Archive for the ‘Liability’ Category

Who Has To Pay The Likes of ASCAP, BMI, Etc?

Thursday, February 18th, 2016

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    I haven’t found an example that matches the situation of a 501(c)(3) I am familiar with. They throw a once-yearly art festival that spans a weekend (2days). They don’t charge the public any admittance. They raise money by charging fees for booth (10×10) spaces for (visual) arts vendors to […]

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Are You Being Served?

Thursday, June 11th, 2015

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder: You frequently mention that the artists are our clients, but aren’t the presenters our clients, too? If an artist is acting unreasonably or is going to do something which we know will negatively impact the presenter, we can’t afford to alienate or lose a relationship with […]

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Don’t Be Shy About BMI

Wednesday, March 25th, 2015

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder: Hypothetical: A theatrical production company would like to produce a tribute musical production to a songwriter using only the songwriter’s music being performed by the cast of the production. The production would be held at a community theater which is not licensed by ASCAP or any […]

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The Damaging Truth About Cancellation Damages

Thursday, March 12th, 2015

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    Dear Law and Disorder: A presenter wants to breach our engagement contract by cancelling. Our cancellation clause says that, in the event of cancellation, we get 50% of the engagement fee or actual damages. They are offering 50%, but at this stage want the full fee. If you have […]

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The Divine Right To Cancel

Thursday, February 12th, 2015

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    We were in the process of booking one of our singers with an orchestra, when we encountered the following Force Majeure clause in the orchestra’s contract: “If, as a result of any event beyond the control of the Orchestra, including, but not limited to, war, national calamity, strike, labor […]

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When Happy Cookies Lead To Bad Decisions!

Thursday, January 22nd, 2015

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    We recently had an incident where the Executive Director of an organization that presented one of our artists gave him a cookie with a controlled substance in it at a reception after the performance. Admittedly, the substance was legal in the presenter’s state, but it made the artist (who […]

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How Is Copyright Infringement Like An Ugly Car?

Thursday, November 20th, 2014

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    Dear Law and Disorder: What rights does a translator have? I translated a non-English script into English. All of the prior translations were very bad, which is why I did my own.  Everyone agrees mine is the best, even the original author. However, now that I am getting offers […]

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Whose Lawsuit Is It Anyway?

Thursday, October 30th, 2014

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    Dear Law and Disorder: I’m dealing with a presenter who wants to cancel two weeks out due to poor ticket sales. While it’s not a huge engagement fee, my artist has already contracted its performers and paid out expenses for the date as its part of a bigger tour. […]

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When Non-Payment Is A Crime

Wednesday, September 24th, 2014

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    Dear Law and Disorder Our group got a bad check from a venue for a performance. We called them and they sent us a new check, but that bounced, too. Now they won’t return our phone calls. Is there anything we can do? Many venues, especially smaller non-profits, wrongly […]

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But I Don’t Want To Be A Producer!

Thursday, June 19th, 2014

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    Dear Law and Disorder: We have booked one of our artists to perform at a venue. As we are the agent, our booking agreements are always between the venue and the artist, and we sign on the artist’s behalf. However, the presenter is insisting that, if we want to […]

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