News Briefs
Music Law: From suits to the stage
by Andre Salhab
It may have been a cold night, but it was one hot party at Common Grounds, a Gainesville, Fla. club, on Feb. 20. Hundreds of people showed up to the Seventh Annual Music Law Conference Music Showcase. The showcase featured bands from the Gainesville area, like Superfish, a band specializing in funky New Orleans style music, and Danny Perez, a hip-hop artist. The bands were the perfect embodiment of the “From the Suits to the Stage” theme of the Music Law Conference – they wore dress shirts and ties.
The next day, the conference featured lawyers from areas around the nation attending to talk with musicians, lawyers and students about the world of entertainment. Panel discussion included rights after the death of a musician, during which panelist Gary Roth, assistant vice president for BMI, used a diagram to explain the rights that musicians have in the music industry while living. He explained some of the essentials of copyright law and emphasized the importance of contracts.
As part of that theme, John Thomas, a professor of law at the Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut, discussed a case about musician Robert Johnson, who died in 1938. Thomas said that there were many known talents who made money off of Johnson through listening and learning. Some of these included, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.
The problem was the issue of publishing rights and to this day, this case is still being decided in the courts.
Other panel discussions explored artist management, free music downloads and ethics in the music law industry. Breakout sessions, new to this year’s conference, were held after lunch and included topics on intellectual property litigation in the music industry, getting your foot in the door to the entertainment industry, succeeding in the industry and money management for musicians.
