LA Calendar: October 17, 2015

The University of Southern California's Gould School of Law and The Beverly Hills Bar Association will present the 2015 Institute on Entertainment Law and Business on Saturday, October 17.

Mailer from USC's 2015 Institute on Entertainment Law and Business

Our founder Cedar Boschan will speak during the afternoon at The Institute about the search for revenue stability in the evolving music market.  Ms. Boschan earned her bachelor of science in music industry from USC's Thornton Music School in 1999, where her instructors included fellow panelist, attorney and author Todd Brabec, as shown in the Institute's new mailer, pictured below:

USC 2015 Institute on Entertainment Law and Business Music Industry Speakers Include: Cedar Boschan, Todd Brabec, Esq., Kent Liu, Esq., and Tess Taylor

Attorneys who attend the Institute may receive 6.25 hours of MCLE credit, including 1 hour of legal ethics credit.  CPAs may receive up to 5.5 hours of CPE credit.

Registration is now open - click here to register!

#Apple

If you are in interactive development, the below headlines about Apple may be of interest:

• App Analytics
• Apple may reduce its 30% subscription commission
• #Brands: Step up your game
• Apple's App Store passes 100B downloads and $30B paid to developers

Top Three: E3 Edition

Below are the Top 3 #E3 items shared in our @RoyaltyExpert Twitter feed:

Cedar Boschan and Evan Van Zelfden @gamelawpro at the Video Game Bar Association #VGBA #E3 cocktail reception sponsored by @LathamWatkins

• A day of surprises at the start of #E3 | VentureBeat

• EA: "We have to start building new #IP that might feel like a big risk today" | gamesindustry.biz

We extend an invitation for those of you visiting the next E3 event in Los Angeles:

Los Angeles Calendar: June 25, 2015 Music Publishing Valuation Panel

The Association of Independent Music Publishers will present music valuation panel discussion on June 25 at Lawry's in Beverly Hills, California.
Registration is now open - click here to register!

AIMP Catalog Valuation Panel:  Beyond the MultipleThursday, June 25 at 11:30 amLawry's Restaurant in Beverly Hills, CaliforniaTickets & Information: Click Here

Join the AIMP for lunch as speakers delve beyond the multiple to reveal how parties from buyers to banks price music assets.  Music valuation expert and AIMP Treasurer Cedar Boschan will moderate this highly informative discussion among world class valuation experts, so mark your calendars for June 25.
Speakers:

Jason Somerville, Managing Partner, EIG

Josh Gruss, CEO, Round Hill Music

Dan Coleman, Managing Partner, Modern Works Music Publishing

Derek Crownover, Esq., Partner & Entertainment Law Practice Leader, Dickinson Wright 

Cedar Boschan, Founder, Boschan Corp

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.

# # # 

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.

Mark Your Calendar: Cinco de Mayo

The Recording Academy and California Lawyers for the Arts will present a music industry panel discussion May 5 at The GRAMMY Museum in Downtown, Los Angeles:

The Legal Landscape for Compensating Content CreatorsTuesday, May 5 at 6:00 pmThe GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, CaliforniaTickets & Information: Click Here

The below experts will discuss why music revenue and royalties are at all time lows, the history of music distribution, how content creators (and artists) are paid, the applicable laws and legislation, and the present and future landscape for creating and selling music.
Panelists:

• Jay Cooper, Esq., Greenberg Traurig LLP
• Dina LaPolt, Esq., LaPolt Law PC
• Cedar Boschan, Boschan Corp. & Auditrix, Inc.
• Edwin McPherson, Esq., McPherson Rane LLP

Moderator:

• Keith Cooper, Esq., de la Peña & Holiday LLP

The GRAMMY Museum will be open at 6:00 p.m. for attendees to view the exhibitions. The program runs from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The museum entrance is on Figueroa, between The Farm of Beverly Hills and Flemings.

Paid parking is available in nearby public lots.
Click here for more details.

2015 Quarter 1 Top 10 @RoyaltyExpert

Below are the items that had the highest engagement during the first quarter of 2015 on our RoyaltyExpert Twitter feed:

1. February's digital console sales drop 3.7%  http://t.co/Th9E0U85z4
2. Spotify launches today on PS4 and PS3 with PlayStation Music  http://t.co/YxoKVXG9v1
3. Allocation of Copyright Damages for Co-Owners - In re Isbell Records, Inc. | McDermott Will & Emery - JDSupra  http://t.co/a3HNW0EHR0
4. Boeing Patents Force Field Technology  http://t.co/xsPcM8gRc6
5. Machinima gets another $24 million in funding from Warner Bros.  http://t.co/1mQxC93Tto
6. GameMaker Studio creator acquired for $16.4 million  http://t.co/emDdnZmLkm
7. Why Being Under-Funded Could Actually Help Your Business  http://t.co/GquGaEsvl5
8. 20 Percent Of Mobile Gamers Are Mobile-Only | alistdaily http://t.co/sbbpOwxKpT
9. 15 Stephen Hawking Quotes That Will Change Your Life  http://t.co/xRKZe1iy10
10. Physical Game Sales Hit 24-Year Low in Japan  http://t.co/scVOe0UWkS