At its core, a music publisher’s job is to administer the copyrights in songs and license your...
entertainment law
How to Run a Live Music Venue: Age Restrictions, Alcohol, Liability & The Law
RUNNING A MUSIC VENUE COMES WITH MANY STRINGS ATTACHED. While a main concern is booking quality...
Download Performer’s FREE Legal Guide to the Music Business
Performer's committed to bringing you the most useful advice when it comes to your career. That's...
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...
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...
Catching up with Joe Rut on Recording Live, Copyright Battles & More
Joe Rut Live captures the iconoclastic “psychedelamericana” songwriter at his wryly-humorous best, in front of a sold-out crowd at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. Backed by a shit-hot...
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...