For now, we can rejoice. The Federal District Court in Los Angeles recently ruled that artists can, in some circumstances, terminate the transfers of copyright that they may have executed in favor of record labels or publishing companies some 35 years ago. As you may recall, I discussed Section 203 terminations of transfers here and […]
Should Songwriters Get Paid for Online Lyric Databases?
By John Seay, Atlanta Entertainment Lawyer: The Seay Firm LLC (@TheSeayFirmLLC) The following article was inspired by, and borrows from, a study by University of Georgia professor and musician (Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker), David Lowery. I’m notoriously awful with song lyrics. Even for some of my favorite songs, there’s that awkward moment when I’m singing […]
How Do Bands Make Money: Survey Identifies Band Behaviors
How do bands make money? United Kingdom-based Right Chord Music recently released the results of a small, 200-participant survey of mostly independent musicians. According to the survey, 75% of the participants were unsigned independent musicians. Based on that fact and some of the other numbers from the survey, we can conclude that the musicians answering the […]
The Seay Firm at Birmingham’s Secret Stages
by John Seay, Atlanta Entertainment Lawyer: The Seay Firm LLC (@TheSeayFirmLLC) Last weekend I travelled to my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, to provide a free legal clinic to bands performing at the Secret Stages music festival. I’ve been a supporter of Secret Stages since its inception in 2011, but this year I was especially excited […]