References
Legal Disclaimer
While
entertainment law is not rocket science – it can quickly get complex.
Hopefully this article will help you stay out of trouble by
providing enough information to allow you to ask the right questions.
To cover all these topics in this article I’ve played fast and
loose with some complex legal issues so do
not rely on this article for legal advice.
Check out the books I’ve listed and
talk to more experienced musicians. And
if you’ve got questions regarding these issues, contact an attorney
familiar with entertainment law, your state law, and your particular
situation.
Conclusion
If
there is a bottom line to this whole article it’s this:
Recording and marketing a CD is, legally speaking, a question of
rights. Each person involved
in the process should know what rights they started with, what rights they
kept, what rights they gave up, and to whom.
I’ve
tried to address the issues that, in my experience, most musicians should
understand but may not. The potential problems, and potential lost
revenue, from not taking the time to do your CD right, both artistically
and legally, can be large. Your music is obviously important to you or you
wouldn’t be spending the time and money to put out a CD.
If you’re going to take the music seriously, take the business of
music seriously as well.
Recommended Reading
There
are many very good books looking at the business of music.
The following are some of my favorites.
Yes, it’s true they’re all written by attorneys, but they’re
written for musicians and in plain English.
·
All
You Need To Know About The Music Business, by Donald S. Passman,
published by Simon and Schuster.
·
The
Musician’s Business And Legal Guide, Compiled and Edited by Mark Halloran, published by
Prentice Hall.
·
Breakin’
In To The Music Business, by Alan H. Siegel, published by Cherry Lane Books.
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