Mastery Journal 4.3

Mastery Journal

For my Timeline, I wanted to address publishing and copyright laws so that I have a better understanding of what I was getting into in regards to books and recordings. I don’t think we have touch on publishing yet however, if we don’t, I will send out an e-mail to the professor asking her if she can touch on this particular subject. In regards to copyright, we have  learned a pleather of information on copyright laws, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets. All fall under the Intellectual property. It’s amazing to see how many things need to be put on the agenda list to protect oneself from any kind of mishaps. The information is invaluable for those of us who wish to establish companies.

The second question on my timeline is about recording residuals and how they are to be collected and distributed. While we haven’t touched on this subject, through the research there was much information I was able to gather about registering my recordings with companies like ASCAP and BMI which supply the information for residuals. Thank GOD there are organizations like this to protect us from losing money on the work we put into our craft. In the international arena there are laws being put into place to protect artist from losing revenue as well. It’s not perfect but it’s much better than what it was just a few years ago. Countries are now working together with the United States and the European Union to help artist in those matters.

Finally, my last question had to do with the understanding or specifics of what an entertainment attorney does for the artist. The entertainment attorney does a host of things for the artist and his/her brand. For instance they provide legal help in all aspects of the entertainment business. They can:

• Drafts contracts and review contracts (Diane Dannenfeldt, 2019).
• Maintain relationships with studios and recording companies (Diane Dannenfeldt, 2019).
• Help new clients in the industry with an understanding of what papers need to be filled, what rights they have, and how to set up their particular business (Diane Dannenfeldt, 2019).
• They can help in marketing deals, taxes, and real estate deals. (Diane Dannenfeldt, 2019).
• Teach and help artist to use materials from other artist with an understanding of copyright laws (Diane Dannenfeldt, 2019).

So, there are many things that entertainment attorneys do for artist, companies, and individuals who want to enter the business. I just scratched the surface, but a good entertainment attorney is extremely valuable to an artist and to his/her opportunity for continued business in protecting them from harm’s way and steering them in the right direction.

References:

Diane Dannenfeldt. “How Entertainment Lawyers Work” Retrieved from How Stuff Works. November 16, 2019. <https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/entertainment-lawyer1.htm>