Artists House Music

What I would tell Jaki Byard (about copyright law)

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:28:12 -0500

Blog post submitted by: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

The late, great Jaki Byard was a musical genius and like ALL artists Jaki created TONS of intellectual property. Undoubtedly he created more original, copyrightable works than he even knew. Like so many artists… when your art just flows… and your groove is strong… it’s easy to overlook ways to protect and monetize your work. (I studied jazz piano with Jaki a few years before I went to law school and became an intellectual property attorney).

What advice would I give Jaki today? I would insist that Jaki copyright his work. Jaki created exquisite handwritten piano exercises and warm-ups …complete with elaborate pencil-drawing covers. They were remarkable in all respects. And if Jaki were still alive today, I would take the F train out to his home in Queens and insist that he copyright and publish these. (Yes, Jaki also had volumes of recordings and other music… I suspect a large portion of these works are copyrighted and still paying royalties).

Is sheet music of warm-up exercises copyrightable? Yes! If they are original, they are copyrightable.

Will people buy them… is another question… however, it only costs $35 to register your work with the US Copyright Office. This is a nominal investment. I would have paid it on Jaki’s behalf in a heartbeat.

(Jaki Byard was a jazz legend and a brilliant teacher. He passed away February 11, 1999 and lives on in his music).

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

For more personalized legal services contact me at vk@kasterlegal.com

For more info on how to register your work with the US Copyright Office —> http://t.co/ynaHCbX and http://www.copyright.gov and a tribute to Jaki —> http://www.villagevoice.com/1999-03-09/music/jaki-byard-1922-1999/

check out my blog —-> http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

Copyright Status restored to foreign works – removing works from public domain

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:17:11 -0500

Submitted by: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M. vk@kasterlegal.com

Last week, The US Supreme Court mandated copyright restoration for foreign works that are covered by copyright protection in their country of origin or the country where copyright protection is claimed. This renewed respect for foreign works, removes a bulk of works out of the public domain and vests them with copyright protection. This means that many foreign works will no longer be free to perform, record, copy or make derivative works of here in the US. For example, Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ which has been free to use in the US since it has been in the public domain, has had its copyright restored and will require the same permissions and usage fees as Copland and Bernstein…. who are Prokofiev’s contemporaries and who still enjoy copyright protection of their music. (Now an orchestra could be expected to pay approximately $800 per performance of Peter and the Wolf). Evidently, J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings, Alfred Hitchcock’s films and Pablo Picasso’s paintings are also among the foreign works with newly restored copyright protection.

The reasoning behind this copyright restoration is largely based on international foreign policy. As the court points out in its holding… the US has taken a ‘minimalistic approach’ to complying with the Berne Convention for the past two decades… and this copyright restoration of foreign works is a significant step toward US compliance with the treaty. There are 164 counties signed onto the treaty and the one of the many terms of the Berne Convention is that member states offer reciprocal copyright protection. Interestingly, this could be a significant step towards an international copyright system.

If you are already using ‘Peter and the Wolf’ or other restored works, the court’s holding speaks to a grace period for parties who are currently using or exploiting the restored works and encourages negotiations to determine reasonable compensation.

(Tolkien’s heirs come to mind as the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie extravaganza could lead to interesting negotiations if an agreement hasn’t already been made.)

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

For more personalized legal services contact me at vk@kasterlegal.com

More information: The US Supreme Court case is Golan v. Holder. The holding is also available at www.supremecourt.gov; The Berne Convention, Article 18 at http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/; Other articles on the subject: http://www.nytimes.com; http://online.wsj.com; http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/234980-peter-and-the-wolf-must-be-paid; http://orchestralworks.blogspot.com/2008/09/prokofiev-peter-and-wolf.html

Fiat pays for use of Graffiti Mural “I ❤ the Bronx” …in their commercial

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:22:26 -0500

Article submitted BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

The exact amount that Chrysler has paid to TATS Cru, the Bronx based graffiti artist, for use of their mural in a Fiat commercial hasn’t been disclosed… although I applaud the two sides for coming to an agreement.

Is a Graffiti Mural protected by copyright? YES, YES, YES!! All it takes is ORIGINALITY to qualify for copyright protection… and in this instance there wasn’t any question about the mural being original.

Should Chrysler have known that the mural was protected by copyright? YES, YES, YES!! Because, there is a copyright notice painted into the lower right hand corner of the mural: “©2010 TATS Cru” (I applaud TATS Cru for being diligent and including the copyright notice). Even if there hadn’t been a copyright notice on the mural it still has copyright protection and Chrysler should have done some research. The exact reason that Chrysler included the mural in their commercial (to give authenticity as to the commercial which features JLo in the Bronx singing about strength while driving through the neighborhood where she grew up) should have been a HUGE indicator that the mural is original and covered by copyright protection. IT’S NO EXCUSE “not to know” a work is covered by copyright protection. Using a copyright protected work without permission is copyright infringement – and ignoring a copyright notice on a work is even worse. Both are illegal… and ignoring a copyright notice can triple the damages owed.

What do you do if your copyright is infringed? In this case, TATS Cru reached out to Fiat/Chrysler via their lawyer and reached a settlement. The exact amount that TATS Cru was paid hasn’t been disclosed, although both parties have announced that they are excited to be collaborating. As part of the deal that was struck… a Fiat has been given to TATS Cru to paint and auction off to a charity of their choice.

I ❤ the Bronx, too! A lot can be learned about the art of making a deal in the Bronx!

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

For more personalized legal services contact me at vk@kasterlegal.com

For more information: http://tatscru.net/commercial. The mural is located at 1156 E. 165th St. in the Bronx. Watch the commercial – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deNRiBQiQ3Q. http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/in-the-bronx-a-collision-of-cars-celebrity-and-copyright/ ; http://latino.foxnews.com ; http://www.nypost.com

check out my blog —-> http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

Works in the Public Domain are FREE to use

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:15:16 -0500

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

www.iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com

Music and other published works that are in the Public Domain are free to use; since, they are not under copyright protection and therefore do not require any permissions from the author (or former copyright owner) to be used. Works that are in the public domain are free for the taking, sampling, using, copying, reproducing, recording and distributing.

Typically, works in the Public Domain are very old works. For example, ancient published texts like the “Bhagavad Gita” (a pre-Christian, Sanskrit text) are in the public domain…. as well as “newer-old-works” like the Shaker song “Simple Gifts” (music and lyrics written in the United States in the mid 1800’s). The original text, music and lyrics of the works are in the public domain. However, newer translations or compositions based on the original works… as well as sound recordings and arrangement elements of these newer versions are likely covered by copyright protection…. and NOT in the public domain.

What works are in the public domain? Any work or musical score that was published in the United States before 1923 is in the public domain, due to expiration of copyright. Newer works can also be dedicated to the public domain and if a work failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection it will also be in the public domain. Generally, a case by case analysis should to be done on works published in 1923 or later to determine if they are in the public domain because, it’s not always obvious. [Would you have guessed that the Happy Birthday Song is still covered by copyright protection… and not in the public domain?]

Keep in mind that copyright duration and the timeline for works entering the public domain vary country by country.

Copyright Law: Using quotes from someone else (including Cajun keychain sayings) in your song, blog, book or website

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:02:54 -0500

Blog post submitted by Vanessa Kaster

http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

Did you know that it’s possible to buy a “Cajun in your pocket” keychain? …that plays spoken Cajun phrases? GOOD NEWS – you can buy the keychain and use the sayings without violating copyright! Even though the toy manufacturers have copyrights that include the sayings on the keychain… there is no copyright violation for using the sayings in your own song, book, blog or website because, the phrases are not original.

A federal court in Louisiana held that the phrases at issue (see below) were common Cajun phrases and therefore, when the rap artist Mystikal included the exact word arrangements in his hit “Shake Ya As*” he did not infringe the toy maker’s copyright. (One of the necessary elements of a copyright infringement claim is that the parts of a copyrighted work that are copied without authorization must be original.)

“We gon pass a good time, yeah, cher”
“You gotta suck da head on dem der crawfish”

Another aspect of evaluating whether copyright protected works were copied without authorization is proof of access to the copyrighted work and similarity of the works. Interestingly in this case, it was proven that Mystikal’s nephew had a “Cajun in your pocket” toy… which was how the artist had access to the copyrighted work prior to the creation of his song. (By the way, it was estimated that the rap song had sold over six million units worldwide by the fall of 2000 and had also appeared in several movies and numerous CD compilations.)

When quotes from copyright protected works can be used in songs, books, blogs or websites without permission of the copyright owner… is a grey area and the facts and circumstances are fundamental to a case by case evaluation of copyright infringement.

Let the good times roll and stay clear of copyright infringement. “Laissez les bons temps rouler”!! (the “Cajun in your pocket” toy says this too.)

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq., LL.M.

See also: http://www.emanation.com/products/cajun-in-your-pocket and Emanation Inc. v. Zomba Recording, Inc., 72 Fed. Appx. 187 (5th Cir. La. 2003). Emanation Inc. v. Zomba Recording, Inc., 72 Fed. Appx. 187 (5th Cir. La. 2003).

Little Bo Peep and Her Flammable Sheep

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:06:54 -0400

Blog post Submitted by Vanessa Kaster

http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

Creativity abounds as household items are incorporated into Halloween costumes; however, use common sense and pay attention to intended uses and warnings on everyday items that you use in your costumes. Courts are not always very sympathetic to costume-related injuries because, products are often used in ways that were not expressly intended when incorporated into costumes.

For example, did you know that some cotton balls are highly flammable? Little Bo Peep and her husband (who unfortunately for him was dressed as a sheep at a Halloween party) discovered this in a matter of seconds when he lit a cigarette and was quickly engulfed in flames. The sheep costume was made by gluing cotton balls all over a pair of long underwear (from his head to ankles)… and neither Little Bo Peep nor her husband-sheep had any idea how quickly cotton balls would burn if caught on fire.

Ultimately the court held that making a sheep costume with cotton balls was outside of the intended, medicinal uses of the product and therefore a failure to warn was not the proximate cause of the man’s injury.

[an intellectually property law post script relating to costumes… is that original costumes, like the elaborate feather costumes and headdresses worn by Mardi Gras Indians are eligible for copyright… as sculpture and works of art. This applies to elaborate galactic, warrior costumes… like Stormtroopers too.]

This case is: Ferlito v. Johnson & Johnson, 1992 U.S. App. LEXIS 34781; see also, Case Law From the Crypt: The Law of Halloween by D. Moar in the October, 2011 issue of the NYSB Journal.

Seeking Copyright Termination for Y.M.C.A. and other hit songs of 1978

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:06:36 -0400

Blog submitted by Vanessa Kaster

http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

September 8, 2011

It’s no secret that young musicians often have zero bargaining power when it comes to negotiating recording contracts. (Congress even knows this which is why they inserted the Copyright Termination provisions into the US Copyright Law). Usually, recording contracts signed by musicians favor the recording companies heavily. (ie record company fork over $$ and make an investment in an unknown and not-yet-famous musician… and this is done on the recording company’s terms.)

If and when the musician becomes famous (for example: Bob Dylan, Bryan Adams, Tom Petty, Loretta Lynn, Tom Waits, Charlie Daniels and Victor Willis) … then the record company makes money… and the musician is already bound to the terms of an unfavorable agreement that exploits them. FOR THIS REASON, the US Copyright Law contains termination provisions.

News of the copyright termination provision abounds recently since; the first batch of songs from 1978 will be eligible for copyright termination in 2013… AND notice of the intended termination must be given this year. With some exceptions, The Copyright Law states that a grant or transfer or license of a copyright that was made by an author in or after 1978 may be terminated by that author (or his widow and/or children) 35 years after the grant. Authors must give notice of their intent to terminate not less than two or more than ten years from the intended termination date.

The time is NOW and evidently many famous musicians including Bob Dylan, Bryan Adams, Tom Petty, Loretta Lynn, Tom Waits, Charlie Daniels and Victor Willis (of the Village People/YMCA) have given notice of copyright termination. Not surprisingly the recording companies are putting up resistance to the possible disappearance of large revenue streams. News reports indicate that the recording companies are challenging Victor Willis’s claim on the basis of ‘work for hire’. This means that the companies claim that Willis was an employee… and legally… status as an employee trumps a copyright termination claim. It will be interesting to see what evidence is presented to the court to prove this claim. (fyi… living in a van or at a YMCA without health insurance or employee benefits is not a strong indicator of work for hire/employee status.)

Copyright is valuable – ‘The Birthday Song’ earns $2 Million a year in royalties

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:52:22 -0400

Blog post submitted by : Vanessa Kaster, Esq

http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

Would you have guessed that the song, ‘Happy Birthday to You’ generates an estimated $2 million dollars a year in royalties? (and has earned this much annually since 1996.) It’s only eight measures long, spans an octave and was written for children …but it’s a BIG money maker.

The song has appeared in over 140 movies, in countless advertisements for products ranging from cars to cereals to insurance to paper products and pet stores… and was featured in the world’s first singing telegram in 1933. Royalties are earned for public performances of the song as well as its use in movies, television shows, advertisements, music boxes, theatrical productions and the like. (Just an fyi… singing it around the dinner table or serenading your friend is a royalty-free private performance.)

‘Happy Birthday to You’ was written by two sisters… one was an educator and the other a composer. They were knowledgeable about copyright law and took steps to register their work for copyright protection. They may not have guessed that their song would become one of the most popular songs in the 20^th Century…. earning over an estimated $45 million dollars to date. (Spending $35 to register your music for copyright protection pays off –> http://t.co/ynaHCbX )

(Since my blog http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/ just celebrated its first birthday… this is a timely topic.)

BY: Vanessa Kaster, Esq

Copyright Law: Using quotes from someone else in your book, blog or website

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:36:19 -0400

Blog Post submitted by Vanessa Kaster:

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s speech ‘I Have a Dream’ is one of the most recognizable speeches in US history and it is covered by copyright protection. Dr. King registered the speech for copyright protection in 1963. This leads to the question, when can quotes from his famous speech or other copyright protected works be used in other books, blogs or websites without permission?

The answer to this question is vague, ambiguous and needs to be analyzed on a case by case basis. Generally speaking, it is possible to use limited portions of a copyright protected work for news reporting, commentary, criticism and scholarly reports under the fair use doctrine of the US copyright law. However, there are no legal rules permitting ‘free use’ of a certain number of words or percentage of a copyrighted work. Additionally, there are several factors that weigh heavily into the analysis: 1) the purpose and character of the use, 2) how much money will be made from the use, 3) the nature of the work, 4) the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and 5) the effect of the use on the potential market and value of the copyrighted work.

Unfortunately there is not a clear rule regarding when and how much of a copyright protected work can be used without permission. Dr. King’s heirs have the legal right under copyright law to monetize the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech that they inherited and to treat it as commercial property. (The safest bet when quoting from copyright protected work is to seek, pay for, and get permission to use the material.)

Note, that crediting the source does not substitute getting permission to use or quote from the material.

Note 2, any work published in the US before 1923 is in the public domain and is FREE to use and quote from. (copyright protection has expired on these works)

(For more information on this topic –> http://t.co/rLurDnX )

recently launched —-> http://www.kasterlegal.com/

Tattoo Copyright FACE-off

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:34:32 -0400

Blog post submitted by Vanessa Kaster:

The hoopla surfacing over the unauthorized use of a copyrighted tattoo that is prominently featured in the Hangover II movie sets the stage for examining the elements of a strong copyright claim. Elements of a strong copyright infringement claim are: 1) is the work original and vested with copyright protection; 2) was the work copied; and 3) was the work copied without authorization.

Is the tattoo an original work vested with copyright protection? Copyright protection is automatically vested in an original work that has been fixed in a tangible form. A tattoo is ‘fixed’ and if the design is original, then there isn’t any reason why it wouldn’t be covered by copyright protection. In this instance, the tattoo artist claims that he created the design. Hopefully he did. However, one way that the movie studio may try to overcome this claim of originality is by researching ancient or historical tattoo patterns. If for example, this tattoo was common among Maori-warriors, Samurai or some other ancient sect, tribe or culture… then the artist’s claim of originality could be trumped depending on how unique and original his version is.

Was the tattoo copied? You bet. Rather blatantly… and from what I’ve read the exact copying of Mike Tyson’s tattoo is an element of the movie plot. I just took a look at online photos of the movie character and Mike Tyson for comparison… and the tattoos are virtually identical. (looks better on Tyson, though).

Was the tattoo copied without authorization? The artist claims that he didn’t authorize the use.

As unexpected as it might seem, this has the makings of a strong copyright infringement claim. I’m rooting for the tattoo artist… and I hope he negotiates a solid settlement.

[the lawsuit is: Whitmill v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.]

recently launched —-> http://www.kasterlegal.com/

Copyright Protection Starts Automatically

Tue, 24 May 2011 15:36:00 -0400

Blog Post submitted by Vanessa Kaster:

When does copyright protection start? It starts automatically, as soon as you create an original work. It’s like having a baby (ie your creative, brain child)… as soon as it’s in this world it’s yours and it’s covered by copyright protection. You don’t have to DO anything… other than create it and put it in a fixed and tangible form.

What does this mean? As soon as you have written a song down; made a recording; typed out a manuscript; applied pen or paint to paper… copyright protection starts automatically.

Using the copyright symbol © and registering your copyright with the US Copyright Office are two extra steps that give you more rights in your copyrighted work if and when you want to sell it, transfer it or protect it from being abused, misused or copied by other folks.

There is 99.999% chance that you have created original works that are already covered by copyright protection… even if you didn’t know it.

For more info SEE:

–> How and why to use the © copyright symbol?: http://t.co/iBjePPU

–> Copyright registration only costs $35: http://t.co/ykPmZ3T

Vanessa’s blog is: http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com

Amazon Announces Cloud Player/Cloud Drive

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:07:37 -0400

Amazon announced a new product/service offering recently in an apparent bid to advance the digital music purchase and consumption paradigm.

Cloud Player and Cloud Drive will allow users both to purchase music which they can then stream remotely from any web-enabled device and also to upload files from their current digital libraries (including photos and videos) for additional streaming capability. This model is not unlike the Lala Music Mover cloud-syncing service released a few years ago which failed to gain any significant degree of traction.

An aspect of note with regard to the current offering is the apparent lack of need for large blanket licenses from major record labels which has proven to be the bane of a number of aspiring music streaming services including the US version of Spotify. Amazon claims that Cloud Drive functions along the same lines as Google Docs and other user-directed cloud storage services and thus does not require any licenses from labels.

Amazon does contend that the ability for labels to participate in the process would exist for some model in which a single label-licensed file of a commonly uploaded song could be substituted for a user’s copy sparing the user the hassle of uploading it themselves.

It is unclear at this point exactly to what extent this model will prove to have an impact on the industry at large but this does appear to continue along recent trends for such services although Amazon’s ubiquitous nature may prove to be the piece of the puzzle which has been missing up to this point in terms of success.

For more on the Cloud Player and Cloud Drive, visit HERE.

-Patrick Reagin (RabbitHole Consulting/Center for Music and Arts Entrepreneurship)

THREE MYTHS ABOUT MUSIC SAMPLING

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:04:00 -0500

Submitted by Vanessa Kaster

MYTH: sampling less than 6 seconds of someone else’s music is okay

MYTH: sampling less than 5 words of someone else’s lyrics is okay

MYTH: sampling from a church group is okay

ALL THREE OF THESE STATEMENTS ARE MYTHS. None of these instances are an automatic green light when it comes to sampling someone else’s music without permission.

[For more on Music Sampling see —-> http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/music-sampling-a-few-do’s-and-don’ts/]

If Ustream and Chatroulette Had a Love Child...

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:36:56 -0500

… Its name would be Yowie.

Yowie, a new contender in the live streaming sector, combines some of its competition’s most attractive features to turn the streaming experience into something even more personal for fans.

Ustream, as you may be aware, allows for interaction, but this interaction is text-based; fans can submit questions to an artist (or chat with each other) during a broadcast via the chat window. Chatroulette, on the other hand, brings face-to-face video chatting into the equation. However, there’s no audience - video conversations are limited to you and one other person… And the other person is selected at random… And there is a high likelihood of them being a pervert.

Enter Yowie.

When you begin a broadcast on Yowie, you’re greeted with a very Ustream-like setting: you’re on camera, and your legion of fans is watching. But from there, things can get interesting.

First, you can activate more than one broadcast window at a time. So, let’s say you’re in a duo. If your partner happens to be traveling, but you still want to hold a live stream for fans (and you want him/her to be part of it), you can easily make it happen with Yowie.

Second, and this is the cornerstone of Yowie, you can hold face-to-face video Q&A sessions with multiple fans. Here’s how it works: during the broadcast, fans can type out and submit questions. Whenever there’s a question you like, you can pick the fan who submitted it to appear on camera and ask it to you live.

Third, using Yowie’s media sharer, you can play video and audio content for you audience during the broadcast.

To see Yowie in action, watch this archived video of a broadcast that Neon Hitch recently held. You can also watch the introductory videos on the site’s home page.

Live video streaming has always been on the top of my list of fan-retention techniques, and the features that Yowie brings to the table have the potential to make the connection formed during a broadcast deeper, more personal, and more engaging for fans. While anyone can use Yowie, targeting artists appears to be a significant part of the company’s strategy, and it will be interesting to see how many artists (both emerging and big-name) jump on board, and how exactly they use it. If you have any experience with the service, let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Music Sampling: a few Do’s and Don’ts

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:33:00 -0500

Article By Vanessa Kaster

Music Sampling is the act of incorporating bits of someone else’s musical score or sound recording into your own music. Music Sampling becomes risky business when it’s done without proper authorization and licenses. To further complicate things, musicians and composers often view sampling as a logical progression in the music composition process; and often ignore the formalities and laws that regulate sampling.

Here are a few basic Do’s and Don’ts of music sampling.

IT’S OK TO: sample from the song White Christmas (original score) because it in the public domain.
IT’S NOT OK: to sample from Frank Sinatra’s sound recordings of the song White Christmas because these are not in the public domain.
IT’S NOT OK: to sample ‘arrangement elements’ of Frank Sinatra’s sound recordings of the song White Christmas because the sound recordings are not in the public domain.

The common theme of these three examples is whether or not the sampled music is in the public domain. The public domain is the land of ‘free public property’ and music that is in the public domain is free for the taking, sampling, using, reproducing, or distributing.

What music is in the public domain? Any musical score that was published in the US before 1923 is in the public domain, due to expiration of copyright. There are also newer musical scores in the public domain too, but a case by case analysis needs to be done on scores published in 1923 or later to determine if they are in the public domain and free for sampling. A significant, but easily overlooked detail, is that almost all sound recordings are ‘new enough’ to still be under copyright protection (this includes bit and pieces of the sound recording as well as arrangement elements) and hence are not necessarily free for sampling.

By Vanessa Kaster

http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

Can Copyright Protect Your IDEA?

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:25:00 -0500

A hot debate emerged recently over protecting the IDEA of a‘Tiny Hat’ comedy skit with copyright. After Saturday Night Live produced a ‘Tiny Hat’ comedy skit, another comedy group (who had already produced a successful comedy skit about wearing ‘tiny hats’)… claimed that Saturday Night Live stole the ‘tiny hat comedy skit’ idea from them and thereby violated their copyright.

Unfortunately for the comedy duo, copyright law doesn’t grant them the exclusive right to the ‘universe of all comedy skits about tiny hats’… just because they were the first produce a popular skit on the topic. Copyright law does, however, protect the dialogue, the video made of the comedy duo’s skit and other original ways that their idea was expressed in their skit. And if the dialogue, video or other ‘original expression’ components of the skit were being copied, imitated, plagiarized, distributed or sampled without permission then copyright law can come to the rescue and battle the alleged infringer.

The IDEA to write a skit about Tiny Hats isn’t protected by copyright law. (For example there are a lot of plays written about Star Crossed Lovers: Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story… etc)

(…both skits are pretty darn funny. Google ‘Battle of the Tiny Hat’ to take a look!!)

By Vanessa Kaster

http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/

How Do Musicians Get Paid When The Music Is Played On Pandora or Sirius Radio

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:19:00 -0500

Musicians MUST REGISTER with SoundExchange in order to get paid royalties from digital performances. Digital performances include having songs played on Pandora or Sirius Radio. I know that you might think that being registered with ASCAP, BMI or SESAC covers this, but it doesn’t. Separate registration with SoundExchange is required to collect royalties when your music is played on digital and satellite music providers.

SoundExchange pays royalties to performers and copyright owners. If you own your own track and play on it, then you get paid twice.

The only catch is that Musicians, performers and copyright owners must be proactive in registering with SoundExchange to collect their money.

–>Register with SoundExchange –> http://www.soundexchange.com/

p.s. if you haven’t already submitted your music to Pandora or Sirius Radio here is the contact info for that too. http://www.pandora.com/corporate/contact.shtml & http://www.sirius.com/contactus

-Vanessa Kaster

Profile of a Scout Network: Major Label Scout

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:09:00 -0500

Companies are increasingly using the internet to facilitate online scout networks, empowering communities of young people interested in a certain field to submit their findings for consideration through online portals. Some of these companies use their scout networks to collect and provide intelligence on fashion, sports, and emerging brands. Others are specific to music.

On the music-specific front, Major Label Scout has separated itself from the pack.

The NYC-based A&R consultancy firm, founded by former Arista Records exec Ken Krongard (credited with signing Avril Lavigne), utilizes a network of 200 scouts dispersed across the US, the UK, and Canada to provide recommendations to its major label and publisher partners, as well to find potential management clients. Artists discovered and signed through the company include Jason Reeves (Warner Bros.), Inward Eye (RCA), and Joe Brooks (Lava/Universal Republic).

MLS was the first music company I got involved with. The scout program can almost be viewed as an online internship, and it’s focus on education certainly redefined the way I look at artist evaluation, making me much more selective in judging mainstream viability. In the hopes that some of our readers may be able to get as much from the program as I have, I direct your attention to the following:

MLS is now accepting applicants for the final time this year (click HERE to apply).

Below, I’ve complied a list of the program’s highlights based on my own experiences. You can also visit the MLS site or read Ken’s interview with Berkleemusic for more information.

Program Highlights

Submit, review, and receive feedback on artists. Scouts are each responsible for submitting an artist on a cyclical basis, as well as reviewing artists submitted by fellow scouts. So, in addition to having your submissions considered by MLS for presentation to its clients, you gain critical listening skills. Furthermore, the MLS team provides feedback on your finds, helping you get inside the heads of major labels/publishers and tailor future submissions accordingly. Anyone considering a career in which artist evaluation important (A&R, manager, music supervisor, music journalist, etc.) can benefit from the process.

Receive access to educational materials. First, MLS provides it’s own learning materials on A&R. Second, it has a partnership with Berkleemusic to offer access to content from the school’s music business courses, as well as to videos and articles on career strategies in the music industry. Finally, it gives scouts access to a collection of relevant articles and interviews with industry people from across the web.

Take part in conference calls. Each cycle, a group of scouts gets to take part in a conference call with the experienced MLS team, giving them a chance to ask questions and discuss the industry with people who are in the trenches everyday.

Engage in marketing activities. Every so often, the company launches scout-inclusive marketing initiatives for its artists, great experience for anyone who wants to learn about music marketing. In fact, the company’s creative Facebook marketing campaign for Jason Reeves inspired this Artists House post.

The 6 Phases of Music Marketing by Dexter Bryant, Jr.

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:05:00 -0400

1. Distribution
2. Awareness
3. Discovery
4. Credibility
5. Engagement
6. Sustained Attention

Distribution

Configure outlets where your music can be downloaded and/or purchased online. iTunes is the most popular choice for retail digital distribution, followed by Amazon. Once your music is plugged into these distribution outlets, customers are able to acquire your content/product. If you foolishly skip this phase your marketing will inevitably fail because no one will have any way getting your music.

Awareness

Awareness goes hand in hand with discovery. Discovery involves making it easy for interested parties to find your content during the discovery process. Awareness requires giving people a reason to seek you out in the first place.

Awareness is tantamount to market penetration. An effective brand strategy, strong brand positioning, and PR are how you make people aware of you and your music. Awareness is created through word of mouth, PR, digital PR, online buzz, touring, radio promo, sales promotions, activism and cause-based marketing, street marketing, and features & credits on outside projects.

Discovery

Discovery involves any destination where your music can be found, shared, and recommended, and thus gain an audience. To amplify the spread of your music you have to make it easy for people to find your music during the discovery process. Music-based social networks are vital to gaining exposure because that’s where huge databases of music are shared online. At every point of discovery, make sure you provide direct links to your distribution outlets in order to increase sales of your music.

Credibility

Third parties co-sign the awesomeness of you and your music through reviews, features, endorsements, cross-promotions, and the like. The more that sources like these support your music, the more credible you become in the eyes of your market and the more backlink s you’ll get— leading to increased web traffic and exposure. High-profile partnerships, endorsements, co-branding, and sponsorships are terrific ways to establish credibility with your audience. Famous people, experts, DJs, promoters, managers, booking agents, label executives, social media buzz, and award nominations (not to mention wins) can all help you establish credibility.

Engagement

Direct-to-fan (DTF) engagement and the cultivation of relationships are central to this phase. Collect fan emails and pull their info from social networks. Research, document, and learn your fans’ tastes, preferences, desires, spending habits, demographics, psychographics, etc. Communicate with fans and solicit feedback. Encourage community contributions from fans—remixes, fan art, fan made music videos, etc. Use crowd-sourcing to determine your best-loved songs and apply that knowledge to your marketing. Use buzz monitoring, social monitoring, and web analytics to gauge brand sentiment and respond in real-time to conversations around your brand.

Sustained Attention

New content must be released at intervals that create sustained audience attention. Balance is key. Provide just enough content so that fans are always begging for more. Daily or weekly song releases? Weekly/monthly/bi-monthly mix tape releases? These choices are yours to make.

Release too much content for a sane person to keep up with. In other words: feed each niche market you serve with so much content that diehard fans are forced to stay active and engaged to keep from missing something or falling behind.

In marketing, every play is a chess move. Move the game towards an explosive climax so that your audience is always on the edge of their seats anticipating your next move. Feed audience frenzy and exceed expectations with every climax. Follow-up by rebuilding tension. Roller coaster tension build-and-release is the cycle that keeps fans engaged.

Ongoing email marketing campaigns and digital PR campaigns will sustain audience attention IF communication is regular enough that your audience doesn’t have room to forget about you. However, keep in mind that contact with fans also has to remain scarce enough that your audience still seeks you out online for more content and information.

It’s all about managing supply and demand. When crafting your fan communication schedule, make sure to factor in the differing attention spans of your market segments, especially if your customers span across multiple generations. Sustained Attention is achieved through email marketing, digital PR, press releases, advertising, a steady stream of content, the element of surprise, and word of mouth.

This article is an excerpt from Dexter’s latest eBook The Record Label’s Guide to Digital Branding & Music Marketing 2.0. Download Dexter’s free eBook @ http://hitmusicacademy.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/free-ebook-guide-digital-branding-music-marketing/

Author Bio

Micro media punk Dexter Bryant Jr. obsessively blogs & tweets his fascination with music, music marketing, and digital branding. More than just a sharp and opinionated writer, Dexter is a Digi^Branding Consultant, a Multimedia Composer, and a Marketing Communications Stunt Man. Dexter is a sporadic contributor to several established music biz websites yet brags on the miracle turn-around creative work he’s done for IKEA advertising, Nestle Pure Life, and other clients. Dexter publishes music and business e-zine The Hit Music Academy on Twitter @hitmusicacademy. Follow Dexter on Twitter @dBRYJmusic.

Peace+Love+Music
Dexter Bryant Jr. | dbryjmusic@hotmail.com | 813.770.9991
Digital Branding Consultant & Multimedia Composer

Copyright protection only costs $35

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:55:44 -0400

Blog article by Vanessa Kaster ~

Copyright protection for your songs, photos, poems and other creative work is not expensive – it only costs $35 to register online with the US Copyright Office. And to make the deal even sweeter… it’s possible to register multiple pieces at once. How do you do this? The first step to registering multiple pieces is to have them organized in a way that will allow you to upload them quickly and easily to the US Copyright office website when you are completing the electronic copyright registration form online. Basically, the $35 buys you one hour of time to upload your work. One hour should be plenty of time to upload a collection of songs (MP3 files) or a series of photographs or a collection of music scores. If you prepare properly, it’s possible to upload over 2,000 photographs within the hour… which is less than 2¢ a picture.

There will be an extra step required if you have already been selling or distributing the CD or series of photos that you are registering (this is because these works are deemed to have been ‘published’ in copyright law language). If the works you are registering have already been published then you will also be required to mail in 2 of your CD’s. The online registration will provide an address and a printable mailing label to attach to your package.

It’s a good idea to watch the tutorial provided by the US Copyright Office on how to complete the online registration process (eCO Tutorial) before you start your registration.

Blog article by Vanessa Kaster

September 24,2010

http://iplegalfreebies.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/copyright-protection-only-costs-35/