Musical America Blogs

LAW & DISORDER Performing Arts Division June 7, 2023  INSIDE THIS ISSUE: • What Are Contracts For?  • Non-Profit Laws Made Simple  • Are Union Strikes Force Majeure Events?  • Artist Visa Updates   Legal Issue of the Month: What Are Contracts For???  It’s no secret that a vast expanses of artists, venues, managers, presenters, […]

LAW & DISORDER: Performing Arts Division June 16, 2022 INSIDE THIS ISSUE » Backlogs at US Consulates « » New USCIS forms « » Contract Entirety Clauses « » Board Term Limits « Current USCIS Service Center Processing Times: Vermont Service Center: Standard processing: 4 – 8 weeks Premium processing: 9 – 10 days California […]

EXPLORING NEW BUSINESS MODELS AND PRACTICES IN THE PERFORMING ARTS IN A POST-COVID WORLD By Brian Taylor Goldstein Aside from thwarting a clown car coup, 2021 is certainly not off to the auspicious start we all had hoped for. Nonetheless, it is with trepidatious optimism that we find ourselves crawling out from our burrows like […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    Dear Law and Disorder: Many years ago I hired an attorney to create an LLC for me, but I wound up never using it. Recently, I was presented with another business opportunity, but I’d like to have an LLC to do this. Can I still use the original LLC […]

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder: If a hypothetical rental company is hired, either by a venue or by the client using a venue, to supply the sound and/or video system for a corporate, non-profit or association event; and this hypothetical rental company is asked to provide “top 40” music to be […]

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    Dear Law and Disorder We recently had a presenter call us and cancel an engagement “due to inclement weather” because the company’s flight was canceled and they could not arrive the day before the performance as required. The company offered to fly the next day and arrive on the […]

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq. Dear Law and Disorder I recently had to cancel an engagement. We had a signed contract with the venue, but circumstances arose where we had no choice. I sent a very cordial and professional email to the venue, but got a very threatening and aggressive response. I wrote back and […]