The State Bar of Texas Entertainment and Sports Law Section, or TESLAW, announced that nominations for the Cindi Lazzari Artist Advocate Award are open now until 11:59 p.m. CDT on October 1. The award is named for the late Cindi Lazzari, a leading Texas attorney who went far beyond the call of duty in her efforts … Continue Reading
A recent panel at South by Southwest examined some prominent copyright cases from the last year and delved into the changes in effect and coming into effect from the Music Modernization Act, or MMA. The panel started with a focus on the 2019 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 4th Estate Public Benefit … Continue Reading
For filmmakers and creatives living in the Live Music Capital of the World, it may seem attractive to make a documentary about a band or a singer amid the music struggle. But experts on a recent South by Southwest panel warned that while music documentaries are surging in popularity and profitability, they are laden with … Continue Reading
Myth No. 1 of music licensing: Just because you are not making money on a project, does not mean you can use music for free. Austin lawyer Amy E. Mitchell, of Amy E. Mitchell PLLC, and Roanna Gillespie, a music supervisor at WOW Sounds, educated the South By Southwest audience during a panel titled “Music … Continue Reading
In 2007, Stefanie Lenz uploaded to YouTube a 29-second clip of her 13-month-old son dancing to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” Universal Music Corp., the owner of the copyright of the song, filed a takedown notice in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, to YouTube. In response, YouTube removed the post. What followed … Continue Reading
Sally Helppie, a film producer and entertainment attorney with Vincent Serafino Geary Waddell Jenevein in Dallas, and Amy E. Mitchell, an Austin-based entertainment attorney focused on music and television, discussed morals clauses during a panel last week at SXSW in Austin. “A morals clause is a contractual condition that gives one contracting party, usually a … Continue Reading
From recounting infamous music copyright cases to predicting what the future of policy in Washington, D.C., holds, several sessions at South by Southwest tackled hot-button issues in the industry. Copyright infringement “This is about deep-pocket defendants,” entertainment attorney Stan Soocher said as he opened the March 17 panel “Copyright Infringement: Get a Hit, Get a … Continue Reading
Musicians, songwriters, and producers packed the room for this South by Southwest session titled “Four Agreements Every Artist Needs to Understand.” The goal was to give audience members a better understanding of the music industry’s legal issues so that they don’t fall victim to bad deals and disputes down the line. Panelists—including entertainment attorneys Steve … Continue Reading
A panel titled “Substance Abuse and Dealing with Addiction” at one of the biggest parties of the year? The dichotomy was not lost on the attorneys and handful of musicians attending this Saturday morning South by Southwest event—part of the continuing legal education track—and they moved in closer to the speakers for what was described … Continue Reading
As downtown Austin was transforming for the first day of the more raucous South by Southwest Music Festival, the SXSW Interactive Festival’s last day had many legal-related sessions taking place in quiet, air-conditioned rooms across town. The three I attended shared common themes of privacy and personal freedom, liability, and the impact on technology and … Continue Reading
Professionals from the film industry filled the room to get tips on avoiding copyright infringement from the “legal Obi Wan Kenobi” as part of the South by Southwest Film session “FairUse-Docs & Fiction Films-Everybody Is Welcome!” Fair use is an exception that allows artists to legally reproduce or use copyrighted material under certain conditions without … Continue Reading