The Questions

The Questions: Explain why these are of interest to you. What specific concepts and terms were involved – in other words, what are the legal issues? , The entertainment world used to turn a blind eye, but illegal downloading is threatening the viability of recording companies, movie studios, and publishers.

The statistics are compelling: in 2008, 40 billion songs were downloaded illegally, which is as much as 95 percent of all downloaded music!.  (Jeffery F. Beatty; Susan S. Smauelson )  It was wild to find out that people will actually steal people’s music.  Part of what gives me such an accomplished feeling is knowing that I did it all myself.  I could never feel right having stole some one else’s music and call it my own I just would get no gratification from it at all.  Without profitable record labels, who will find and promote new stars? As we saw in the opening scenario, which is a true story, this type of theft is having a profound effect on entertainment and publishing. But it is not just “big companies” that suffer—it is also the artists, musicians, actors, and writers, most of whom are not wealthy rock stars. (Jeffery F. Beatty; Susan S. Smauelson )

1.  What are copyright laws?   The copyright holder licenses the work, or authorizes an agent to license work.    Some copyright holder use a creative commons license, giving up some rights such as payments for others such as attribution.

2.  How do I negotiate record deals and songwriter agreements?  There is a thing called musical clearance what that is there are any number of parameters that get factored into obtaining a formal music clearance quotes, such as specific rights and type of media required, term territory, number of units, unit price, step deals, bumps, options or rollovers, corporate policy of the licensor, length of usage, type of usage, profit or  non-profit status, project budget, type of project and subject matter, other composition/recordings within the project, multiple publishers, samples, copyright renewal and or ownership issues, popularity and licensing history of the song or recording, current artist management restrictions and guidelines.

3.  How do you calculate record royalties?  You need to know the AHRA, which is the recording artist royalties.  These are payments that were created from the enactment of the audio home recording act by US congress.  The AHRA imposes an obligation on importers and manufacturers of digital audio recording devices and media to submit a royalty payment set by the statute to the register of copyrights.  The AHRA provides that 66 2/3 /% of those royalties shall be allocated to a sound recording fund.  The act further provides that 2 5/8% of the sound recording fund shall be placed in a escrow account managed by an independent musician who have performed on sound recording distributed in the united states; and that 1 3/8% shall be similarly placed in a escrow  account  managed by an independent administrator appointed by AFTRA, and the record companies and distributed to non featured vocalists.

4.  What is a music manager? A music manager (or band manager) may handle career areas for bands, singers, and djs. A musician or band may hire a music manager, or the manager may discover the band, and the relationship is usually contractually bound with mutual assurances, warranties, performances guarantees, and so forth. The manager's main job is to help with determining decisions related to career moves, bookings, promotion, business deals, recording contracts, etc. The role of music managers can be extensive and may include similar duties to that of a press agent, promoter, booking agent, business manager (who are usually tour cpa, or tour manager, and sometimes even a personal assistant.

5.   Music attorney?  Do you need an entertainment lawyer on a one time only basis, or do you need to keep a lawyer on retainer? Do you need help with contract negotiation or dealing an intellectual property right violation?

Music lawyers are specialized entertainment lawyers, and within the world of music lawyers, many attorneys have further specialized in dealing with a certain part of the industry. Understanding what you need legal help with will make it easier for you to find a lawyer who is up to the task. Knowing whether you are looking to build a long term relationship with a lawyer will also impact the process.

6.   How do I protect my band or artist name through trademark protection?   The selection of a band name creates a host of legal issues.  Obviously, this brief article cannot touch on every legal and intellectual property issue that relates to a band name.  Instead, this article is primarily focused on trademark law.  The most vital and valuable trademarks in the music business are the names of bands and individual performers.  Band names serve the important function of identifying the artist goods and services.

7.  Developing an agreement among band members?    As viral media makes it easier for bands to spread and popularize their music without a record label, even garage bands must start taking the prospect of band agreements seriously.  Band contracts allow members to anticipate and prevent arguments over royalty distribution, song and image rights, band composition and any other problems that may arise during the bands lifespan, in order to avoid spending large sums of money on contract lawyers, band members can opt to sit down and create their own contracts.  These contracts are legally binding and when properly written, will be upheld in courts if a dispute does arise.

8.  Working with music publishers?  In the music industry, a music publisher or publishing company is responsible for ensuring the songwriter and composer receive payment when their compositions are used commercially. Through an agreement called publishing contracts a songwriter or composer "assigns" the copyright of their composition to a publishing company. In return, the company licenses compositions, helps monitor where compositions are used, collects royalties and distributes them to the composers. They also secure commissions for music and promote existing compositions to recording artists, film and television

The term originally referred to publishers of sheet music.. In the late 19th century sheet music was the primary commercial use of musical compositions. Today, the two businesses have diverged, and the large companies known as "music publishers" typically are no longer in the business of producing printed music.

The copyrights owned and administered by publishing companies are one of the most important forms of intellectual property in the music industry. (The other is the copyright on a master recording which is typically owned by a record company.) Publishing companies play a central role in managing this vital asset.

9.  What would I need to make a business plan?  Five steps 1. Executive summary 2. Products and services 3. Marketing plan 4. Management plan 5. Financial plan

10. what about those steps is important to my business plan?  They are crucial for a business to work in the industry.  To have a successful business those plans need to be fallowed to every word and elaborated in detail.

Week 8 EOC: 10 Legal Questions

AUDIO LEGAL QUESTION

1.      

1.  What are copyright laws?   The copyright holder licenses the work, or authorizes an agent to license work.    Some copyright holder use a creative commons license, giving up some rights such as payments for others such as attribution.

2.  How do I negotiate record deals and songwriter agreements?  There is a thing called musical clearance what that is there are any number of parameters that get factored into obtaining a formal music clearance quotes, such as specific rights and type of media required, term territory, number of units, unit price, step deals, bumps, options or rollovers, corporate policy of the licensor, length of usage, type of usage, profit or  non-profit status, project budget, type of project and subject matter, other composition/recordings within the project, multiple publishers, samples, copyright renewal and or ownership issues, popularity and licensing history of the song or recording, current artist management restrictions and guidelines.

3.  How do you calculate record royalties?  You need to know the AHRA, which is the recording artist royalties.  These are payments that were created from the enactment of the audio home recording act by US congress.  The AHRA imposes an obligation on importers and manufacturers of digital audio recording devices and media to submit a royalty payment set by the statute to the register of copyrights.  The AHRA provides that 66 2/3 /% of those royalties shall be allocated to a sound recording fund.  The act further provides that 2 5/8% of the sound recording fund shall be placed in a escrow account managed by an independent musician who have performed on sound recording distributed in the united states; and that 1 3/8% shall be similarly placed in a escrow  account  managed by an independent administrator appointed by AFTRA, and the record companies and distributed to non featured vocalists.

4.  What is a music manager? A music manager (or band manager) may handle career areas for bands, singers, and djs. A musician or band may hire a music manager, or the manager may discover the band, and the relationship is usually contractually bound with mutual assurances, warranties, performances guarantees, and so forth. The manager's main job is to help with determining decisions related to career moves, bookings, promotion, business deals, recording contracts, etc. The role of music managers can be extensive and may include similar duties to that of a press agent, promoter, booking agent, business manager (who are usually tour cpa, or tour manager, and sometimes even a personal assistant.

5.   Music attorney?  Do you need an entertainment lawyer on a one time only basis, or do you need to keep a lawyer on retainer? Do you need help with contract negotiation or dealing an intellectual property right violation?

Music lawyers are specialized entertainment lawyers, and within the world of music lawyers, many attorneys have further specialized in dealing with a certain part of the industry. Understanding what you need legal help with will make it easier for you to find a lawyer who is up to the task. Knowing whether you are looking to build a long term relationship with a lawyer will also impact the process.

6.   How do I protect my band or artist name through trademark protection?   The selection of a band name creates a host of legal issues.  Obviously, this brief article cannot touch on every legal and intellectual property issue that relates to a band name.  Instead, this article is primarily focused on trademark law.  The most vital and valuable trademarks in the music business are the names of bands and individual performers.  Band names serve the important function of identifying the artist goods and services.

7.  Developing an agreement among band members?    As viral media makes it easier for bands to spread and popularize their music without a record label, even garage bands must start taking the prospect of band agreements seriously.  Band contracts allow members to anticipate and prevent arguments over royalty distribution, song and image rights, band composition and any other problems that may arise during the bands lifespan, in order to avoid spending large sums of money on contract lawyers, band members can opt to sit down and create their own contracts.  These contracts are legally binding and when properly written, will be upheld in courts if a dispute does arise.

8.  Working with music publishers?  In the music industry, a music publisher or publishing company is responsible for ensuring the songwriter and composer receive payment when their compositions are used commercially. Through an agreement called publishing contracts a songwriter or composer "assigns" the copyright of their composition to a publishing company. In return, the company licenses compositions, helps monitor where compositions are used, collects royalties and distributes them to the composers. They also secure commissions for music and promote existing compositions to recording artists, film and television

The term originally referred to publishers of sheet music.. In the late 19th century sheet music was the primary commercial use of musical compositions. Today, the two businesses have diverged, and the large companies known as "music publishers" typically are no longer in the business of producing printed music.

The copyrights owned and administered by publishing companies are one of the most important forms of intellectual property in the music industry. (The other is the copyright on a master recording which is typically owned by a record company.) Publishing companies play a central role in managing this vital asset.

9.  What would I need to make a business plan?  Five steps 1. Executive summary 2. Products and services 3. Marketing plan 4. Management plan 5. Financial plan

10. what about those steps is important to my business plan?  They are crucial for a business to work in the industry.  To have a successful business those plans need to be fallowed to every word and elaborated in detail.

Copy right laws?

2.       In the state of Texas, is it legal to audio tape in the work place?

3.       Negotiating record deals and songwriter agreements

4.       Generating income from your songs

5.       Calculating your record royalties step-by-step

6.       Protecting your music through copyright law

7.       Hiring agents, managers and music attorneys

8.       Protecting band names through trademark protection

9.       Organizing your band or music-related venture as a business

1.   Developing an agreement among band members

1.   Working with a music publisher

Part One. Ownership and Copyright.

1. How a song differs from a sound recording
2. Obtaining copyright protection
3. Registering copyrights with the United States Copyright Office
   1. benefits
   2. application requirements
   3. poor man's copyright as an alternative to formal registration
4. What is a copyright?
   1. exclusive rights in songs
   2. exclusive rights in sound recordings
5. Forms of copyright ownership
   1. joint works
   2. works made for hire
6. Duration of copyright
7. Use of copyright notice
8. Copyright Infringement
   1. determining if a work has been infringed
   2. the fair use exception/how much can be copied?

To Top of Page

Part Two. Musical Groups.

1. Protecting the name of a musical group
   1. trademarks and service marks
   2. choosing a protectible name
   3. trademark registration
   4. conducting a trademark search
   5. maintaining a trademark
   6. if someone else uses the group name
2. Taking care of business
   1. partnership law
   2. what happens if the group breaks up
   3. written agreements among group members
   4. forming a corporation or limited liability company

To Top of Page

Part Three. Managers, Agents and Union Membership.

1. Roles of talent agent, personal manager
   and business manager
2. Selecting representatives
3. Common terms in agreements with talent
   agents, personal managers and business managers
4. The role of the music attorney
5. Union Membership

To Top of Page

Part Four. Recording Contracts.

1. Major record labels versus independent record labels
2. Common terms in a recording contract
   1. exclusivity
   2. duration
   3. recording costs, advances and renouncement
   4. creative control
   5. delivery of masters
   6. royalty rates
   7. warranties, representations and indemnification
   8. special provisions for musical groups
3. Step-by-step calculation of record royalties

To Top of Page

Part Five. Music Publishing and Songwriter Agreements.

1. Music publishing defined
2. Songwriting license royalties
   1. mechanical licenses
      1. compulsory licenses
      2. right of publicity
      3. controlled composition clause
   2. performing rights licenses
      1. performing rights societies
   3. synchronization licenses
   4. print licenses
3. Common terms in a songwriter agreement
   1. single song agreement versus exclusive term agreement
   2. duration
   3. ownership of songs
   4. creative control
   5. delivery of songs
   6. royalties and advances
4. Songwriter as his/her own music publisher
   1. pros and cons
   2. affiliating with a performing rights society
   3. setting up and running your company
5. Co-publishing Agreements and Administration Agreements

Closing

EOC week 4 snowden

I don’t believe that our information that has gone digital should be public information.  This breach in confidentiality is an absolute violation to legal contracts signed every day in health offices around the United States.   “The Office for Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information; the HIPAA Security Rule, which sets national standards for the security of electronic protected health information; the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, which requires covered entities and business associates to provide notification following a breach of unsecured protected health information; and the confidentiality provisions of the Patient Safety Rule, which protect identifiable information being used to analyze patient safety events and improve patient safety.” (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).  I have worked in many dental offices, including Kaiser Permanente, which is a huge HMO which has digital information on peoples HIV and AIDS status which is not considered public knowledge or even anyone’s knowledge, it is considered highly classified and confidential. 

If these leaks are made public then everyone in let’s say Kaiser should or shouldn’t be fired on the spot because there contracts on HIPPA state, “if Notification of the federal government if there is an incident involving Medicare member/patients; l Notification of individual member/patients whose PHI was illegally accessed, used or disclosed; and l The individual workforce member(s) responsible for the incident may be subject to corrective action, up to and including termination.” http://kpnet.kp.org/national/compliance/program/privacy_security.html (1 of 4)11/29/2007 3:27:48 PM.   Also with this breach of privileged information being leaked means that not only the privacy contracts signed has been violated, but also the thousands of dollars that have been placed to protect the privacy, print the contracts, supplied the training for employees and paid the lawyers for confidentiality cases in health care have been completely wasted and violated.  http://kpnet.kp.org/national/compliance/program/privacy_security.html

EOC 2 Stand Your Ground Law

EOC 2:  Stand Your Ground Law

The stand your ground law states that a civilian doesn’t have the right to retreat when threatened, but should stand their ground.  There is no statue to use deadly force, but since the riffle act passed by Jeb Bush, deadly force clearly is being used as was shown in the death of 17 year old Trevon Martin, by the hand of George Zimmerman.  The Jury’s main reason for acquitting Zimmerman the other day in court, was due to the, stand your ground law, in the state of Florida.

"This bill actually encourages people to shoot their way out of situations and that's not how we live in a civilized society," Smith told a news conference. "It's a mentality that has permeated the state of Florida. It's a mentality of shoot first, and we should not have that in a civilized society.  (Brown).

Satz commented, "Before there was a common law duty that you had to retreat before you used deadly force," he added. "I just don't think you need the Stand Your Ground statute."  And Satz also stated "I think putting in the statute that you do not have the duty to retreat is a mistake. I think life is precious and before you do that you should do everything in your power not to do that and to retreat if you possibly can," (Brown).

“I believe that the statue of the ‘Stand Your Ground Law’ should be relooked at for evaluation and revision.  It was a devastating tragedy that a 17year old boy had to die because a man had safety behind a law that protected him to murder”.  (Dees).

Week 1 EOC, My voice

As a audio making professional....

I am a recording audio professional.  I have been recording for over ten years and it is very exciting to learn new styles and way of recording as a professional.  I am a recording artist who has recorded me for years to complete a professional album.  I have been learning all the technical portions in the art of recording.   As a professional love recording as and art I am excited to network with other professionals in the recording audio business.  I record almost every day or work on my mixing and mastering of my final product.  My projects I have been working on for years will finally come to light with a finished product from all the audio secrets and knowledge I am learning from the seasoned mentor in audio production. 

As an audio professional many different forms of recording audio is being tapped into with my constant evolving in the profession.   I am learning and being introduced to much more than just recording music.  I am learning about many different professional careers inside of the profession of audio recording.  I very much have passion in recording and as a professional will hope to make it my life long attribute to the world.  Not just recording my own album but in the profession I will be recording others.  I hope to one day further my profession in audio recording and becoming a sole proprietor of a record company.  I would like to professionally produce mainstream music for the world to hear.  Being a audio recording professional is a very rewarding experience.