Entertainment Law Podcast Review

A common issue for artists of all disciplines and their management is to understand the laws around protection of their work.  Often, within the industry, in order to make money early in their career, artists may sign away the rights to their work.  From an awareness perspective, this is eye-opening both for the artist and managers to make sure that we do not forget to read through all contracts and agreements and really understand these laws before signing or agreeing to anything.  Above all, it is a reminder that in these matters, securing a legal resource can serve as a great protection.

Amazingly, prior to 1972 there had not been copyright protection for sound recordings or related work.  Then in 1976 a copyright act revision was made to include a termination right allowing original content owners, songwriters or authors to reclaim the copyright on their work, even though they previously granted exclusive rights to publishers and major music labels.   Under this revision, these individuals can file a reversion on ownership 35 years after the original copyright as long as the notice is filed within 2 years before the end of the 35-year deadline.  This enlightening information was covered extremely well on the Lawyer2Lawyer podcast under the topic of The New Legal Battle over Song Rights and hosted by J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi.

The reason why this topic is so important now is that based on the 35-year window would apply to any records coming out in 1978 and every year after that, meaning that fairly significant recordings are soon coming up for consideration. 

From the perspective of major labels, catalog sales are a major revenue source and accounts for a large number of their sales.  There is a lot of music out there that provides the labels pure profit, specifically if the sales occur posthumously.  In situations where the label advanced the artist a great deal of money during their career, there is no recoup for the artist or their estate on this music.  Whenever a purchase is made, the label is able to collect all the profits on that sale.  So the impact of the artist or their estate being able to reclaim ownership on their music, this could cut revenues to the labels considerably.  This legislation was after all, not put in place to protect the labels, but to protect the authors.  It demonstrated advanced thinking on the behalf of congress that understood the plight of a new artist who will likely be held to a fairly strenuous contract by the labels and created a way out down the road.

There are so many considerations for artists who desire to reclaim their work in this digital age because distribution can now be done online with little or no overhead costs.  While some labels can still provide marketing and distribution on their catalogs with an improved payoff to the artist or author, in many cases digital distribution will create a perfect storm form for artists who decide to reclaim their catalog or work.

Another area of consideration around copyright law also brings the subject of blogs into analysis.  From the same podcast, Lawyer 2 Lawyer, the topic of The Legal Issues of Blogs, Fair Use and Attribution, which is a very sensitive subject because often we consider blogs to be a safe place to express our opinions, thoughts and business positioning within the digital business place.  However, there are now some legal and ethical obligations that bloggers and authors may not be aware of.  Unfortunately because of the lack of clear definitions provided through the Fair Use laws, often bloggers don’t actually properly reference the sources of their information. While it’s often not done intentionally, there is an ethical obligation to give credit to the originator of the information and it is difficult to police on the Internet, but this activity contributes to the lack of credibility amongst bloggers and dilutes the quality of the content.  While there are no laws in place that govern this activity on the Internet, it is up to each blogger to be more responsible in how they handle information.  This is an important element for my business because part of my overall business plan is to feature content that will provide guidance to unsigned and independent artists to help guide their career, so I will need to make sure that always reference my sources properly and give credit where it’s due.

Lastly, in the podcast review the Lawyer2 Lawyer hosts take on the subject of Entertainment Law & the Challenges of Celebrity.  This is of particular importance for me to make sure that I educate the artists that I manage in terms of the development of their brand and image.  In recent years, we have seen a number of cases where artists and celebrities appear in the news for the issues they are experiencing in their personal lives.  In some cases, we have witnessed them battle addictions, broken marriages and the resulting decline in their popularity.  It is incredibly important for artists to understand that in this new, very visible position, they must be well aware of the legal ramifications of their actions because it can cost them, literally. 

Listening to these blogs have provided a great deal of insight for me in areas that I was not well educated it, but has definitely enlightened me into things I need to be aware of for myself and the artists I manage.

It serves as a great reminder that we should all be creatively minding our business…

The ART of the Law

In the last several weeks, there has been a flurry of activity in the area of artists or their designees creatively protecting their works.  In one case, the lawsuit settles outstanding debt and creative ownership debates posthumously, in another, an artist battles with a former manager regarding commission payments and finally, true artistic expression lands a band in jail because of political content.

These incidences should serve as reminders to us as artists that we must become educated on how to legally protect the art we create and ourselves.  Also,  we should not assume that we can manage everything ourselves and know when to hire appropriate management and legal counsel. 

First let’s look at the case between the estate of Michael Jackson and ‘Thriller’ director John Landis, which was finally settled this past week and covered in The Hollywood Reporter.  This case is interesting because first, an outstanding debt for an alleged $2.3 million required settlement and then there was the issue of ownership of a portion of the dramatic rights to the “Thriller” video.  In 2009 John Landis had brought suit against Jackson for monies he claimed were still outstanding for work he completed on the video made in 1983.  Unfortunately, Jackson died that same year and therefore the case would have to be settled by the executors of the estate.  While paying the outstanding debt was made easier by the influx of income into the estate, what I found more compelling about this case was the fight for artistic rights that would allow Landis and others to benefit from the production of “Thriller” in another form, for example like a Broadway production.

Source: www.awakeninglight.org

First, the fact that there was an outstanding debt spanning more than twenty years, it makes me wonder what type of contract was in place that would allow that much time to expire before a legal course was taken.  Additionally, if there was room to argue ownership of artistic or dramatic rights, then I also wonder if that was not covered contractually.  It is not unlikely or uncharacteristic for artistic types to brainstorm an amazing idea and while caught up in the moment, not consider the legal implications of their creative union, but this case really drives home the point for us all that even in the romance of the creative moment, we should really take the time to consider all the legalities of joint production and really know who we are doing business with. 

Second, we look at the case between Lisa Kudrow and her former manager, who is arguing that commission payments should have continued even after being fired.  In this case, The Hollywood Reporter, indicates that the court sided with her former manager, Scott Howard, who entered into an agreement with Kudrow in 1991 and claims he is owed 5 percent of her earnings from the show Friends, even though their professional relationship ended in 2007.  According to an expert witness, stated that it was customary practice for all managers to continue to receive commission on all jobs their clients obtain during their representation, even once the agreement sunsets.  While in this case, the court found in the favor of the manager, it demonstrates again the importance of artists understanding the law.  While the original agreement was an oral one, it is clear that Kudrow did not understand what she was agreeing to and perhaps did not have her management contract reviewed by legal counsel.  Often, we think that because it is not on paper, we have not agreed to anything, but in this case, we can see how costly it is when we do not familiarize ourselves with the law and make sure to protect ourselves.

Last, the case of the Pussy Riot punk band has garnered a great deal of attention both because of its political statement but also the punishment issued against these women for their use of free speech.  According to Billboard, members of the group issued what was called a “punk prayer” with content speaking against actions of Russian leader Vladimir Putin that resulted in them being put on trial and punished by jail sentence.  Three of the members have appealed the decision that would jail them for two years and other members are said to have fled Russia to avoid being jailed.  This case is particularly interesting because it does not deal with creative rights or property, but the actual rights of the artist to express themselves freely.  Many artists use their platform as a way to spread a message or support a cause of a political nature, but this case is a reminder that we are not infallible and there can be legal ramifications involved.  Again, while there are no contracts being broken here, artists must understand the implications of all of their actions.

In some ways, these cases can make it seem like artists are a bit of a target for legal activity.  Perhaps because it is believed that we don’t know the law or fully understand how it impacts our work.  These cases and others like it should serve as cautionary tales of how important it is that we continue to creatively mind our business.