Hey, what’s the big idea? Protecting your ideas when submitting them to a third party.

One question clients often asked me is whether an idea can be protected. The question frequently arises when a client has an idea for a screenplay, or an outline for a story, or a unique title for a song or book, and wishes to submit or “pitching” that idea to a major movie house, publisher [...]

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Music Row Magazine sold

Music Row magazine has been “Nashville’s Music Industry Publication” for 26 years.  Yesterday, Music Row announced that it was being acquired by SouthComm Communications, Inc. 
SouthComm is a Nashville-based media company founded in 2007 by Chris Ferrell and Nashville investment firm Solidus Co., led by Townes Duncan.  Duncan is chairman of SouthComm and Ferrell is [...]

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Nashville Mayor Announces "Country Radio Week"

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean issued a proclamation declaring the week of March 3, 2008 “Country Radio Week.”  The mayor will present the official proclamation to Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.’s Executive Director Ed Salamon and President Becky Brenner when he officially welcomes attendees to the 39th Country Radio Seminar (CRS-39) on March 5th.
The mayoral proclamation recognizes [...]

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The Virtual CFO

Rarely do you get the opportunity to meet with some one who has the same “soul” that you have.  I had an interesting meeting with Scot Justice over the h olidays.  Scot is a fellow blogger who writes the Virtual CF blog over at Typepad.  His article about out meeting can be found here.  Scot [...]

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The Magic Bubble Bursts: Did the Record Labels make their own grave?

For almost a decade now, the major labels (at the beginning there were five of them, now only four, EMI, Sony BMG, Vivendi Universal and Warner) have declared that illegal downloading is ravaging their business by destroying the sales of physical product.  One may question this declaration, however, in few of the fact that ever [...]

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Music Publishing 101, Part 3: Pieces of the Publishing Pie

Once a music publisher begins to receive income from the exploitation of the copyrights it has acquired, it must begin to distribute the income to the appropriate writers.  Understanding the basic principles of copyright ownership and royalty splits is fundamental to performing the task of distribution of income.  One device that is often used [...]

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Music Publishing 101, Part 2: Forming a publishing company

From a legal perspective, the formation of a music publishing company is, in most respects, very similar the formation of any other type of company, except that the documentation is tailored specifically for the business of music publishing. 
The first step in the formation of any business, including a music publishing company, is to determine [...]

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Music Publishing 101, Part 1: A brief history

This blog series will explore music publishing, giving a little bit of history and outlining the basic steps necessary to form a music  publishing company.  Part 1 looks at a brief history and background of music publishing.
Modern music publishing in the United States can trace its roots to “Tin Pan Alley,” the name given to [...]

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Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish all of the readers of Law on the Row a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.  As a result of the holidays, this has been a slow posting week for me.  Rest assured that I will back with something to say next week.  Thanks for supporting my blog.

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Nashville’s Blue Bird Cafe is a songwriting legacy

Amy Kurland’s Blue Bird Cafe on Hillsboro Road in Nashville is the kind of stuff of which fairy tales are made.  Now, Kurland has left the legacy in the hands of Nashville’s best songwriting organization, NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) — a fitting end a dynasty.
The legend of Blue Bird Cafe, which first opened in [...]

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