Musical America Blogs

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder, I am a music professor at a medium-sized state college. We have two questions with regard to live streaming some of our concerts and recitals. We, of course, have paid the ASCAP and BMI licenses/fees to cover the rights for live performances.  I believe the licensing agencies base [...]

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By Brian Taylor Goldstein Do we legally have to have a music license if we have bands performing in our Country Club at weddings, social events, etc.? Yes. Anytime music is publically performed, either live or by playing a recording through a sound system, a “performance license” is required. A “performance license” is a fee [...]

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By Brian Taylor Goldstein Dear FTM Arts Law: Could owning copyrights individually (as opposed to being owned by a corporate entity) ever be a personal liability?  I understand that if copyrights are held in the name of a S-corp, C-corp, or possibly LLC, the corporate veil would shield my personal assets. There is no liability in [...]

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By Brian Taylor Goldstein HELLO – How can an organization that presents music programs, and puts some of them on the Internet, find a good general release form for artists/speakers to sign? The tricky part about forms is not finding them, but choosing which one is right. There are lots of sources for good general [...]

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