Class 1 Quiz Flashcards
Litigation Principles (5)
- anybody can sue anybody for anything
- sue everybody in sight. go after “deep pockets”
- do not expect justice from our legal system
- the more money you make, the more likely you will be sued
- the jury system is unpredictable
fact: you will be faced with contracts __________
for your entire career.
some examples of where you can find contracts
playing gigs, your studios employment contract, Freelance engineering
Songwriting deals
Record label deals
Partnership agreements
Apartment rental, car purchases, cell phones, etc.
caution: if you sign a contract or click “I Agree”…
you will HAVE to do what it says
how to get out of a contract
fulfill it, or buy your way out
who are the major labels? (4)
- Universal (owned by Vivendi)
- Sony Music Entertainment
- Warner (now owned by access industries)
- EMI (RIP)
how have Major Labels dominated the recording industry? (5 methods)
- tricking artists into signing horrible contracts
- paying a radio giant to play their music and nothing else
- suing competitors out of business
- buying self-serving laws from congress
- building a distribution monopoly (which was immensely successful during the CD era)
PAYOLA =
major record labels pay a radio giant to play their songs and nothing else
since the year 2000, CD sales have declined every year. major labels have responded by… (3)
- suing companies who dared to compete with them on the new internet
- suing companies that allowed illegal downloading of songs and CDs
- suing 35,000 individual consumers for downloading songs
major labels CLAIM that the sole reason CD sales have declined is:
ILLEGAL DOWNLOADS
the actual reasons CD sales have declined (since 2000) is because
price, only wanting one song, sonic quality, convenience, CD players are physically less common
ways the major labels continue to take money from others (2)
- negotiating for an even larger portion of income from their own artists
- the Webcasters Settlement “negotiation” of 2009. (requires large webcasters to pay around 47-60% of their income to major labels)
another word for 360 Deals
Multiple Rights Deals
define 360 Deals
Major Labels now “handle” (and steal from) ALL of the artist’s career (as much as 70%) - Sales, Touring, Shows, and Merch… and Movies, TV, Endorsements, etc.
The law does not clarify who is required to obtain sample clearances. To protect ourselves, we need an…
Indemnification
define “Indemnification”
to protect against risk, to hold harmless
when someone wants to commercially record someone elses song, they must get a…
mechanical license
a “mechanical license” requires the person to pay _______ to the songs copyright owner.
mechanical royalties
who is required to get a mechanical license?
the law does not explicitly say.
The Classic Mechanical License Indemnification:
Artist agrees to obtain all required Mechanical Licenses and to pay all related costs, fees, and royalties. Studio or engineer has no responsibility for Mechanical Licenses.
what is copyright?
protection given to authors which allows them to control and profit from their work
when is a song copyrighted?
when you fix it in a tangible form (aka… record or write it down.)
where do you get a copyright?
you get a copyright AUTOMATICALLY when you fix the work in tangible form.. probs in your own crib!
how do you let people know youre the copyright owner of a song?
put your “Notice” on it
what does a copyright Notice include?
copyright symbol, year, name
Is the “poor man’s copyright” (mailing it to yourself) a valid way to protect your music?
NO
what is the way to protect a song?
register it with the U.S. copyright office.
what rights do you get by registering your song? (3)
- you can collect mechanical royalties
- you can sue infringers
- you can collect lots of awards (statutory damages, actual damages, attorneys fees, etc)
who has the right to make the first commercial recording of a song?
The Copyright Owner of the song… or, someone Licensed or permitted by the Copyright Owner.
Once a song has been commercially released, who can record it?
Anyone, as long as they obtain a Mechanical License.
If you co-write a song with other people, who owns what share?
Each co-writer owns an equal share of the entire finished song (regardless of the amount of contribution)
what is the RIAA?
lobbyists and enforcers for the major labels
RIAA gets their way by: (2)
- litigating
2. lobbying
the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act)
(1998)
- Permits private industry (the RIAA, MPAA) to monitor your downloading habits.
- Provides fines up to $150,000 per song.
- Makes it illegal to circumvent copy protection of digital media.
The 2005 Family Entertainment and Copyright Act
makes it illegal to leak a recording before its official release date. It carries fines up to $250,000 (per song!) and up to 3 years (*or 7 years, or 10 years) in prison.
EFF stands for
Electronic Frontier Foundation
the EFF is:
a group of lawyers that protect the rights of web surfers everywhere.
DMCA stands for:
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
