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Music Contracts & Law
Learn more about legal topics in the music industry like copyright law, royalties, and performing rights organizations.
Insurance Matters: What Happens When a Claim is Filed Against You as a Performer
With the help of our friends at K&K Insurance, we’ve put together a number of helpful...
How 21st Century Musicians Are Becoming the CEOs of Their Own Careers
Or, How to Be Your Own Frank Ocean When historians look back at this era in the music industry,...
Legally Produce Your Hip-Hop Mixtape
Quick Tips for Avoiding Some Serious Trouble IN MARCH 2012, KANYE WEST WAS SUED IN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT by The Persuaders' Robert Poindexter for $500,000, alleging that a track on Kanye’s...
Business Models of Pirating Websites Studied by Google in UK
Google and PRS for Music recently commissioned a study from data organization company BAE Systems Detica that discovered commercial purposes behind business models used by copyright infringing...
Legal Pad: Recording Covers & Mechanical Licenses
The compulsory mechanical license is a mechanism that allows anyone to record and distribute your composition (or allow you to make a cover of someone else’s work). There are several requirements...
Legal Pad: Digital Resale and the Industry’s Crusade Against the First Sale Doctrine
Are Artists Cheated out of Royalties From Secondhand MP3 Sales? A LEGAL FIGHT IS BREWING IN THE DIGITAL RESALE MARKETPLACE. The question at the heart of the battle is whether it’s legal to resell a...
Legal Pad: Copyright Basics & Registering Your Music
The U.S. Copyright office made significant improvements to their online registration system a few years back, rendering the old “long form” application process nearly extinct for registration of...
“The Complete Guide to Starting a Record Company” Gets a New Edition
Music industry veteran, Keith Holzman’s 2004 book about breaking into the label game, “The Complete Guide to Starting a Record Company”, is now being released in a revised and updated Third Edition,...
Music Industry Decides Suing Ireland is a Good Idea.
In what seems like a never-ending parade of lawsuits, this might take the cake. The Irish branch of EMI has decided to file a new lawsuit - no shock there. The twist? They've decided to sue the...
LEGAL PAD: What You Should Know About Likeness Rights
Album Art, Promo Materials and the Law Designing the artwork for your band’s gig posters, website, album covers and promotional materials is no easy task. Between artist designs, photographs...
LEGAL PAD: The Basics Behind Sync Licenses
What You Need to Know About Sound Recordings vs. Musical Compositions Every sound recording has two copyrights: a copyright for the musical composition and a copyright for the sound recording. Any...
A Legal Guide to Touring The UK
HUNDREDS OF AMERICAN BANDS WILL TREK ACROSS THE POND THIS YEAR to tour the United Kingdom. Breaking through in the UK has become a tried and true method for bands in the States to expand their...