite the overwhelming crime, the business, again must go on. The artists who are extremely successful don’t struggle as much with getting by it as the team that is backing them does. Needless to say this is one risk that has to be addressed when operating a music management team.

http://www.nigerianlawtoday.com/2013/01/the-napster-case-copyright-infringement.html

http://www.riaa.com/physicalpiracy.php?content_selector=piracy_details_online