Once a music publisher begins to receive income from the exploitation of the copyrights it has acquired, it must begin to distribute the income to the appropriate writers. Understanding the basic principles of copyright ownership and royalty splits is fundamental to performing the task of distribution of income. One device that is often used to [...]
From a legal perspective, the formation of a music publishing company is, in most respects, very similar the formation of any other type of company, except that the documentation is tailored specifically for the business of music publishing. The first step in the formation of any business, including a music publishing company, is to determine [...]
This blog series will explore music publishing, giving a little bit of history and outlining the basic steps necessary to form a music publishing company. Part 1 looks at a brief history and background of music publishing. Modern music publishing in the United States can trace its roots to "Tin Pan Alley," the name given [...]
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a high-profile hearing today on the subject of imposing additional performance royalties on so-called "over-the-air" or "terrestrial" radio stations (I'll just call them OTA's in this article). Investigative hearings such as these are usually precursors to legislation being introduced on the subject. Grammy winner, Lyle Lovett and Chicago-based singer-songwriter [...]
I have often advised my clients in the past that the new direction for independent artists is what I refer to as "guerilla" marketing, meaning finding alternative means of marketing your product. One of the most explosive methods of doing that over the past few years has been the Internet. One of the problems with [...]
For years now, a huge battle has been brewing between proponents of performance royalties for the owners of sound recording copyrights to be paid by terrestrial radio stations (those broadcasting through the air) and it has been gathering steam in the last several months. The battle is being waged between the giants of industry, the [...]
See Jane. See Jane write lyrics. See Dick. See Dick write melodies. See Dick meet Jane. See Dick and Jane combine their efforts and collaborate together to write a song. This is one frequent story among Nashville's songwriting community. On any given afternoon in Nashville, there will be innumerable co-writing sessions occurring at any given [...]
There appears to be a slight ripple of a trend among courts to take a stricter look at the evidence being presented by the RIAA in its crusade against digital downloads, based primarily on the evidence of user names and IP addresses assembled by their expert consultants, MediaSentry. In the RIAA's case against Jeff Dangler, [...]
Perhaps Porter Wagoner should be remembered as the original "Rhinestone Cowboy" because of his penchant for sparkling two-piece rhinestone often adorned with wagon wheels and other cowboy themes -- at one point he owned over 60 suits. The longtime country music legend died at 8:25 p.m. CDT in a Nashville hospice Sunday night at the [...]
Earlier this week, Tom Baldrica, vice president of marketing at Sony BMG, announced that Heather McBee has been promoted to vice president of digital business. McBee, who has been with the label for 14 years, was formerly senior director of that department. Baldrica said in a prepared statement: "I'm so proud of this promotion. Heather [...]
