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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
For several years now, Sony/ATV has partnered with Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University, where I adjunct, to sponsor a songwriting contest called the Sony/ATV All-Access Program. Students submit two songs and these are reviewed by Sony/ATV’s creative team. The winners have the opportunity to perform their songs live [...]
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 [...]
The first of the month (August 2016), the Department of Justice issued a summary of findings with regard to two court orders that govern the operation of two of the U.S. performing rights organizations (the “PRO’s”), ASCAP and BMI. If it stands, the decision will also affect the third PRO, SESAC.Songwriters and music publishers around [...]
A special thanks to my client and friends at Direct Sound Headphones, who made the short trek from their headquarters outside of St. Louis, MO to Nashville to be a part of the show. Nashville was hosting the prestigious annual event for National Association of Music Merchandisers for the second year now. In the photo I [...]
Is it time for Congress to draft a replacement for the 1976 Copyright Law? In point of fact, the law was drafted almost half a decade ago now and its last major amendment came in 1998 with the addition of the DMCA. Many argue that the advent of digital technology, driven of course by the [...]
If you look closely at the bottom of photograph to left, you’ll see my client, Jay Leopardi, and his new show Common Denominator, featured in the bright lights in New York City. None other than Times Square! Congrats to Jay and president of IC Places, Inc., owners of PunchTV, who will fund and host the [...]
