Music Business/Law Tips - "Avoid Infringements"

In the wake of the recent Marvin Gaye/Blurred Lines court decision, many songwriters are concerned about possibly getting sued for similarities in their works with others. In reality, copyright lawsuits are actually rare and hard/expensive to win, and are all based on the test of "substantial similarity". However, if a writer is going to borrow or be inspired by an existing work without a license, try and stay clean of any potential issues by keeping the following guidelines in mind: (1) make sure any sample is very short (like a few seconds or notes); (2) make sure the sample is obscure and/or distorted; (3) try to find a sample that is covered by a creative commons license (permission already granted); (4) try and use a public domain work (e.g., anything more than 70 years old is normally fair use). Ben McLane Esq benmclane.com

Music Business/Law Tips - "Synch Deal Points"

Placing music in film, TV and commercials is big business and it’s open to artists of all levels of fame. A few points to make sure are considered before signing a synch license agreement are: 1. Try to get some kind of fee or consideration. 2. Make sure it’s clear how the music will be used in the program. 3. Make sure it’s a non-exclusive “license” (not a transfer of copyright). 4. If the song is a co-write/co-production, make sure that one person can sign for all. 5. Ensure that the song title, name of the performer and name of the writer(s) are properly credited in the program. 6. Try to get a copy of the cue sheet so you can make sure that BMI, ASCAP or SESAC are aware of the usage so they can collect back-end performance income. Ben McLane Esq Benmclane.com