Sunday, May 27, 2012

Legal Counsel From Entertainment Attorneys

If the music business was not about the music business, then it would have been called the record business, unfortunately the music industry's only purpose is to gain profit at all costs, even if it's at the artists expense. Business over music is the motto in the industry whether an artist likes it or not, it is the reason why many musicians and entertainment professionals should understand entertainment law in respect to the field they are in. Since the entertainment is in the dog eat dog arena, I was able to find pertinent advice from Entertainment Attorneys Greg Eveline, Michael C. Donaldson, and Mike Young.
  In a seminar conducted by Attorney Greg Eveline, he lectures a course specifically discussing the importance of copyrights and why publishing is where majority of money can be made for artists. According to Greg, his advice to songwriters and artists are to make sure that all material is copyrighted. In particular, he mentions that signed artists should always register the performing arts form because typically a record label will have rights to the sound recording and the video recording copyright. He stresses properly registering arts of work is a must for all artists because if not done, the record label will cheat artists out of royalties. Greg states artists should think about copyrighting as owning property because it allows the artist to rent or sell their music. Attorney Eveline also points out that copyrights do not mean artists owns music they register, but that it is merely a claim stating that their music material was created at a certain date and time.

On the other end of the spectrum, directors of documentaries are having a hard time visually explaining a story without using the appropriate music to compliment points they try to make. Entertainment lawyer Michael Donaldson says the reason why it's so hard for directors of documentaries to create stories is because of clip licensing fees. For instance, if a director wants to use 30 seconds of a song clip and use it in two parts of the film, it would cost production at least $6000 to $8000 for permission to license music. In order to lower the costs, Donaldson says he always advise his clients to implement fair use. Fair use is like freedom of speech, it allows film makers to express their ideas through film without having to pay licensing fees. In a way, fair use is like a loop hole for filmmakers to use as a defense in the court of law. Donaldson explains as long as the filmmaker is able to illustrate the point and doing so by only using what they need to get the message across to viewers, then there is a line for defense in court. Lastly, Donaldson says that it is imperative for filmmakers not to take advantage of fair use, he believes filmmakers need to maintain relationships by offering to pay a price they can afford, before using unauthorized material believing they don't have to pay because of fair use.

In another interview, lawyer Mike Long gives advice on how to protect a website without a lawyer. Considering the growth in social networking and digital media, Mike Long's advice for online business owners are very important. In the interview Long states the first rule of thumb in protecting a business is by forming a separate business entity to shield assets such as cars, by forming a registered business like an LLC, or corporation. He states its essential because the company becomes a person shielding the owner from having to worry about loosing personal property. Long goes on to mention every website should have a privacy policy that states what customers rights are and to ensure customer privacy when using the website, if they choose to use their information on the website. finally, Long mentions the importance to watch out for copyright trolls, copyright trolls are people that make a profit purchasing domain names that already belong to businesses.

Listening to all of the interviews gave a lot of insight on where the entertainment industry is headed in the future. in particular, I find information on fair use to be the most helpful for my business because my company creates videos that will need to use music in order to illustrate a point. Also another key point shared by lawyer Mike Young, is to always protect your business by registering intellectual property and safeguarding your online business by purchasing a domain name. To see full length interviews please watch attached videos below.










References

A Seminar in Copyright Law with Entertainment Lawyer Greg Eveline. Retrieved from

What is Fair Use in a Documentary Film? with Entertainment Lawyer, Michael C. Donaldson on BYOD EP24 retrieved from

Protecting Your Website Without A Lawyer - Attorney Mike Young Interview. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5aYC8RD6_0. May 24, 2012











Sunday, May 6, 2012

The War Over Music



Included in the many battles and challenges the music business face to keep the industry afloat, the massive decline in CD sales and spike in online piracy are only a mere fraction of the legal battles the business juggles. In an attempt to keep the industry alive, record labels have been desperate finding ways to make new money from 360 deals at the artist expense, filing suits against websites, and the fight on royalties and licensing.

Amongst constant legal pursuits to strengthen existing copyright laws against consumer infringement, major record labels are also acquiring lawsuits themselves from musicians due to the innovation of media sales of music from online distributors. Since iTunes is required to license music from record companies, the labels are making a profit from licenses and music sales, which raises questions from artists wanting to know what percentage of royalties from licenses and record sales, are the record companies supposed to pay them. In a review of well known artists who recently filed claims against their label, gave a better insight on the ongoing royalty legal issue.

The late Rick James most recently popularized by his statement on a BET awards show "I'm Rick James B****." has found himself after death fighting for royalties that his estate believes Universal records cheated them out on. The estate filed a class action against UMG suing for damages claiming the label owes unpaid royalties from the sale of digital music downloads and ringtones. According to entertainment attorney Tamera H. Bennet "In accordance with the Eminem decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a digital download is a license, and an artist is typically entitled to 50% of what the record label was paid for the license, versus a lesser percentage that would be due for the sale of a record."(2011) Since the artist is entitled to half of licenses which is a far more bigger share than the percentage of royalties from record sales, in my opinion this means we can expect a number of artists to file suit against their record labels in the near future.

Another legal controversy surrounding the music industry are the record labels ongoing battle to secure rights for locking artists into 360 deals when they sign a recording contract. Since the labels are no longer making profits solely from record sales, it is now becoming a common procedure to sign artists to deals that take income from sponsorships, endorsements, products, books, etc. Any form of business that artists makes, the record company wants to be entitled to a portion of it. Entertainment lawyer Bob Donnelly thinks if artists have an opportunity to sign a 360 deal, then they should immediately contemplate on doing a 180 on them. He also believes, record labels are right to incorporate 360 deals in contracts, he states "Labels justify profiting from multiple rights because they are making a substantial investment in the artist."(Donnelly, Buyers Beware.) personally, I believe that 360 deals are unfair to the artist, especially if the artist is performing average in record sales, if there was someway that the record label could recoup a small percentage from the 360 deals then maybe for the artist the deal will be worth negotiating.

Lastly, a legal controversy with sampling music has forced websites like google and YouTube to audit, and refrain certain music not allowed by the artist or label to be viewed on the website. Lawsuits between the sites have forced YouTube to no longer allow persons to download music samples, instrumentals or the use of certain remakes to be viewed due to infringement. Most recently, Viacom sued YouTube for releasing material on their site stating, youtube's motive was to gain popularity and not rightfully license the use of materials. Ultimately Viacom lost the suit, included in a 39 page document of the ruling states “A reasonable jury could find that YouTube had actual knowledge or awareness of specific infringing activity on its website.” (Limer, 2011.) My take on this case is that YouTube cannot stop everyone of its users from downloading material or uploading remakes of works that are sampled, in my opinion it's out of their control, however I do think the company has been proactive in trying to limit infringement from happening because now it's nearly impossible to upload videos with cover songs or material with works of popular artists contained in them.

In conclusion, the music industry is far from winning the battle of music theft, but it is clear they are taking necessary steps onto building the foundation of a new music era thrived by the internet, media, and digital downloading. Along its road to recovery, the battle of legal controversies the industry faces will no time soon seize to end.

References

Bennet, H. T. (2011, April 8). Rick James Estate's Class-Action Suit Against Universal: An Entertainment Attorney Weighs In. Retrieved from http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/rick-james-estate-s-class-action-suit-against-1005122802.story. May 5, 2012.

Donnelly, B. Buyer beware why artist should do a 180 on 360 deals. Retrieved from http://www.lommen.com/pdf/Bob-Donnelly-Billboard-360-Article.aspx. May 5, 2012.

Limer, E. (2012, April 5). Viacom’s Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against YouTube Goes Forward, Threatening DMCA’s Few Useful Qualities. Retrieved from http://www.geekosystem.com/viacom-youtube-lawsuit-raised/. May 5, 2012.