Showing posts with label Cheryl Hodgson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheryl Hodgson. Show all posts

Friday, May 8, 2015

Maximize Future Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) Royalty Earnings with these Drafting Tips from Cheryl Hodgson, Esq.

Trademark, copyright, music law & digital media attorney Cheryl Hodgson of Hodgson Legal
The best family law attorneys know when to include outside experts on their team.  When it comes to intellectual property assets, family lawyers turn to attorney Cheryl Hodgson of Hodgson Legal for her expert advice.

As part of our collaboration geared towards helping family lawyers and their clients navigate the arcane world of intellectual property assets, we invited Ms. Hodgson to share three key drafting tips for family lawyers to consider in cases when the marital assets include royalties:

1.     Audit rights.  Audit rights are a vital component to any agreement that includes payment of royalties, whether or not a dissolution is involved. Without the direct audit rights as well as the right to participate in an audit of the source of the income stream, there is no means by which to verify the accuracy of accountings from an ex-spouse, or payments received by the ex-spouse. Moreover, without an audit to identify an ex-spouse’s non-compliance with the marital settlement agreement (“MSA”), it can be difficult or impossible to identify evidence to support legal action and hold the ex-spouse accountable for failing to properly pay. Therefore, one should always include a thoughtful audit clause in the MSA that grants access to the contracts that create the income stream. Moreover, rights to piggyback on direct audit rights are imperative.  (See this post for more audit clause drafting tips.)
2.     Earnings Periods.  The MSA should address dates governing receipts and payments prior to the date of dissolution since payments may be earned long before they are received. For example, in the case of foreign performance royalties from the broadcast of music on television and in film, earnings during the term of the marriage may not be received or paid in the United States for a year or even longer.
3.     Transfers of Title.   A court order detailing rights in the divided assets should be drafted in a manner that is both clear, detailed, and binding upon third party payees of royalties. Entertainment related companies are often loathe to make changes in existing payment instructions without clear agreements, letters of directions, and in many cases, a court order that clearly identifies the assets and the parties covered.

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Don’t wait for the next post in our ongoing collaboration – read more from Ms. Hodgson today on her own website.  Better yet, for a personalized consultation, call Ms. Hodgson today at 310-623-3515 and follow her on Twitter @CherylHodgson.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

March 2015 Music Business Top Ten


Here are the top ten music industry highlights from our Auditrix twitter feed:
  1. Cheryl Hodgson moderated a fantastic panel discussion about brands and music at the California Copyright Conference:
    Pictured L-R: Navine Karim - Legal Counsel, Red Bull Media House; Kyle Hermans - Brand Innovation, Gap Brands; Cheryl Hodgson - Music Attorney and Founder of Brandaide; Marshall Eskowitz - Marketing Executive, Creative Artist Agency
  2. By David Oxenford, who represents #broadcasters: Songwriter' Equity Act Reintroduced - What Does It Propose?
  3. Hollywood Reporter: We nominated our favorite power lawyers! 
  4. Daily Mail Online: Jay-Z to pay Swiss jazz musician 50% of royalties after 'stealing' his instrumental for 'Versus'
  5. Fast Company: Spotify Unveils A Bold New Brand Identity
  6. New York Post: Spotify to spend $1B on renewal deal with Universal Music

  7. Billboard: 'Blurred Lines' Trial Verdict: Jury Rules Against Pharrell Williams & Robin Thicke
  8. Disruptive Competition Project: Transparency at the Intersection of Music Licensing and Antitrust
  9. Sonicbids: 5 Not-So-Obvious Revenue Streams for Musicians
  10. Digital Music News: 12 Reasons to Fire Your Bandmates

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Listen Here

The Auditrix on music and game royalties:

 MusicBizCast with Kelly Castor Episode 29 with Cedar Boschan
Music Royalties - Audio Interview of Cedar Boschan by Kelly Castor - #Free on MusicBizCast

Royalty Audits: What You Need to Know - International Game Developers' Association (IGDA) Webinar: Distinguished Lawyer Tom Buscaglia Interviews Cedar Boschan - #Free on YouTube

Video Game Dealmaking: Playing to Win (DVD): The Beverly Hills Bar Association Panel Discussion with International Legal and Business Professionals (Receive 1 Hour CLE Credit, $179).  Cedar Boschan Moderates:

Royalty Income Meets Marital Dissolution: Dividing, Managing & Accounting (DVD) @ The Beverly Hills Bar Association (Receive 1 Hour CLE Credit, $179), Featuring Presenters:

Business Managers Brainstorm on Royalties - SXSW and Association of Independent Music Publishers Panel Discussions (@AIMPorg video #free for #membersonly) Featuring:




Monday, March 5, 2012

March 20, 2012 @ The CCC: Financial Strategies for Copyright Stakeholders


Are you a writer, publisher, artist or attorney in the music industry?  If so, your livelihood is dependent on the values of copyrights and you may wish to join me for dinner at the California Copyright Conference ("CCC") on March 20, which will feature a panel discussion on "Financial Strategies for Copyright Stakeholders."

My co-moderator Cheryl Hodgson, Esq. and I are excited to ask the experts about the following topics:
• Hedging Against Decline in Copyright Values
• Raising Cash - Is Now a Good Time to Buy/Sell/Borrow Against Music Assets?
• Valuation of Copyrights
• Minimizing Taxes
• Protecting Your Business and Your Heirs

Scheduled panelists:
• David Renzer, Entrepreneur, Former Chairman/CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group
• Curtis Vega, Senior Vice President - Media & Entertainment, HSBC Bank USA, N.A.
• Joseph Rust, CPA, CFP, Partner at Prager and Fenton LLP
• Michael Morris, Esq., Partner at Valensi Rose, PLC, Past President, California Copyright Conference
• Sara Qazi, Financial Advisor, Guided Portfolio Manager, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC

Please reserve your seat now at: http://www.theccc.org 

Hope to see you there!  RSVP by 10am Friday, March 16.