More Revenue for Songwriters? Copyright Royalty Tribunal increases the Mechanical Royalty Rates

Recently, on December 12, 2023, the Copyright Royalty Judges announced a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase in the mechanical royalty rates for the 17 U.S.C. §115 statutory license for making and distributing phonorecords of nondramatic musical works regarding physical phonorecords and Permanent Downloads. The new rate is 12.40 cents per reproduction or 2.39 cents per [...]

By |2023-12-13T16:06:09-06:00December 13th, 2023|Creative, Digital Downloads, Entertainment Industry News, Entertainment Law, Licensing, Life on the Row, Music Industry, Music Law, Music Publishing, Music Row Nashville, Music Row News, Nashville, Songwriting, Streaming|Comments Off on More Revenue for Songwriters? Copyright Royalty Tribunal increases the Mechanical Royalty Rates

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Reunion

Last week, I was so honored to see many of the members of the NaSHOF at our Hall of Fame Reunion Lunch, held at Ray Stevens’ Cabaray Showroom on December 7.  The annual event is always one of my favorite, next to the NaSHOF Gala, and it is always good to see old friends [...]

By |2022-12-19T16:24:15-06:00December 19th, 2022|Entertainment Industry News, Entertainment Law, Music Industry, Music Row Nashville, Music Row News, Nashville, Songwriting|Comments Off on Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Reunion

Patent Infringement: AliveCor and the Apple Watch

By Katy GasperAliveCor, self-proclaimed “global leader in FDA-cleared personal electrocardiogram (ECG) technology and services,” has recently filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against Apple Inc. stating infringement on three of their patents in the production and sale of the Apple Watch. AliveCor Background:Since 2011, AliveCor has invested largely in the technology [...]

By |2021-06-03T14:28:03-05:00June 3rd, 2021|Entertainment Industry News, Entertainment Law, Infringement, Litigation, Patent|Comments Off on Patent Infringement: AliveCor and the Apple Watch

The Harsh Reality of Trademark Infringement in the Music Industry – Pearl Jam & Pearl Jamm

By Katy GasparPearl Jam tribute band, Pearl Jamm, recently received a cease-and-desist letter requesting a change of name and logo, the turning over of domain names, and the destruction of all unsold merchandise. Is this within their rights? To begin, what is a trademark? Generally, a trademark is a design, word, phrase or symbol that [...]

By |2021-04-23T16:34:48-05:00April 23rd, 2021|Entertainment Industry News, Entertainment Law, Litigation, Trademark Issues|Comments Off on The Harsh Reality of Trademark Infringement in the Music Industry – Pearl Jam & Pearl Jamm

Television & Film Production during the COVID-19 Pandemic; How does the Force Majeure Provision Apply?

Television & Film Production during the COVID-19 Pandemic; How does the Force Majeure Provision Apply? COVID-19 has affected the entertainment industry in many respects, especially in the areas of film and television production. Given the nature of productions of this type, working from home is rarely an option, and being in close proximity to [...]

By |2021-03-10T13:49:47-06:00March 6th, 2021|Audio Visual Production, Contract Interpretation, Entertainment Industry News, Entertainment Law|Comments Off on Television & Film Production during the COVID-19 Pandemic; How does the Force Majeure Provision Apply?

Practical Approach Series–Fair Use: When Do I Need to Ask for Permission to Post a Copyrighted Work to My Social Media?

By Cheshire Rigler   Can a band member post photographs of their concerts to their webpage or social media if they are taken by an unrelated photographer? Can the Instagram posts and stories of social media influencers contain copyrighted music? If a “how-to” post features the trademarks of competing products, does that violate intellectual [...]

By |2021-02-04T15:25:45-06:00February 4th, 2021|Copyright Issues, Entertainment Industry News, Entertainment Law, Fair Use, Internet Law, Social Media, Technology|Comments Off on Practical Approach Series–Fair Use: When Do I Need to Ask for Permission to Post a Copyrighted Work to My Social Media?

NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2019 INDUCTEES NOMINATED

Nashville, TN August 7, 2019 – The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announced today that Larry Gatlin, Dwight Yoakam, Marcus Hummon, Kostas, Rivers Rutherford and Sharon Vaughn will be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in October.  The six new inductees will join the 213 existing members of the elite organization when [...]

By |2019-08-07T17:17:32-05:00August 7th, 2019|Client Activity, Entertainment Industry News, Life on the Row, Music Industry, Music Row Nashville, Music Row News, Nashville|Comments Off on NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2019 INDUCTEES NOMINATED

NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES 2018 INDUCTEES

Yesterday I had the honor of attending the announcement of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame's 2018 inductees, Ronnie Dunn, K.T. Oslin, Byron Hill, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Joe Melson.  I am so honored to serve as general counsel for this outstanding organization and serve with president Pat Alger, executive director Mark Ford, and all of [...]

By |2018-08-13T10:56:59-05:00August 8th, 2018|Client Activity, Entertainment Industry News, Music Industry, Music Row Nashville, Music Row News, Nashville, Songwriting|Comments Off on NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES 2018 INDUCTEES

Barry Neil Shrum named general counsel for Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame

Shrum & Associates’ very own namesake, Barry Neil Shrum, Esquire, was recently appointed to serve as general counsel for the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, and to serve as a non-voting member of its Board of Directors.  The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation (NaSHOF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving [...]

By |2018-01-25T17:41:37-06:00January 25th, 2018|Client Activity, Entertainment Industry News, Music Row Nashville, Music Row News, Nashville, Songwriting|Comments Off on Barry Neil Shrum named general counsel for Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame

The Plight of the Starving Artist – the CLASSICS Act may provide some relief.

UPDATE - Since this article was written in 2017, the CLASSICS Act was incorporated in the Music Modernization Act, passed in December 2019. The plight of the “starving artist” is timeless and history is replete with stories of songwriters and artist being exploited for their intellectual contributions. In the mid 1800’s, when Stephen Foster wrote The [...]

By |2021-04-02T15:53:47-05:00August 2nd, 2017|Client Activity, Copyright Issues, Entertainment Industry News, Entertainment Law, Litigation, Music Industry, Music Publishing|Comments Off on The Plight of the Starving Artist – the CLASSICS Act may provide some relief.
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