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 [...]
This story originally appeared in 2007 on Law on the Row, but it still generates a significant amount of interest because of Gibson Guitar's reputation in the industry, so I decided to update it to correspond with the recent opening of Gibson Garage at Cummins Station in Nashville. More about that following the original [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
We just put the finishing touches on my great client, Sammy Mitchell’s, exclusive co-publishing deal with Jackie Boyz/Razor & Tie Music Publishing joint venture. The partnership between Jackie Boyz (the Grammy-award winning songwriting/producing team of Battey brothers) and Razor & Tie was formed at the end of 2014 for the purpose of developing fresh new [...]
In 2009 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) estimated 95% of all digitally downloaded music was obtained illegally. This leaves only 5% of potential revenue to be distributed between all those who play a part in today’s music culture, including the most affected group, songwriters and music publishers. While some opponents dispute that number, [...]
