“Help! my music was used in a production without my permission and I haven’t been paid for it!” “I...
Music Contracts & Law
Learn more about legal topics in the music industry like copyright law, royalties, and performing rights organizations.
![Glossary of Common Insurance Terms for Musicians [Part II]](http://performermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/glossary-stock-image-1.jpg)
Glossary of Common Insurance Terms for Musicians [Part II]
Welcome to our second round of insurance terms you, as a performing artist, should know! In case...
Glossary of Common Insurance Terms for Musicians
As a responsible performing artist, you’ve made sure that your tour dates are booked, travel and...
How to (Legally) Break Free From Your Industry Contracts
CONTRACTS PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. You’ll enter into dozens of contract over the course of your career, binding your professional relationships with managers, record labels,...
LEGAL PAD: Registering Your Band’s Trademark
YOUR BAND NAME IS A BRAND NAME, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. Registering your band’s name and logo with the United States Patent & Trademark Office is the most effective way of protecting your band’s...
LEGAL PAD: The End of the First Sale Doctrine?
AS A MUSICIAN, YOU WILL BUY AND SELL HUNDREDS OF ITEMS over the course of your career. From instruments to gear, tour vans to used albums, nearly everything you own – minus a handful of cherished...
Copyright Alert System: Can the Music Industry End Infringement?
PEER-TO-PEER FILE SHARING HAS ALLOWED COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT to become so commonplace that enforcement of the law is nearly impossible. Lawmakers and the recording industry have tried several...
LEGAL PAD: Your Band’s Finances, Paying Professionals, & The Law
WHETHER YOU’RE PLAYING AT LOCAL CLUBS OR TOURING THE REGION, NATION, OR BEYOND, paying the professionals who help you along the way is part of the cost of doing business. But what are the best...
The “Big 4″ of Professional Representation
Know Who’ll Do What For Your Career EVERY MUSICIAN WHO MAKES THE TRANSITION FROM hobbyist to career performer will gradually assemble a team of professionals to take care of their business affairs,...
Labor of Love: Unpaid Internships in the Music Industry
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY is known for its abundance of internships, each sprinkled with the notion that a real opportunity is just around the corner. The prevalence of “unpaid” internships has increased...
Get Paid Your Digital Download Royalties
WHEN RECORD LABELS STARTED SELLING THEIR CATALOGUES AS DIGITAL downloads through online services (iTunes, Rhapsody, etc), a critical issue emerged regarding artist compensation: What percentage...
Pay-to-Play: Prohibited or Rite of Passage?
You’ve heard the deal before: get a slot at this summer’s music festival by pre-purchasing 40 tickets in advance. Some see it as a rite of passage, others a blatant scam. Whichever way you see...
Canadian Supreme Court Issues New Musical Copyright Rulings
On Thursday, July 12, Canada’s Supreme Court issued five rulings regarding existing or proposed tariffs issued by the Copyright Board under the Copyright Act, four of which directly dealt with music...