Music Row Lawyer (C. Stephen Weaver)

Freedom From Copyright Means Feudalism or Communism

    Click here to read a good post in The Gaurdian by writer Helienne Lindvall. Lindvall says the anti-copyright proponents are either proposting feudalism or communism. That is to say, the creatives in the free world will either be at the bottom of society economically and have to beg for compensation.  Or depend on what the government decides they should be paid for their contributions to society.

Posted by a Friend - Marty Dodson

This was posted by songwriter Marty Dodson yesterday on Facebook.  This is my world and why I am so passionate about the issue of internet piracy:  "Because a couple of you have asked. Here is a representative story of the fight that songwriters are in to protect our product. Kim Dotcom, owner of illegal downloading site "Megaupload" was recently arrested in the 42 million dollar home that he was renting. He personally was making $115,000 per day from Megaupload and its sister sites. His business model was the equivalent of opening a Walmart-sized store that was stocked with only goods that were stolen from those who made them. Everything in his "store" belonged to someone else. He was making over a million dollars every 10 days, and the people who created the music, movies, or other content were getting paid nothing. I personally have a song video on YouTube (put there by someone else) that has been played over 7 million times. Google paid over $4 billion for YouTube several years ago. I have received nothing for this video. If I had been paid just 1 penny per play, that would be $70,000 in my pocket. Do you see why Google does not want internet piracy to be taken down? They are making billions off other people's content. Meanwhile, friends of mine that are extremely talented writers are losing their writing deals, publishers and labels are closing, and many people are losing their jobs. All we are asking for is a share of what people are making from our music. We don't want government handouts, just protection from criminals. If you can't rob a bank or steal from Walmart, you shouldn't steal from a songwriter, movie producer, actors, etc. Please pay for your music."

TUNECORE COMPETES WITH ASCAP, BMI AND SESAC ONLINE

 TuneCore has now formed a Songwriter Publishing Administration Services which it claims will by-pass traditional Performing Rights Societies (PROs) and speed payment to writers and artists.  All this for a $49.99 set up fee plus 10% of the funds collected.  Actually, the TuneCore website says that the $49.99 is a “special limited time offer.”  I guess that means after the “limited time” the set up fee will increase.  At the present time you must be a TuneCore distribution client to sign up for the new service.  But TuneCore says plans are to make the service available to any songwriter.

According to this article at hypebot.com Tunecore's new Service will (a) globally register copyrights, (b) collect money that is due, (c) protect and police the copyrights and (d) issue licenses.

Although it is not absolutely clear at the TuneCore website, it is my understanding that the new service is not intended to replace ASCAP, BMI and SESAC in the area of collection of performance fees from traditional radio, live performance venues, juke boxes, etc.  TuneCore will be operating in collection from the online world, significantly, from digital streaming of music.  This from the TuneCore website:  “We are not replacing ASCAP, BMI, SESAC for collecting money from jukeboxes, radio, venues, etc. But we are going to step in where there is a lack of efficiency and effort to get songwriters paid. Artists can be members of ASCAP/BMI/SESAC and have TuneCore perform its service as well.”  (Ahem . . . "Artists" may not join ASCAP/BMI/SESAC unless those artists are also songwriters or publishers.)

I am curious about how this will work in lieu of the traditional PROs membership agreements.  For example, can you pick and choose what markets BMI will collect from and exclude others?  Maybe.  If any reader knows the legal contractual answer please let me know in the comments section.  In the meantime, I will look for the answer myself.

A Few Song Submission Dos and Don'ts

            This weekend I was inspired to go back and look some of the emails I have received from hopeful songwriters.  Most were embarassingly unprofessional.  If you happen to be one of the hopefuls then let me share with you a few do’s and don’ts that came out of my review.  And I will also freely admit that there may have been a time that I violated some or all of the "don'ts" myself --fortunately I don't remember.

            DO be professional and business-like.  Most of the people you will be writing to are full-time industry professionals.  Treat them that way.

            DON’T write to an industry professional in ALL CAPs, multiple colors or all italics.  I got one email written down the page with only 3 or 4 words per line, each line a different color font.  I guess that was intended to catch my intention.  It did.  I questioned the mental stability of the sender.  The email I got in all blue italics was very long, very distracting and very hard to read. 

            DO send your best songs.  I got an email from someone who first told me that they wrote all their songs while in prison.  And?  I’m not sure why I should care where you wrote the songs.  When I pitched my own songs back in the day I don’t recall telling the person I pitched to that I wrote the song in the shower or in my bedroom.  Or maybe I did! Nevertheless, the bigger point is what the writer said next.  The hopeful (who sent 3 unsolicited MP3s) told me they were not his best 3 songs.  What!!?  Why would you send me your worst songs?  I don’t think I need to elaborate on this one. 

            DON’T send unsolicited MP3s, photos or other large files.  That makes me angry before I even read what you want.  It is an intrusion into my space that is not appreciated.  Ask first.  I almost always agree to accept submissions or at least forward them to a song plugger, although I might suggest that you use a service like yousendit.com so I can download the files myself.

            DO hire a singer.  This hopeful went to a lot of trouble explaining about the quality of his demos.  Home recordings.  I can live with that.  If the hopeful has invested in the right equipment and software the his home recordings may be very good.  However, he then explained that he sang the songs and that he cannot sing!  Seriously folks.  If you cannot sing then do not sing.  Spend a few dollars and hire a demo singer.  That doesn’t cost that much.  Why risk having your listener not be able to focus on the good qualities of your songs because they are laughing so hard at the vocals? 

             DON’T tell me that you or everybody you know tells you the songs will be hits.  That only really matters if everybody you know is a successful songwriter or a&r person.  And if they are then you probably don’t need to be writing me about your songs.  Write me about reviewing the contract you were just offered.

             If you are a songwriter I hope this was helpful.  If you are an industry professional I haven't told you anything you don't already know.

 

Copyright © 2011 C. Stephen Weaver

Artists and All Others: How to Handle Unanswered Emails and Voicemails

I just re-read a very informative blog post by Peter Bregman in the Harvard Business Review entitled “When Your Voicemails and Emails Go Unanswered, What Should You Do?"  This is an excellent read for any professional, business person or creative artist. 

            Even though I rarely pitch artists and songwriters to labels and publishers, it is not unusual for me to get emails from people requesting that I do so.  They hope I will listen to their music or songs – or both.  And then present their material to labels or publishers.  Incredibly, sometimes I get emails or calls back the same day asking if I have listened yet!  I can be a bit forgiving because I assume this person really does not have any concept how busy lawyers and others in the music business are – and as I understand it in most any other business.  But even if I accept their lack of business etiquette (and sometimes downright rudeness) as understandable, I nevertheless do not accept them as clients.  I cannot represent everybody and attitude is just as important as talent, ability to pay, etc.  So when I get emails or calls from people who show impatience to this degree, it helps me eliminate this prospective client quickly on the front end.  And I certainly would not want to send someone like this to a label or other industry gatekeeper with whom I have a trusted relationship.

            Now – perhaps more importantly for my artist and songwriter readers:  A&R executives, producers and others in the business are just as attuned to who is going to be trouble for them and or their company to work with and all other things being equal, it helps eliminate one CD from the stack of submitted demos piled high in their offices.

            Like the author of the Harvard Business Review Blog, I have experienced the same frustration with unanswered emails and voicemails.  And I have also violated the patience advice I am giving to you.  So I need to remind myself of the advice given in the HBR Blog.

 

Copyright © 2011 C. Stephen Weaver

"Rogue Websites" Bill Passed by Senate Judiciary Committee

The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) just released the following press release:

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES "ROGUE WEBSITES" BILL

House Version Expected Soon

Nashville, TN -- The United States Senate Judiciary Committee this week unanimously passed legislation targeted at eliminating websites that primarily exist to allow the theft of music, movies and other intellectual property.
 
"The Nashville Songwriters Association International has been focusing on this issue for months and thanks the Senators who took a bold stand against the theft of American music on the Internet.  We expect similar legislation to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives very soon.  We continue trekking to Washington, D.C. and will soon launch and coordinate a national campaign for songwriters to communicate with their representatives on this issue."

"With only an estimated one of thirty songs legally purchased,
we MUST do something about the theft of music on the Internet."

    A more lengthy press release has been issued by Senator Patrick Leahy’s office and can be read here.

 

Copyright © 2011 C. Stephen Weaver

My Book and New Blog - Early Teaser

My Book is almost finished.  I am going back through it and cleaning up dangling participles, split infinitives and the like (my former teachers and law review editor are smiling).  The book started out to be for songwriters.  I thought I would translate an exclusive songwriter agreement into plain English which is something I sometimes do a shortened version of for clients in the course of negotiating an agreement for them.  But then I decided to comment on what the songwriters might want changed in the various paragraphs I had just translated.  Since I represent publishers also I thought I better put in a paragraph as to what the Publisher hopes to have changed in each paragraph.   And don't forget the paragraph I added explaining each translated paragraph in the agreement.  The small booklet I originally envisioned is now . . . a book!

    Now I’m not sure a songwriter would ever want to read this book.  It will probably be of more interest to lawyers who hope to add entertainment law to their areas of practice and law students who want more detail and "how-to" about this aspect of transactional entertainment law.  I guess I will find out.

    There is a new blog in my crystal ball.  It has been there a while but it seems to be coming into focus lately.  At the new blog I will write about being a solo entertainment lawyer—something I have over 30 years experience being.  I will have some fun writing about my journey and writing about technology which I enjoy immensely.  I will also talk about practicing transactional entertainment law and maybe sell a book or two.  Who knows.

 

Copyright © 2011 C. Stephen Weaver

Joe Biden Champions Intellectual Property Rights

It is rare that I will quote an article in tact but this article from Billboard further emphasizes the White House's support for the United States Intellectual property community:

Vice President Joe Biden Calls Piracy 'Outright Theft'

April 15, 2011

 By Glenn Peoples (@billboardglenn), Nashville

Vice President Joe Biden has left little doubt where the White House stands on piracy. In response to questions from Variety Biden expanded on his previous comments on piracy, revealing a determination to protect the country's intellectual property and squashed the suggestion that the fight against piracy is simply protecting outdated business models.

Here is a sample of Biden's quotes from the Variety article:

-- "Look, piracy is outright theft. People are out there blatantly stealing from Americans -- stealing their ideas and robbing us of America's creative energies. There's no reason why we should treat intellectual property any different than tangible property."

-- "The fact is, media companies have already taken significant steps to adapt their business models to keep up with changes in how we watch movies and listen to music. Content is being offered to consumers in a variety of different ways that make it easy and cost-effective for people to access legal material. Anyone who does not understand this should simply talk with one of my grandkids."

-- "I think the entertainment industry would agree that they have done a poor job in making their case and need to do better. I mean, they have some of the brightest and most creative people working for them…They should be able to come up with an intelligent, original and effective public education campaign targeting this issue. To be honest, I am not certain they have dedicated the appropriate resources to this, and I hope they will."

Biden has spoken out on piracy before. At a June 2010 press conference with I.P. czar Victoria Espinel, Biden spoke in clear and simple terms. "We used to have a problem in this town saying this. But piracy is theft. Clean and simple."

And the White House has made it clear it is taking seriously the challenges copyright holders face. A recent example is the white paper Obama administration authored in March that proposed some revisions to U.S. copyright law. Notable parts of the paper are the administration's concern that illegal streaming may not be covered by copyright law and the recommendation for the creation of a public performance right for sound recordings.

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/others/vice-president-joe-biden-calls-piracy-outright-1005136622.story

 

Copyright © 2011 C. Stephen Weaver

Illegal File Sharing - A P2P And TorrentFreak Rant!

Ok - I got my dander up this morning! I'm not sure what that means but the grandparents used to say it!  :)  I read a post and comments at TorrentFreak which defends illegal file sharing.

I am stunned that there are so many artist haters out there--I am referring to the comments to the TorentFreak post.  I'm not stunned that most haven't a clue as to what they are talking about.  This is why I can usually ignore the childish rants of the criminals who post in support of music and film theft.  A lot of the commenters are blaming the U.S. - what a joke.  Most don't even know that most of the major free countries of the world have been ahead of the U.S. in the protection of intellectual property and protecting the culture and art of their respective nations.  The U.S. had to change the term of protection to life plus 70 in order to be a part of the main copyright conventions of the world.  Congress doesn't have to encourage creation of arts and inventions by providing copyright and patent protection.  The constitution merely gives them the authority to do so. And so they do.

I will give them this one - the theives have put a lot of artists out of business so they can pat themselves on the back for that.  This is the human factor.  I know this because I talk to the artists and represent them.  I now see songwriters with track records of several number one hits who can no longer get a publisher to subsidize them through the tough times.  And my younger clients who hope to be able to follow their dreams never get the chance because the record labels sign so few compared to past years.  Remember - it takes over $1 million to launch a new artist in the country genre and certainly more in mainstream pop - and most of the time even that kind of exposure does not mean success.  The math is simple - less dollars at the labels = less artist signings.

These losses are not all caused by theft.  Some are caused by the legal use of technology - the ability to download single tracks rather than purchase albums.  This is legitimate -- a change in the marketplace which requires adaptation by those whose primary purpose is to disseminate the product.

There has always been and will always be crime.  It is just the nature of some members of humanity.  That's why we have laws and law enforcement.  Rest assured that the elected leaders of our country will not take actions which will destroy our culture and artistic community.  And the business structure around music and film will make adjustments and adapt to the world that we live in today . . . . and tomorrow.

Today's good news:  According to research conducted by the NPD Group, P2P filesharing is on the decline.  Check out the story at Music Row.

 

Copyright © 2011 C. Stephen Weaver

Todd Cerney ---- 1953 - 2011

 Todd Cerney and his wife, Kip Kirby, have been clients and friends for many years.  Both are very well known and well liked in the Nashville music community.  Todd sadly passed away recently after a losing but courageous battle with cancer.  I ran into Todd last September in a Nashville restaurant. We walked out together and talked for a while.  Todd was in the restaurant looking for a place for he and Kip to celebrate their upcoming wedding anniversary.  I commented on how healthy and strong he looked.  Six weeks later Todd woke up and suffered a brain seizure.  He was subsequently diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma (with no signs he was ill until that morning).  Four months and 10 days later Todd passed away - March 14, 2011.

    Todd was the writer of many great songs in multiple genres, including "Good Morning Beautiful", performed by Steve Holy and #1 on the Billboard Country Charts for 4 weeks.  Todd had songs recorded by Etta James, Restless Heart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick, Bad English, Eddie Money, Phoebe Snow and many more you would recognize.

    Many articles have been written about Todd since his passing.  I will direct you to two:  One in Music Row and one in Nashville's daily, The Tennessean.

    Thanks for all of you contributions to the world we remain in Todd - and God's speed in the next one.

    Steve

 

Copyright © 2011 C. Stephen Weaver