Music Law Conference
Speaker Bios
David Beame
David Beame is an entertainment attorney, deal-maker and musician. He is a graduate of New World School of the Arts and received a bachelor of arts degree from Boston University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law. David is a partner at Beame & Mencher LLP and his clients include Grammy, MTV, Tony and YouTube Award winning artists, major and indie label bands, multi-platinum songwriters and producers, video directors, independent record labels and media companies, and international entertainment companies. Many of David’s clients are at the creative forefront of the digital revolution including the director of the Grammy-winning viral “Treadmill” video featuring OK Go and the artist, Never Shout Never, who has sold hundreds of thousands of digital songs independently. He was formerly a partner at the law firm of Draves & Beame, PA, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Central Florida where he taught Entertainment and Sports Law, and worked in the A&R Department of Rykodisc Records and Palm Pictures.
Shawn (Glypher) Dalton
Shawn (Glypher) Dalton is an avid music enthusiast, UF alumnus, and long-time Gainesville resident. He entered the music industry from a high technology background. Drawing from his experience as a software and web applications developer, in 2002 Dalton designed and founded GainesvilleBands.com (GBdC). With its user-friendly interface and companion mobile web site, GBdC has quickly evolved into Gainesville’s most popular music information source and has been nationally ranked as one of the nation’s most popular music websites. In addition to his involvement with GBdC, Dalton is the co-host of the “Gainesville Live” radio show on 100.5 The Buzz (WHHZ-FM). Dalton has been recognized as a music information expert in several publications and webzines, including UF’s own Alligator. Beyond his involvement in the local music culture, Dalton currently works as a web applications developer for the United States Geological Survey and is an active philanthropist. He regularly volunteers with the Gainesville Community Bicycle Project (The Kickstand) and other community-based, grassroots charity organizations.
Vince Galluzo
Vince Galluzo is a third year student at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. He is a Communication Editor of the Florida Law Review. In 2009, Vince published a noted titled When "Now Known or Later Developed" Fails its Purpose: How P2P Litigation Has Turned the Distribution Right Upside-Down in the Florida Law Review. He received the Gertrude Brick Prize for Best Note of the 2008-2009 Year. Recently, Vince worked for the Intellectual Property and Public Policy practice groups of Crowell & Moring, LLP in Washington, DC.
Jon Granat
Jon Granat grew up in Miami with a love for music. He cultivated that passion at the University of Florida while earning money for school working at a production company handling sound & lighting. He expanded on that college experience when he began booking concerts like Tribe Called Quest and the Indigo Girls. He then became a college marketing rep for I.R.S. Records and later Capitol Records.
Upon graduation, Jon moved to Los Angeles where he began his work in the realms of Film & TV Music. First he worked for Warner/Chappell Music in their Synch licensing department, and he handled clients like MTV, VH1 and Lifetime. He then ran the day to day operations of a small boutique publishing company called Barton Music. After several freelance music supervision gigs, he took a job on the studio side of the business in Warner Bros. Television's music department. There, he handled music clearance for shows like Veronica Mars, One Tree Hill, and The Closer.
In 2007, Jon went back to music publishing when he joined the Film & TV department at Chrysalis Music Group. There he oversees creatively pitching artists/songwriters like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Blondie, and TV On The Radio for placements in film, television, and trailers. He also oversees the web presence for Chrysalis Music and acts as product manager for Eastern Conference Champions.
Carolyn Herman
Carolyn Herman is an Associate Professor of Professional Skills at Florida Coastal School of Law, in Jacksonville, Florida, where she teaches Entertainment Law, Intellectual Property, Advanced Trademark and Copyright, and Torts. She is advisor to the Entertainment Law Society there. Additionally, she has practiced entertainment law as a sole practitioner in Jacksonville Beach for seventeen years. Her work includes drafting, reviewing, and negotiating entertainment contracts, forming entertainment entities, preparing and prosecuting copyright and trademark applications, and conducting business and intellectual property litigation for writers, musicians, talent and production companies.
Professor Herman is former Chair and current member of the Executive Counsel of the Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section of the Florida Bar (EASL), former Chair of the Sports & Entertainment Law Committee and current member of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association, former President of the Northeast Chapter of the Florida Motion Picture Television Association and a former member of the Board of Governors, Florida Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). Ms. Herman has been a guest lecturer at numerous entertainment law seminars across the country and is the founder of the Independent Film and the Law Seminar held in conjunction with the Jacksonville Film Festival.
A native New Yorker, Ms. Herman is a graduate of Cornell University (B.S.), Fordham Law School (J.D.) and the George Washington University National Law Center (L.L.M.). She is admitted to practice before the federal and state courts in New York, Florida and the District of Columbia. Prior to moving to Florida, Ms. Herman had been a civil litigation attorney and Administrative Law Judge in New York City as well as staff counsel for a U.S. Senate subcommittee. As much as she enjoys her talented clients, the real stars in her life are her husband Ben and son Jacob.
Prof. Lyrissa Lidsky
Lyrissa Lidsky is a professor of Torts, Advanced Torts, Media Law, Law of Internet Speech, Jurisprudence, Professional Responsibility and First Amendment Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. She has twice been selected by students as faculty graduation speaker. She has authored three casebooks (Torts, Mass Media Law, and First Amendment Law) and one reference book on freedom of the press. She has also written numerous law review articles, several of which have been cited in published court opinions. Professor Lidsky has spoken at various conferences, including the Florida Bar's annual First Amendment Law Symposium. She was Cooperating Counsel with ACLU in a case involving anonymous Internet speech, and was an International Contributing Editor to the Media & Arts Law Review in Australia. Professor Lidsky testified before the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, in hearing entitled "Oath Taking, Truth Telling, and Remedies in the Business World."
Brian Mencher
Brian Mencher is a founding partner of Beame & Mencher LLP. He handles legal matters in the entertainment industries, with particular focus on artist representation, intellectual property management, contract drafting, and general business governance. Mr. Mencher’s clients include start-up record labels, award-winning filmmakers, film actors, musicians, booking agents, producers, and other professionals in the entertainment industries. As an experienced musician, Brian brings first-hand knowledge to the representation of his clients.
Sal Picataggio
Sal is a second year law student at the University of Florida. After graduating summa cum laude from UF with a degree in Public Relations, Sal came to UF Law to pursue a legal education focused on entertainment and intellectual property law. Sal is also a musician, and he plays the drums for the UF Jazz Band and his own bands--The Patrick McDuffy AllStars and Superfish.
Ravi
Ravi tours the country performing original music, conducting guitar clinics and lecturing on crucial issues facing the music industry. The singer-songwriter and guitarist has performed on Letterman, Leno, Saturday Night Live, Today Show, Good Morning America, etc., and at some of the most prestigious venues in America, including Madison Square Garden, Louisiana Superdome, and a White House Christmas party. The "crème de la crème" of the entertainment industry frequently calls on Ravi. Mercury Records/PolyGram hired him in 1997 to play guitar on tour with three-time Grammy nominee and top-selling band in the world that year, Hanson. Simon & Schuster published his tour journal. Electronic Musician, Music Inc, and other magazines feature Ravi's articles monthly. Berklee College of Music and others including NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) and most music business conferences regularly host his lectures. With professional endorsements and business savvy, Ravi records and performs his own unique twist on "pop" music, combining funky grooves with smart songwriting.
Chrissie Scelsi
Chrissie Scelsi has been steeped in the art of advocacy since the age of 16, when she worked as part of the Truth campaign in Florida. These advocacy skills, coupled with a passion for music nurtured in the Florida punk rock scene, led Chrissie to study marketing and music business at Loyola University New Orleans. There she developed the solid business foundation to help entertainment and new media ventures get off the ground, in addition to learning recording, music marketing and other valuable entertainment skills.
After graduating with honors in 2004, Chrissie moved on to pursue a juris doctor at Saint Louis University School of Law. She focused her studies on intellectual property and entertainment law, as well as furthering her knowledge of business entities. Chrissie earned the CALI Award for the Highest Grade in Entertainment Law Planning and Drafting, and competed as part of the Saul Lefkowitz Intellectual Property Moot Court Team during her time at SLU Law. In addition to her time in the classroom, Chrissie gained real world experience by interning with Saint Louis startup business Shock City Music Works, where she assisted in the establishment of a record label and recording studio. Chrissie has also been published in the Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, as well as the Science and Technology Lawyer, and is currently co-editing a book on the practice of intellectual property law in virtual worlds and computer gaming for the American Bar Association.
Davey Spicciati
Davey Spicciati, Esq. received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Central Florida. Afterwards, she earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Barry University School of Law. While enrolled at Barry, Davey also attended a semester abroad at University College London. Davey is an associate with the Orlando firm of Trivedi & Associates, PL and also works with The Draves Law Firm, PA in an Of Counsel capacity. She created the Music Business Law class for Full Sail University, where she currently teaches a course in Copyright & Music Publishing. In addition, Davey is on the Board of Directors for the Center for Contemporary Dance in Winter Park, Florida and is a volunteer arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau. She currently represents clients in many areas of the entertainment field, including musicians, artists, filmmakers, promoters and production companies.
Var Thelin
Var Thelin, a Gainesville native, is the co-founder and owner of No Idea Records. No Idea is an independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida that produces both vinyl records and compact discs.
No Idea Records started not as a record label, but as a 'zine in 1985, published independently by Var Thelin and some friends from high school. By the seventh issue in 1989, Var was running the 'zine with other contributors and collaborators. Starting with the sixth edition, the No Idea 'zine included 7-inch records with each issue. The first featured a local Gainesville band called Doldrums, and the second was a split 7", one side of which belonged to later Bay-Area legends Crimpshrine, a major influence on the musical style which dominates No Idea to the present. Since its beginnings, No Idea has remained a foundation of the Gainesville punk scene and is considered by many to have spawned its very own style of punk rock. The label also organizes The Fest, an independently operated annual festival known for featuring over 250 punk, hardcore, country, metal, indie rock, avant-garde and similar musical acts across many venues for 3 days in Gainesville, Florida each fall.
In 2008, No Idea created its own in-house promotions into a separate business called Southern Lovin'. No Idea employs eleven friends to work on the various facets of No Idea: the record label, direct mail orders, wholesale distribution, and public relations. As a label, No Idea has released over 250 records. Thelin likes to think that No Idea has had an impact on our little world and helped along the way. "We do our part," to quote Razorcake. For more info, visit: www.noidearecords.com
John Thomas
John Thomas is a professor of law at the Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut, where he teaches entertainment law, health law, civil procedure, and commercial law. He holds a law degree from the University of Arizona and an LLM and MPH from Yale University. His publications cover topics from health policy to politics to juvenile justice and mental health treatment to acoustic music. His current book project, Banner Gibsons: The Story of the Flattop Guitars of 1942-45 and the Extraordinary Women (and a Few Men) Who Built Them, centers on a series of oral histories of a dozen women pictured in the Gibson Guitar Company’s 1944 workforce photograph. John is also a fingerstyle guitarist who specializes in the blues and ragtime music from the turn of the twentieth century.
William L. Whitacre
William L. Whitacre is an entertainment attorney with offices located at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. His firm is William L. Whitacre & Associates, P.A., whose clients include film and television producers, musical artists, and independent music labels. Whitacre graduated from UF Law with his J.D. in 1971. Music clients have included Jaco Pastorius (Grammy nominee with Weather Report); D.J. Magic Mike (“Father of Bass”); and CHEETAH RECORDS (Four RIAA certified Gold Sales Awards, and one RIAA certified Platinum sales award). Whitacre’s music affiliations include being an ASCAP and BMI music publisher through his company, Wail & Moan Music; the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS); the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM; and the Country Music Association (CMA). Film clients include HAXAN FILMS, INC. (The Blair Witch Project, released by Artisan Pictures, which earned $140.5M in theatrical box office revenue and was a 1999 Sundance and Cannes Film Festival Selection); WHITE APE PICTURES, LLC (Altered, released by Focus Features/Rouge Pictures through Universal in 2006); ANGEL DEVIL PRODUCTIONS (Missing in America with Danny Glover, Ron Perlman, and Linda Hamilton, released through Lantern Lane) and SEVENTH MOON PARTNERS, LLC (Seventh Moon the current HAXAN feature starring Amy Smart, filmed in Hong Kong 11/2007). Whitacre is a member of the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) as a Unit Production Manager, and is also a credited film producer.
Angela Rose White
Since 1996, Angela Rose White has served as administrator / chief operating officer of David Rose Publishing. White oversees all aspects of publishing, including royalty analysis, collections, licensing, and communication with publishers, subpublishers, and co-administrators both in and outside the United States. A large portion of the income is derived from television shows which has resulted in an experienced staff familiar with TV cues, themes, etc. and collection by the Performing Rights Societies outside the U.S. Started by David Rose in 1957, David Rose Publishing company handles the composer's catalog of over 500 copyrights. "The Stripper" remains one of the most popular songs in the catalog, which also includes the theme and music from "Little House on the Prairie", "Holiday For Strings", "Our Waltz", "One Love", the music from the Red Skelton television show, the Bonanza series, Highway to Heaven, and Father Murphey, among others. An attorney and the daughter of the late David Rose, Angela also is the founder and president of DaBet Music Services of Los Angeles, CA. The boutique company is designed to provide personal music services and administration for both the classic and emerging music catalogs, including domestic and foreign catalogs with a history of performance in the United State.