If you’re in the entertainment business, you’ve probably come across various talent representatives, particularly agents and managers. While some may mistakenly view agents and managers as the same, there are several important distinctions between their roles. 1. Booking Gigs Agents represent talent in seeking and securing employment and help ensure the client gets paid. They
Copyright involves a “bundle of rights” that are reserved for the author; one of which is the right to perform the copyrighted work publicly. However, understanding public performance rights in the context of music can be complicated because there are two different types of rights that can be licensed. Choosing what type of license is
With so many movies based on books, authors often dream about the possibility of selling the film rights to their work. However, the process can be complicated and for various reasons, deals may not come to fruition. However, an experienced entertainment law attorney can help guide an author through the process and assist in negotiating
You’re in a studio together with two other people and a piano. One of you, by way of singing, presents a chorus – melody and lyrics – to the other two. Another one of you, sitting at a piano, fiddles around on the piano and eventually devises a chord progression for it. Yet another one
What is a copyright? Copyright is a form of intellectual property which applies to original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium. Copyright grants the creator an exclusive legal right to determine when and under what conditions an original work can be used by others. A work is considered original if it
Updated: June 30, 2020 On Monday, March 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued two important – and unanimous – rulings regarding United States copyright law. One of the two cases, captioned Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC (Case No. 17-571), resolved a long- standing circuit split in the U.S. regarding what constitutes copyright “registration” for
Co-Authors: Domenic Romano and Steve Maggi of SMA Law Firm When you look at the list of concerts coming to your city or look at professional sports rosters and see unique and exotic names from other countries, it may seem normal to you as a spectator. However, for each international artist who plays a show
Jeff Bezos, currently the world’s richest person, accused the National Enquirer, and its parent company American Media Inc. (AMI), of attempted extortion. Bezos, Amazon’s CEO and owner of the Washington Post, announced last month that he and his wife MacKenzie were separating after 25 years of marriage. What followed was an avalanche of tabloid
On October 11, 2018, the Music Modernization Act was signed into law. The CLASSICS Act, which ultimately became part of the Music Modernization Act, is an acronym for “Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society.” The CLASSICS Act was consolidated into the Music Modernization Act on April 10, 2018, which
When you’re signing agreements in entertainment, it’s important to read the fine print. There’s a pesky tendency for contracts to include a representation that all of the rights you’re granting are, in fact, yours to grant. It’s easy to gloss over, but it should really make you stop, think and take a step back. You’re
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