Class 1 Quiz

Question 1

Litigation Principles (5)

Answer 1

1. anybody can sue anybody for anything
2. sue everybody in sight. go after “deep pockets”
3. do not expect justice from our legal system
4. the more money you make, the more likely you will be sued
5. the jury system is unpredictable

Question 2

fact: you will be faced with contracts __________

Answer 2

for your entire career.

Question 3

some examples of where you can find contracts

Answer 3

playing gigs, your studios employment contract, Freelance engineering
Songwriting deals
Record label deals
Partnership agreements
Apartment rental, car purchases, cell phones, etc.

Question 4

caution: if you sign a contract or click “I Agree”…

Answer 4

you will HAVE to do what it says

Question 5

how to get out of a contract

Answer 5

fulfill it, or buy your way out

Question 6

who are the major labels? (4)

Answer 6

1. Universal (owned by Vivendi)
2. Sony Music Entertainment
3. Warner (now owned by access industries)
4. EMI (RIP)

Question 7

how have Major Labels dominated the recording industry? (5 methods)

Answer 7

1. tricking artists into signing horrible contracts
2. paying a radio giant to play their music and nothing else
3. suing competitors out of business
4. buying self-serving laws from congress
5. building a distribution monopoly (which was immensely successful during the CD era)

Question 8

PAYOLA =

Answer 8

major record labels pay a radio giant to play their songs and nothing else

Question 9

since the year 2000, CD sales have declined every year. major labels have responded by… (3)

Answer 9

1. suing companies who dared to compete with them on the new internet
2. suing companies that allowed illegal downloading of songs and CDs
3. suing 35,000 individual consumers for downloading songs

Question 10

major labels CLAIM that the sole reason CD sales have declined is:

Answer 10

ILLEGAL DOWNLOADS

Question 11

the actual reasons CD sales have declined (since 2000) is because

Answer 11

price, only wanting one song, sonic quality, convenience, CD players are physically less common

Question 12

ways the major labels continue to take money from others (2)

Answer 12

1. negotiating for an even larger portion of income from their own artists
2. the Webcasters Settlement “negotiation” of 2009. (requires large webcasters to pay around 47-60% of their income to major labels)

Question 13

another word for 360 Deals

Answer 13

Multiple Rights Deals

Question 14

define 360 Deals

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

The law does not clarify who is required to obtain sample clearances. To protect ourselves, we need an…

Answer 15

Indemnification

Question 16

define “Indemnification”

Answer 16

to protect against risk, to hold harmless

Question 17

when someone wants to commercially record someone elses song, they must get a…

Answer 17

mechanical license

Question 18

a “mechanical license” requires the person to pay _______ to the songs copyright owner.

Answer 18

mechanical royalties

Question 19

who is required to get a mechanical license?

Answer 19

the law does not explicitly say.

Question 20

The Classic Mechanical License Indemnification:

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

what is copyright?

Answer 21

protection given to authors which allows them to control and profit from their work

Question 22

when is a song copyrighted?

Answer 22

when you fix it in a tangible form (aka… record or write it down.)

Question 23

where do you get a copyright?

Answer 23

you get a copyright AUTOMATICALLY when you fix the work in tangible form.. probs in your own crib!

Question 24

how do you let people know youre the copyright owner of a song?

Answer 24

put your “Notice” on it

Question 25

what does a copyright Notice include?

Answer 25

copyright symbol, year, name

Question 26

Is the “poor man’s copyright” (mailing it to yourself) a valid way to protect your music?

Answer 26

NO

Question 27

what is the way to protect a song?

Answer 27

register it with the U.S. copyright office.

Question 28

what rights do you get by registering your song? (3)

Answer 28

1. you can collect mechanical royalties
2. you can sue infringers
3. you can collect lots of awards (statutory damages, actual damages, attorneys fees, etc)

Question 29

who has the right to make the first commercial recording of a song?

Answer 29

The Copyright Owner of the song… or, someone Licensed or permitted by the Copyright Owner.

Question 30

Once a song has been commercially released, who can record it?

Answer 30

Anyone, as long as they obtain a Mechanical License.

Question 31

If you co-write a song with other people, who owns what share?

Answer 31

Each co-writer owns an equal share of the entire finished song (regardless of the amount of contribution)

Question 32

what is the RIAA?

Answer 32

lobbyists and enforcers for the major labels

Question 33

RIAA gets their way by: (2)

Answer 33

1. litigating

2. lobbying

Question 34

the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act)

Answer 34

(1998)

1. Permits private industry (the RIAA, MPAA) to monitor your downloading habits.
2. Provides fines up to $150,000 per song.
3. Makes it illegal to circumvent copy protection of digital media.

Question 35

The 2005 Family Entertainment and Copyright Act

Answer 35

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.

Question 36

EFF stands for

Answer 36

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Question 37

the EFF is:

Answer 37

a group of lawyers that protect the rights of web surfers everywhere.

Question 38

DMCA stands for:

Answer 38

Digital Millennium Copyright Act