Legal and Practical Aspects of the Music Business

Whether you are an artist, manager, lawyer, accountant, music industry executive, producer, songwriter, music publisher, or work for a digital service provider or other digital media company, this course is essential to understanding the various ways in which rights are exploited and monetized and how revenue is generated in the music business. In addition, the critical topics of building your artist's brand as a business, along with the necessity of ancillary revenue streams outside of music and the cutting edge deals dealt with in the digital space, are all covered. Also examined are arrangements between record companies and artists; production deals, producer agreements, and other legal and business issues that arise in the recording studio; trademark and rights of publicity; agreements relating to the artist's team of advisors; topics and agreements relating to music publishing rights; monetizing and understanding the differences between subscription and ad-supported services, as well as other digital media opportunities; and fans, brands, social networking sites, and cultural communities as they affect music, copyrights, and merchandising in a global music market. Discussions on current events relating to the ever-changing tides of the music industry, including the ongoing legislative developments in Washington, D.C. affecting copyright reform and their impact on the future of the business are also woven into lectures throughout the course.