By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder: Is it legal that a presenter can put “strike, lock-out or other labor controversy (including, without limitation, the picketing on the theater by representatives of any labor union having or claiming to have jurisdiction over theater’s employees” into a force majeure clause? I mean, […]
Read the rest of this article »By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder: I am a classical concert pianist and booking representative for my small ensemble. I just finished the negotiation of a performance contract with a presenter and, unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement. In my three years of working as a self-presenting artist, it was […]
Read the rest of this article »By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder: What would be your response to an artist who re-books themselves in venues that an agent previously booked for them? Is that legally allowed? We booked this particular group to a major venue 2 years back and now they have re-booked themselves at this same […]
Read the rest of this article »By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder: A presenter is refusing to pay one of our artists who has an O-1 visa, but does not have a Social Security Number. Does a foreign artist who is performing in the U.S. under an O-1 also have to get a Social Security number in […]
Read the rest of this article »Hi everyone I realize that this is outside of our normal blog posting schedule. However, understandably, there is a growing concern over the recent…and ongoing…computer crash that has resulted in U.S. Consulates around the world being unable to issue visas. This means that even artists who have been issued I-797 approval notices from USCIS are currently […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
Read the rest of this article »By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder: Every time someone sends us a contract, its always a lengthy document with lots of legalese that no one understands. Is there anything wrong with having a simple, one page agreement that everyone can easily understand and will sign? A lot of people mistake “legalese” […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
Read the rest of this article »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 […]
Read the rest of this article »By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder: The management company where I work has asked me to sign a non-compete agreement saying that, if I ever quit or am fired, I would be prohibited from working as a manager or agent anywhere in the world for one year after I leave. The […]
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