tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11740397060993126302024-03-08T06:59:29.251-08:00Music Business/Law TipsHelpful music business and/or music law tipsBen McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.comBlogger228125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-90884701876893372362018-07-09T17:44:00.003-07:002018-07-09T17:44:57.236-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Co-Publishing Agreement Deal Memo" If an artist is entering into a co-publishing agreement with a music publisher, even though the actual formal contract might be between 10 and 50 pages long, all publishing deals generally boil down to just a few key issues which can be set forth in a Deal Memo to get the parties started. See below a sample Co-Publishing Agreement Deal Memo to give an idea of the points to focus on in this situation. Ben McLane Esq benmclane.com --->My new book "Music Business In 10 Easy Lessons" is now available for purchase on Amazon at the following link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B91ZZ48/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520448664&sr=8-1&keywords=music+business+in+10+easy+lessons\
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CO-PUBLISHING DEAL MEMO
Effective Date: ____________
This Deal Memo shall be between Songwriter ("X") and Publishing Company ("Y"). This Deal Memo shall be a binding agreement until superseded by a more formal agreement. The parties agree as follows:
Terms
1. Term: Initial Period of 1 year, with 2 1 year options.
2. Territory: World.
3. Advance: 1st period ($50,000), 2nd period ($75,000), 3rd period ($100,000)
4. Copyright Split: 75/25
5. MDRC: Deliver 10 songs period, at least 5 have to be commercially exploited
6. Approvals: Pornography, religion, politics, product endorsement
7. Reversion: Any song that is not commercially exploited within 2 years post-Term shall revert
8. Demos: X shall retain rights to demos unless Y paid them.
9. Accounting: Y shall account to X 2 times a year
10. Expenses: Any expenses must be customary and verifiable
The parties acknowledge that there is good and valuable consideration.
____________________________________
X
____________________________________
Y
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-83033196467516347482018-06-17T12:55:00.000-07:002018-06-17T12:59:44.715-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Recording Agreement Deal Memo"If an artist is entering into a recording agreement with a record label, even though the actual formal contract might be between 10 and 100 pages long, all record deals generally boil down to just a few key issues which can be set forth in a Deal Memo to get the parties started.
See below a sample Recording Agreement Deal Memo to give an idea of the points to focus on in this situation.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
--->My new book "Music Business In 10 Easy Lessons" is now available for purchase on Amazon at the following link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B91ZZ48/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520448664&sr=8-1&keywords=music+business+in+10+easy+lessons\
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RECORDING AGREEMENT DEAL MEMO
Effective Date: ____________
This Deal Memo shall be between X Company ("X") and the artist Y ("Y"). This Deal Memo shall be a binding agreement until superseded by a more formal agreement. The parties agree as follows:
Terms
1. Work For Hire Agreement.
2. 1 + 4 option albums
3. Territory = world
4. Advances per Album:
1st album = $50,000
2nd album = $75,000
3rd album = $100,000
4th album = $125,000
5th album = $150,000
5. Exclusive Deal.
6. Royalty = 15% of wholesale & 50% of master use license income.
7. X can recoup all recording and promotional costs.
8. X guarantees to release each album within 6 months of delivery. If not, Artist can terminate.
9. X will guarantee a marketing commitment per album of a minimum 1 single released to radio and 1 promotional video.
10. Y shall have the right to approve the following: songs, artwork, producer and use of music in relation to porn, religion or politics.
The parties acknowledge that there is good and valuable consideration.
____________________________________
Artist
____________________________________
Label
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-49912520146672846902018-01-01T15:30:00.002-08:002018-01-01T15:34:29.798-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - Blockchain for MusicThere has been a lot of recent discussion of how the use of the emerging "blockchain" technology - currently being applied to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin - can be implemented in the music business to help ensure that artists, songwriters, producers, record labels and music publishers can better be paid on the billions of "micro transactions" taking place online each year with relation to the digital performance and sale of music.
Although complex, the key to this working comes down to the metadata embedded in the music via digital watermarking or fingerprinting. Each musical track is a "block" which contains the relevant information such as the artist, songwriter, producer, record label, music publisher, performance rights organization, splits, etc. (the more comprehensive and specific the better). A block pops up anytime there is a use (i.e., stream, sale or remix).
Hence, this will help ensure that the proper parties get paid their share of royalties as platforms like Spotify and YouTube will have this information to properly account (and pay quickly without having to wait for old school twice a year accounting schedules).
Bottom line, this should increase the volume of music transactions and consequently make more money for the rights holders - a very good thing!
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-12504064043938767592017-11-19T11:09:00.002-08:002017-11-19T11:09:28.320-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - Being Your Own Music Publisher
If you are a songwriter, in order to be able to be paid all the monies you are entitled from performances of your works, it is very important to set up a "publishing" entity since you are your own publisher (at least until you do a publishing deal with a third party which may or may not ever occur). The 3 basic steps do so are as follows:
1. Choose a name. Make sure it is unique/not common. Many folks opt to incorporate their own name (e.g., John Smith Music Publishing).
2. Join a Performance Rights Society (i.e., PRO) like BMI, ASCAP or SESAC as that body will collect and pay you for your performances on radio, TV and online. Then make sure all the works are registered with the PRO so they can track and collect. Note you will also need join the PRO as a "songwriter" as well. You can register online or via regular mail.
3. Register your works with the Copyright Office for legal protection and proof of creation. You can register online or via regular mail.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-7168952699765058052017-10-02T18:32:00.002-07:002017-10-02T18:32:24.567-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Register And Get Paid!"If you are releasing music independently (where you own and/or control the master and/or are a contributing songwriter), you need to make sure you file/join the following to ensure proper payment on that content:
1. Join SoundExchange for digital performance royalties on the master both as a label and performer [soundexchange.com]. Note related to this is Neighboring Rights income which may apply to some of your masters that are being broadcast or performed outside of the US. You can collect Neighboring Rights income by joining and being repped by an administrator that does that like Kobalt or Wixen (they have divisions just for Neighboring Rights income collection).
2. Get ISRC codes for any master released (including for remixed versions) for digital royalties as income streams attach to each version (same also for each video master).
3. Form a YouTube Channel for uploading and monetization of any videos embodying the masters (and make sure you elect to monetize the videos and any user generated videos that contain your content).
4. Register all the songs you write or co-write that you release with BMI, ASCAP or SESAC (and join one of the PRO’s if you have not).
5. Register all the masters/songs with the US Copyright Office.
6. Join Harry Fox so you can get paid for your share of any mechanical royalties on the songs you write or co-write (I believe they will collect worldwide via their overseas partners and on video mechanical income as well).
7. If you are currently with an aggregator like the Orchard, Tunecore or CD Baby if you do not want to have direct accounts for yourself you can elect to have them collect some/all of the above (and you need them to get up on the Apple, Amazon and Spotify platforms anyway), but of course there is usually some sort of middleman fee or deduction on top of what the source deducts. Make sure at a minimum your aggregator has you up on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify (but preferably up on all digital storefronts and streaming companies).
Ben McLane Esq
Benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-13629356318743435062017-08-14T19:53:00.000-07:002017-08-14T20:07:43.337-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Sampling Issues"With all the new low cost digital devices/technology, sampling music has become more prevalent (and harder to detect). However, producers/users have to realize that unauthorized sampling - even of small sound bites - is generally considered copyright infringement. One can try to argue fair use or minor use as a defense, but why even take the chance (and with music recognition software like that found on YouTube eventually the sample will probably be discovered).
It's always best to approach the owner of the original sound recording and/or the underlying composition (as applicable) and send a written request asking permission, or work out a "split" agreement whereby everyone involved with the new work that incorporates the sample can get paid (or instead use pre-cleared samples or search for Creative Commons licenses). If the project is low budget or indie, maybe the user can get a free or low dollar "festival use license" with a contingency that if the song takes off he/she can pay a more standard sample fee later.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-42341053989435103142017-07-04T15:00:00.004-07:002017-07-04T15:00:52.421-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Making Money From Videos"Artists these days can make money off the videos that they upload to YouTube. The money is called "ad revenue" ("AdRev"), and its generated by inserting or allowing ads in or attached to videos. The main types of ads one can get paid for are set forth below to see the differences:
1. "Bumper Ads" (short ads of a few seconds that cannot be skipped);
2. "Sponsored Cards" (ads that offer products for sale that appear in the video);
3. "Display Ads" (ads that pop up to the right of video);
4. "Skippable Ads" (ads that play for a few seconds before they can be skipped);
5. "Overlay Ads" (banners that pop up under the video); and
6. "Non-Skippable Ads" (a 30 second ad that one must sit through to watch the video).
In order to participate in YouTube AdRev, first an artist must join YouTube's "Partner Program", and then create an "AdSense" account to monetize the ads (but one has the option of opting out of some/all types of ads or just for certain videos). Normally, an artist will want to allow all types of ads to maximize profits (unless he/she has strong feelings about being associate with a product, for instance). The ads are generally placed randomly via an algorithm where YouTube is trying to target market based on an artist's and the artist's videos metrics/data. Since its hard for new artists to make money off record sales these days, AdRev is a good stream of income (and any video can be monetized - not just the ones that have millions of views - but as the views increase so does the AdRev).
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-63807971847519843842017-04-16T20:07:00.000-07:002017-04-17T15:11:43.366-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "YouTube cover song issues"These days with the prevalence and ease of using video sites such as YouTube, Facebook, etc., many new artists make "cover" videos of popular songs to gain an audience, and numerous fans create "user generated" videos of famous songs for fun. However, without the proper permission this can be considered copyright infringement, which could lead to some punitive actions.
The reason for this is that when one uses someone else's song in a video, that is technically what is called a "synchronization" use (i.e., "sync"), and that legally requires a license from the publisher/writer of the song (as opposed to a straight audio cover version where it's much easier to get a mechanical license from the Harry Fox Agency).
Of course, most new artists and fans are not aware of this and often get hit with either a takedown or cease and desist notice. Getting a few of these can actually bar the future use of YouTube for a period of time (YouTube jail). However, sometimes the cover flies under the radar and/or no one makes an issue of it, and more commonly these days the publisher/writer makes a claim to the song rights via YouTube's "Content Management System" which allows the owner of the song to share in the advertising revenues generated by the cover video (but the artist or fan doing the cover will not be able to participate in that ad rev).
A solution to avoid problems is to go to a site such as WeAreTheHits.com which has worked out pre-clearances to allow someone to make a cover video and not violate any rights (or to go direct to the owner of the song but they are often too busy to reply). Since there is value to having cover videos up for discovery purposes which can help build a career or earn income in other areas, it would be best to try and get advance clearance before posting a cover video online.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-16492424137186736102017-03-06T21:51:00.000-08:002017-03-06T21:51:19.644-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Endorsement Deal Structures"Talent compensation models when an artist enters into an endorsement deal (i.e., the artist promotes a product by appearing in an advertisement using and/or complementing the product) can be structured in a variety of ways, but 3 of the most common are as follows: (1) Flat Fee (the brand pays the artist a fixed fee to promote the product for a period of time); (2) Flat Fee + Bonus (similar to #1, but if the ad generates a spike in brand revenue that meets a certain threshold then additional fees are paid to artist); and (3) Equity Share (instead of a fee, or for a much reduced fee, the artist can share in a healthy percentage of the net revenues generated from the product sales and/or sometimes even an ownership stake in the company).
Of course these types of deals tend to be geared towards a more famous artist, but endorsements (and similarly sponsorships) can exist at all levels, so these examples can be used as a guideline in negotiations.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-53696960103112905092017-02-01T10:01:00.002-08:002017-02-01T10:01:19.396-08:00Music Business Law Tips - "Major vs. Indie Record Deals"In my years of doing deals I have discovered there are pros and cons of an artist signing with a major label versus with an independent label. Of course each artist situation is different and the factors can be negotiable case by case, but below are some of the major general differences to keep in mind:
"Pro Major": (1) Bigger advance, (2) Greater promotion to mass media, (3) Perception that artist is a star;
"Con Major": (1) Deal terms are longer, (2) Label takes/participates in more rights (i.e., 360 deal), (3) Artist can be a small fish in the system;
"Pro Indie": (1) More chance of being a priority act, (2) Higher royalty split, (3) Can keep more rights (e.g., master license);
"Con Indie": (1) Smaller advance, (2) Less promotional support, (3) Can be inconsistent due to less resources and staff
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-52696281517031361122016-12-26T19:42:00.000-08:002016-12-26T19:42:01.751-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Cover Recording Tips"If you are releasing a straight-up cover version (your own interpretation) and re-recording all the audio from scratch, you simply need a mechanical license from Harry Fox (harryfox.com) to release the cover.
However, if you want to actually "sample" the original recording (all or in part) and sing over it, that is more complex as you have to get permission/license from whoever owns the original master and the original songwriter/publisher(s) (and sometimes it is hard to find those party/ies if it is an obscure recording, or the originator may demand outrageous sample license fees for consent). Hence, it is usually better to just re-do (i.e., make a sound-alike/copy) the sounds you want, and not have to deal with sample clearances - and with today's technology that is quite possible; just don't do a verbatim rip-off.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-605160357182245752016-11-23T19:00:00.002-08:002016-11-23T19:00:41.695-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - "5 Steps to a Record Deal"In my experience these 5 steps give a recording artist the best chance to get a record deal:
1. Have a demo with at least 3 hit radio songs;
2. Have a unique/marketable image and name;
3. Have an entertaining live show;
4. Have a strong social media presence (YouTube, etc);
5. Include the selling points listed above into a "package" that is easy for the industry to check out via computer (i.e., website or EPK link).
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-49452734517715062222016-10-22T16:03:00.000-07:002016-10-23T20:14:57.082-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Accounting Transparency"Recently The Orchard - which now also releases indie films as well as music - set up a new "transparent" form of accounting that to date has been unheard of in the film business (based on all the "net profit" lawsuits over the years on why no one is paid on a big hit film). The new model allows filmmakers to see the revenue and expenditures from the beginning to the end of any film that the company acquires or distributes and the bottom line net profit. Now filmmakers can see in real time the revenues (e.g., ticket sales, streams, cable) and costs to be deducted (production, distribution, marketing).
According to The Orchard this new model is set up to let the parties have a better working relationship of collaboration/trust and hopefully will prompt the filmmaker to cooperate with promotions, etc., and so that everyone understands the reality of the costs versus benefit so that all parties can better project the long term outcome.
We can hope that this type of mentality will also spill over into the music business where historically there has also been an information gap that has led to many unhappy results.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-15757081262406364542016-08-28T15:03:00.002-07:002016-08-28T15:03:15.340-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Brand v. Artist"Trademark law seeks to prevent consumers from being confused. Recently, some rappers have incorporated the luxury brand names "Burberry" and "Rolls Royce" into their artist names and related imagery. Burberry and Rolls Royce objected, alleging that the use of their marks will cause consumers to mistakenly believe that the rappers are affiliated with, endorsed/sponsored by, or somehow connected to the brands, and the use of offensive language in the rapper's music could diminish the value of the brands.
Because either the rappers changed their names or did not put up a legal challenge, the brand's arguments won out here. However, because of potential free speech or no confusion arguments - is it really this black and white? For instance, in 2000, Mattel sued MCA Records for pop group Aqua’s use of the Barbie trademark in their song and video for “Barbie Girl”. After a lengthy battle, the court found that Aqua’s use was not confusing because the title of an artistic work was viewed differently than a commercial product.
Clearly, trademark law is a murky and a dangerous area to tread lightly. Bottom line probably better to come up with a unique name with no potential conflicts.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-77963630241017433512016-08-01T20:46:00.002-07:002016-08-01T20:46:37.656-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Infringement - Statutory Damages"The US Government is evaluating the Copyright Act to see if it needs to be updated to keep in step with the digital age. One of the areas it is thinking of revising is the "Statutory Damages" clause when someone infringes a copyright.
The current standard per-work amount of statutory damages is set by Congress at $750-$30,000 per infringement, with an increased ceiling of up to $150,000 where infringement is found to be willful. However, to try and make awards more fair and not random - especially since with the Internet there are lots of cases of "innocent infringement" whereby users do not really know or are ignorant - the task force has recommended adding a list of factors for courts to consider when picking a number from the statutory range for an appropriate damages award (and perhaps making a new lower minimum):
(1) The plaintiff’s revenues lost and the difficulty of proving damages.
(2) The defendant’s expenses saved, profits reaped, and other benefits from the infringement.
(3) The need to deter future infringements.
(4) The defendant’s financial situation.
(5) The value or nature of the work infringed.
(6) The circumstances, duration, and scope of the infringement, including whether it was commercial in nature.
(7) In cases involving infringement of multiple works, whether the total sum of damages, taking into account the number of works infringed and number of awards made, is commensurate with the overall harm caused by the infringement.
(8) The defendant’s state of mind, including whether the defendant was a willful or innocent infringer.
(9) In the case of willful infringement, whether it is appropriate to punish the defendant and if so, the amount of damages that would result in an appropriate punishment.
Perhaps the Law will evolve - wait and see.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-32456874339016826772016-06-19T14:32:00.002-07:002016-06-19T21:31:27.626-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - Streaming Only LandmarkLast week the album "Coloring Book" by the indie artist Chance the Rapper become the first album ever to chart on Billboard entirely from streams. The album was not made for sale on iTunes for download or in CD format for retail stores (with apparently no plans to do so).
It was posted online as a "streaming exclusive" on Apple Music's streaming service and compiled enough streams in 1 week to equate to 39,000 equivalent album unit sales (1500 steams = 1 album sale according to Billboard). This was good enough to debut in the Top 10 of the Billboard Album Top 200 Album Chart. After a 2 week exclusive streaming window via Apple, it will also be available on other streaming services like Spotify.
Note Kanye West's latest album from a few months back "Life of Pablo" charted at #1 on Billboard almost entirely from streams - but it was also available for sale on West's website (not at iTunes or other stores) - so due to its limited availability it was publicized as a streaming only release even though technically it was not.
This seems like it will be a continuing trend - especially for indie releases. The question is - how does an artist make money off streams? Right now, streaming seems more like a promotional device to build a fan base who will pay for show tickets, merchandise, and lead to synch licenses, etc. - all which do pay.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-1480911463666693302016-05-29T19:21:00.002-07:002016-05-29T19:31:41.201-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Buy A Beat"
A big business for up and coming producers is to create and sell a musical "beat" to an artist or label who can then add lyrics or a rap on top or remix it. There are a few ways this can go down:
1. Buy Out: For a fee, the producer sells his rights (work for hire). This means he/she may not even get a credit. Unless the check is large, it's always better to stay on as a credited writer/producer and get back-end royalties from sales/streams/licensing since you never know what track is going to blow up.
2. License: The producer retains his rights, but lets a third party artist use the beat in a new song (usually exclusively for a period). There may be an up-front fee involved, but always a back-end royalty and credit.
There is normally a written agreement when someone buys/sells a beat. The producer needs to cover fees, credits (as a producer/writer) and royalties. The Artist or buyer needs to make sure he/she can use the beat without restriction in all media, the beat should be original (no samples/infringements) and has not already been given to anyone else.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-23112538569674371982016-03-20T10:37:00.002-07:002016-03-20T10:38:23.819-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Playlist Promotion (Playola?)"Playlists on the major streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music have become an important new form of "charts", as this is where fans and music supervisors are starting to gravitate to discover music as well as where traditional radio stations are looking for which songs are popular enough to add. As such, record labels now actively try to get their newly released singles to appear on such playlists. This is known in the industry as "playlist promotion". Essentially, the old-school "legal" promotional methods that were once (and still are) used by labels to get songs added to radio have now carried over to this new medium.
Therefore, it appears that if a label or artist can afford to pay a middlemen digital marketing firm (similar to indie radio promoter) who will - via their relationships with curators of the various playlists - influence song placements and chart positions on the playlists, then the true indie artists will again be squeezed out of the mass exposure picture just as they always were before and will have to rely on grassroots to break. ("Meet the new boss/same as the old boss." [lyric by P. Townshend])
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-55260849811481089772016-03-03T13:53:00.002-08:002016-03-03T13:53:48.295-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - "7 Year Statute"Recently, Rita Ora filed a lawsuit against her label Roc Nation to get out of her record deal based on the so called "7 Year Statute". In California, this Labor Code stipulates a court cannot enforce a personal service contract after seven calendar years from when the deal began. Ora signed the contract in 2008. Her underlying gripe is that she claims the label has neglected and failed to properly promote her. Of course, Roc Nation disputes this and argues they have spent millions on branding her.
The problem with invoking this statute is that there a lack of solid case precedents in music. Although Olivia Newton-John successfully sued MCA Records for violating the law in the late Seventies, thereafter the recording industry lobbied the California legislature to establish rules allowing labels to sue artists for "lost profits" if they didn't fulfill album commitments or other components of their contract, so such a claim can backfire. As such, most record industry disputes involving the "seven-year rule" have ended in a settlement or a renegotiated deal.
Well have to stay tuned to see what happens.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-8342645625867648102016-01-16T11:08:00.001-08:002016-01-16T11:10:40.471-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - Gear Endorsement DealsWith the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Convention quickly approaching, many musicians either already have - or will obtain - instrument and other musical gear endorsement deals, and will hanging out there either performing for or networking with the equipment suppliers that will be showing off their wares to buyers and the industry. Normally, a musician would need to have some level of notoriety or fan base either from releasing records, touring, and/or having an online presence to secure an endorsement deal (but not always).
The terms of such a deal can vary, but unless the musician is already a superstar, the basic deals points are the following:
(1) Give the musician free product(s) or product(s) at cost (money only if a big name);
(2) Musician must promote the product by using the gear at shows or on recordings/videos, and post images online using the gear;
(3) Normally a term of a year/ few years where the musician can only formally endorse that particular product.
It's always best to endorse product that one already likes and will be proud to be affiliated with.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-89397390257607611062016-01-01T13:19:00.003-08:002016-01-01T13:19:59.709-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Graphic Artist Agreement"
If a singer/band is going to hire a graphic artist to create an album cover or a logo for it, keep in mind that under copyright laws designers normally retain the rights to what they create, unless the singer/band has something in writing with the designer to the contrary.
It is advisable that the designer sign a short work for hire agreement whereby in exchange for a fee (or other consideration), the designer transfers ownership of all rights, title and interest in the logo or artwork to the singer/band. Without this, the singer/band may not have the freedom to use the artwork as it wishes without restrictions (on merchandise, etc.), and/or will owe the designer additional fees or royalties down the road. Another option is to obtain a broad rights license from the designer, but that is never as good as ownership.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-48535471321115501962015-12-12T19:33:00.001-08:002015-12-12T19:39:34.312-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Album Sales Calculations"With the actual sales of digital download albums and physical CD albums going down all the time, for charting purposes in Billboard Magazine (i.e., what album makes the Top 40, Top 10, #1), Billboard and the record industry had to come up with some new calculation methods to cover the way people consume music now. 2 of the biggest new methods are:
1. Streaming Equivalent Album ("SEA"): 1500 streams on Spotify, etc. = 1 album sale;
2. Track Equivalent Album ("TEA"): 10 individual downloads of songs from an album via iTunes, etc. = 1 album sale.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.comBen McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-59199693417889975632015-11-29T07:55:00.002-08:002015-11-29T07:55:59.429-08:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Label/Publisher Royalty Split"Historically, royalty splits from record sales between the record label that recorded and released the record and the music publisher that provided the song embodied on the record have greatly favored the label. For downloads and physical record sales - after the distributor deducts its share - the publisher receives about 13% of the revenue (mechanical royalty), while the label is paid the rest. This trend continues with streaming. According to Spotify, it pays 21% to publishers, while the label is paid the rest. Hence, labels on average seem to make between 4-5 times as much as publishers from sales and streaming. Because of this, there is a lot of chatter about trying to make the splits more favorable to publishers/songwriters since records do not sell as much anymore and streaming does not pay as much (yet). It will be interesting to see if any changes occur down the line.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.comBen McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-56642445681037816712015-10-18T10:15:00.001-07:002015-10-18T10:15:33.743-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "YouTube Is King"Industry sources indicate that YouTube is growing faster than all other music streaming platforms combined.
Although you may hear a lot about Spotify, Google Play, Apple Music, Rdio, etc. in the world of streaming - YouTube in still the primary destination of choice for free music consumption. According to new data from Nielsen Music, video music streaming sites like YouTube (and to a lesser extent Vevo) are growing 60.6 percent faster than all on-demand audio streaming services combined, paid or free.
Streaming is the fastest-growing way people are getting their music today. On the other hand, digital and physical sales are down. The trick will be to find a way to make streaming more lucrative to the content creators. Let's hope the growing volume will translate, and clearly an artist with new music should have a video on YouTube, etc. for the exposure and byproduct possibilities.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1174039706099312630.post-36893783418352012672015-10-04T18:30:00.003-07:002015-10-11T13:14:17.991-07:00Music Business/Law Tips - "Spotify Breaking Acts"
Spotify is the world's largest subscription service. Most people use its "freemium" model where they do not have to pay to listen. The good part about this is that Spotify has become a platform for new artists to be discovered, and on occasion Spotify will help promote and launch a new artist.
Recently, Spotify helped break Hozier 's "Take Me To Church" and Major Lazer's "Lean On" into the Top 10 via its "Today's Top Hits" Playlist, adding the songs to its artist development platform called "Spotlight", and targeted banner placements in "browse" sections of the Site. By putting the focus on these tracks and exposing them to millions of potential listeners, this caused more repeated "listens", and listeners started to share the tracks and add them to their own personal playlists - where ultimately the songs became viral hits.
Sounds like the new radio to me. Let's hope there is room for indies as well as major label backed artists to participate.
Ben McLane Esq
benmclane.com
Ben McLane, Music Attorneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15703741977289769529noreply@blogger.com1