Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Austin Lucas touring UK

Oct 12 @ Prince Albert Brighton, UK
Oct 13 @ The Croft, Bristol, UK
Oct 14 @ The academy 3 Leicester, UK
Oct 15 @ The 13th note Glasgow, UK
Oct 16 @ Brudenell Social Club Leeds, UK

      

Monday, September 20, 2010

October 2010 California Music Business Events

Below are October 2010 music business that you may wish to attend:


I will update the list with additional events that come to my attention.  Hope to see you in October!


  

Friday, September 17, 2010

STIM Invites American Indie Music Publishers to Non-Exclusive "WOI" Pan-European Licensing Platform

Sweden's music rights society STIM is launching a pan-European licensing platform for American independent music publishers.  STIM's Scott Farrant yesterday in Los Angeles called on the Association of Independent Music Publishers to join its "WOI" initiative and collect more download and streaming publishing royalties from Europe's 27 countries.

Farrant explained that WOI needs at least five percent independent Anglo-American publisher participation in order to achieve the efficiency and negotiating leverage comparable to the majors' pan-Euro licensing partnerships:
  • To form "PEDL," Warner/Chappell allied with many societies, including:
    • STIM (Sweden)
    • PRS (UK)
    • SACEM (France)
    • BUMA/STEMRA (The Netherlands)
    • SABAM (Belgium) 
    • SGAE (Spain)
Update: Farrant explained on October 11, 2010 that "Stim was also amongst the first societies to sign with Warners for their 'Anglo-US' PEDL rights and are in fact one of only two societies currently issuing licences for the PEDL rights."

  • EMI allied with PRS (UK) and GEMA (Germany) to create "CELAS"
  • UMG allied with SACEM (France) for "DEAL"
  • SONY engaged GEMA's "PAECOL" (Germany)
  • SONY, EMI and independent publisher Peermusic allied with SGAE (Spain) for licensing of Latin American repertoire

    Independent music publishers may wish to join a pan-Euro licensing initiative in order to enjoy deal-making leverage and royalty recoveries that are on par with those of the major publishers in connection with music services that operate across multiple territories in Europe (e.g., Apple iTunes and Nokia Comes with Music).

    However, many independent publishers are bound to exclusive subpublishing agreements in Europe that will not allow for affiliation directly with a society.  In order to participate in WOI, such publishers must "rearrange" their subpublishing deals to make them non-exclusive, advised Farrant.  He argued that subpublishers should not object because WOI focuses on multinational exploitations, while subpublishers will retain administration rights on a country-by-country basis.

    Still, it seems like a virtual landgrab is happening now in Europe's multinational music publishing rights marketplace, and not every subpublisher thinks the new role of rights societies is for the best.  This may be because pan European license alliances cut out the subpublisher as middleman.  As Farrant pointed out, WOI is as close to "at source" as publishers can get.  Provided enough publishers join, STIM thinks it can limit collection fees to ten percent 10% and US publishers will receive quarterly accountings directly from STIM, without having to wait for a subpublisher to process the royalties (and take a share).

    Farrant outlined how the WOI initiative will work:

    "With detailed information on licensing terms made available via the STIM/WOI website, the US independent publisher has the flexibility to suggest changes (that will be put forward in the negotiations process), or opt out of the license altogether.  When you sign up with WOI you are under no obligation to license your content until and unless you are satisfied with the terms of the license agreement.  You are under no obligation to license your content via WOI because your relationship with WOI is strictly non-exclusive."

    If you are an independent music publisher in the United States or Canada, what is your strategy for collecting European royalties derived from digital exploitations?  Have you looked into joining one or more pan-European licensing initiatives?  If not, why not?

    Either way, Scott Farrant would like to hear from you.  His email address is: scott.farrant@stim.se and I will give you his telephone number upon request.  It will take STIM some time to review your repertoire before you can sign up, so do not delay in contacting him soon to discuss the details if you are looking to start collecting digital music publishing royalties from multinational European music services.

    I encourage you to explore WOI as well as other options, such as IMPEL, PRS' pan-Euro licensing initiative for independent music publishers, and talk to your subpublishers to learn their views on the subject.

    Wednesday, September 8, 2010

    How To Recover Your Client’s Fair Share – Part I: Negotiate a Better Contract


    California's top legal recruiting firm, Swan Legal Search, invited me to guest blog at SwanLegal.com.  Below is a link to my first post:

    How To Recover Your Client’s Fair Share – Part I: Negotiate a Better Contract

    Attorneys: stay tuned for guest blog entries from Delia Swan, Esq., who can change your legal career!

    Tuesday, September 7, 2010

    September 2010 Music Business Events in Los Angeles



    Mark your calendars for these important Los Angeles music business events:




    Hope to see you at one or more of the above events!


    Monday, September 6, 2010

    Gain a Working Knowledge of Music Publishing - Steve Winogradsky's UCLA Music Publishing Class Begins 9/20/2010



    For years, Steven Winogradsky, Esq. has taught music publishing at UCLA Extension.  If you need to brush-up on the music publishing business, sign up now for Winogradsky's Fall 2010 class, which starts Sept. 20, 2010.  Here are the details per Mr. Winogradsky:

    • 4-Unit Course: Music Publishing: Law and Business (Course # X 448.17; Reg. # V8824)                   
    • Day/Time: Monday, 7-10pm 
    • Dates: September 20 - December 6 
    • Location: UCLA Dodd Hall, room 161 
    • Instructor contact: steve@winogradskysobel.com
    • Course Description: This overview is designed for those interested in a career in music publishing as well as for business and personal managers and attorneys who desire a working knowledge of the music publishing industry. Topics include copyright basics; songwriter agreements; setting up domestic licensing for records, motion pictures, television, print, commercials, and other areas; and dealing with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. Discussion also includes aspects of foreign subpublishing, including negotiating agreements, and collection societies. Additional topics also include, new media, social networking, digital royalty collection, and  progressive internet search engine tools and techniques to promote band and grow royalties.  Guest speakers include music industry executives and attorneys. Prerequisite: Practical experience in music publishing or music business; CPAs and Bar Association members automatically qualify.
    • Cost of the class is $550, plus $40 for the course reader.  For attorneys, there is 34 hours of MCLE credit available.
    • If you or your staff is interested in signing up for this class, please go to: https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/default.aspx for further instructions.

    If you aren't in Los Angeles, check out the music publishing book by Winogradsky's business partner, attorney Ron Sobel, who knows much more about performance royalties than the average music lawyer: