A common question asked by musicians and producers is whether they need to obtain approval for the inclusion of a pre-existing piece of music or ‘sample’ in any new recording. If approval is required, then what process will they have to go through to obtain clearance? For the uninitiated, the term ‘clearing a sample’ refers to obtaining the legal rights to use music, lyrics and/or recordings that are owned by someone else…. Continue Reading
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Legal Protections for Musicians – Performing Rights
This is the third and final part of a series looking at the protections UK law provides to musicians. Part 1 dealt with copyright and Part 2 dealt with moral rights. This article looks at performing rights. What are ‘performing rights’? Performing rights provide artists with rights not dissimilar to copyright. Whilst copyright protects music, lyrics and sound… Continue Reading
6 Reasons Why Your Band Needs a Band Agreement
Breakdowns and splits between band members are legendary. At the last count, Manchester band The Fall had 64 different line-ups since its formation in 1976. The detail of the Pink Floyd split is the thing of legend. Whilst a band agreement will help you deal with the fall-out from similar disputes, there are sound commercial reasons for… Continue Reading
Top 5 Tips to Maximise Earnings from Collection Societies
Collection societies provide a range of valuable services to artists. They provide a ‘bridge’ between the artist and music user by granting licences to use your music. As part of this service, collection societies recover licence fees from music users and distribute these fees to the artist. In the UK we are fortunate to be… Continue Reading
10 Reasons Why You Need A Strong Confidentiality Agreement
Are you thinking of discussing your business with a third party? Will you be divulging confidential information, be it trade secrets, financial information or business processes? Before you do so, make sure you have a confidentiality agreement in place. This is also commonly referred to as an NDA or non-disclosure agreement. Legality Solicitors provides… Continue Reading
Ownership Rights in Software
Disputes can often arise between those who commission and pay for the development of software and those who actually write the software. If faced with such a dispute it is important to know which party is entitled to ownership of the software – particularly where the software has significant commercial value. Alternatively, if there is… Continue Reading
Five Types of Record Deal
There are currently five main types of record deal. There are also a number of hybrids which take various elements from each type of deal. Which deal is best for the artist or the record company will vary depending on the circumstances. In this article, we look at the benefits of each. 1. The Licence Deal Under… Continue Reading
Why Artists & Managers Must Take Independent Legal Advice
When considering a management agreement it is essential that both artist and management each receive independent legal advice – though not for the same reasons! The Artist The artist will require independent legal advice: To ensure that he/she fully understands the deal on offer. To ensure that he/she understands what is missing from the management agreement. It is not unusual… Continue Reading