The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and the Americana Music Association are elevating their Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program this year by once again welcoming the American Bar Association Forum On Entertainment and Sports Industries to present its excellent annual Nashville Entertainment Law Symposium during the Americana Music Festival and Conference, September 17-21, 2014.  

 

While the CLE program provides attorneys with the ability to obtain 12+ hours of CLE credit during the three-day conference, these panels and workshops are open to all conference registrants and cover the interests and needs of artists, managers, labels, radio stations, publishers, agents, promoters, retailers, legal and business affairs executives, merchandisers and new media professionals. A sampling of panel descriptions is listed below.

 

If you are interested in the business of music, this is a must attend event!  Described by the New York Times as  “a smaller, rootsier version of South by Southwest,” the Americana Music Festival & Conference features 50+ panels, workshops and seminars and more than 175 artist performances making it Nashville’s most comprehensive music education event.

 

Click HERE to register for the Americana Music Festival & Conference.

 

All registrants receive priority admission badge to attend the daytime conference, evening music festival showcases, a ticket to the critically acclaimed Americana Honors & Awards show at the historic Ryman Auditorium and admission to the Avett Brothers on the Riverfront show.

 

A portion of the proceeds from the CLE program will go to benefit the Arts & Business Council’s Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts program which provides free legal advice to low-income artists of all disciplines, as well as emerging arts nonprofits.  With a roster of over 250 generous volunteer lawyers & professionals, this program has provided $1.4 million worth of pro bono services to the creative community since opening 6 years ago.

 

Click HERE to register and support the Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts

 

For more information on the CLE Program and the Americana Music Festival & Conference, please visit our websites listed below.

 

Here is a sampling of this years CLE Certified Panels:

 

Where’s My Money?  Wednesday, September 17, 3:30 to 5:00 PM - It’s closing time and your band is ready to collect their pay.  When you finally locate the manager on duty, not only does he offer you less than the guarantee, but he insists that bands are paid by check, which is mailed weeks later.  From gigs, to album sales, to royalties, musicians face unique challenges when it comes to being compensated for their work.  This panel will examine tales of chasing down money alongside strategies for ensuring timely payment.

Nicolas Beaudoing, Esq., Heart Publications, Nashville, TN

Kent Marcus, Esq., Marcus & Colvin, Nashville, TN

 

Artist Management – Examining the Team of Sturgill Simpson.  Thursday, September 18, 2:00 to 3:00 PM -The artist management panel will share perspectives from the team surrounding Sturgill Simpson, including his attorney, manager and more.  Attorneys will have a unique opportunity for first-hand insight into an artist with a career on the rise, and the role his legal counsel has played in the business planning and strategy to reach these goals.  The discussion will offer a deeper understanding of these relationships, as well as legal considerations in selecting the right team and negotiating their contracts. 

Moderator: 

Ann Powers, NPR, Tuscaloosa, AL

John Strohm, Esq., Loeb & Loeb, Nashville, TN

Marc Dottore, DuBois Artist Management, Nashville, TN

Asha Goodman, Publicist, Sacks & Co, Nashville, TN

Parker Nusbickel, Product Manager, Thirty Tigers, Nashville, TN

 

This panel will explore the ethical considerations and restrictions that obtain when a lawyers' interaction with a client steps over the line from acting as a lawyer to other roles, such as manager, agent or partner with a client.  There are numerous examples of where these issues come up from the common-place circumstance where a lawyer is asked to negotiate a talent contract to the circumstance where a lawyer is doing business with the client. The panel will discuss the relevant rules of professional conduct and also related regulatory schemes, such as talent agency/employment agency licensing.

Richard J. Idell, Esq., Idell & Seitel, LLP, San Francisco, CA 

John Beiter, Shackelford, Zumwalt & Hayes, LLP, Nashville, TN

Kirk Schroder, Esq., Schroder Fidlow, PLC, Richmond, VA

Once upon a time, the primary goal of most artists was to have a major label deal, but the music landscape of today looks extremely different. Independent artists, labels, and publishers comprise an increasingly significant sector of the industry, a trend which is very visible in the area of Americana and roots music. This panel will explore current recording and publishing deals, recent business and legal issues in the indie music scene, and the particular rewards and challenges of being an artist or company of "independent means."

Judy Tint, Esq. Judy Tint, Counselor at Law, New York, NY

Al Bell, Stax Records/Chairman of the Board, Memphis Music Foundation, Memphis, TN 

Michael Milom, Esq., Milom Horsnell Crow Rose Kelley, Nashville, TN

Mike Molinar, Vice President, Big Machine Music Publishing, Nashville, TN 

Stephanie Taylor, Esq., Bone McAllester Norton PLLC, Nashville, TN

 

Reality television and competition based programming continue to rise as a cultural phenomenon. This panel will cover two areas: the key business and legal issues that producers, creators and talent need to know in reality television productions and how competition based programming like "American Idol" and others work and what you need to know before you or your client becomes a contestant. This panel discussion will appeal to both newcomers and veterans in this area.

James G. Zumwalt, Esq., Shackelford, Zumwalt & Hayes, LLP

Sheryl Gold, Esq., Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs, Universal Music Group, Los Angeles, CA

Michael Olsen, eOne Entertainment, Nashville, TN

Kirk T. Schroder, Esq., Schroder Fidlow, PLC, Richmond, VA

Denise Stevens, Esq., Loeb & Loeb, LLP, Nashville, TN

 

This panel will examine the evolution of artists as brands and the building, commercialization and protecting of those brands. Front and center will be the importance and role of social media in breaking artists and connecting artists with their fans. You will learns the ins and outs of brand license agreements, find out how to protect your brand by implementing the right trademark strategy and hear from social media and branding thought leaders who will share success stories and strategies for using social media.

Moderator: 

Leonard Glickman, Esq., Partner, Cassels Brock and Blackwell LLP, Toronto, Canada

Lawrence Antoine, EVP Business Development, Paradigm Talent Agency, Los Angeles, CA

Jeremy Brook, Stites & Harbison PLLC, Nashville, TN

Kevin Grosch, CEO, Made In Network, Nashville, TN

UPDATE ON MUSIC LICENSING 2014: To Perform or Not to Perform: That is the Question! Aereo, Songs, Sound Recordings and Record Labels. Friday, September 19, 3:30 to 5:00 PM  

The Supreme Court held in American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo that the company was liable for publicly performing when it transmitted copyrighted works without permission to paying subscribers. SoundExchange collects $656 million; Global Theatrical Box Office hits $36 billion; ASCAP, BMI and SESAC revenues at $2 billion; Television performances generate big numbers on broadcast and cable television; major publishers withdraw licensing rights from the PROs; new multi-media master recording synch deals; new mechanical rates and configurations in effect; major labels come to view internet concert streaming as competitive and toughen stance on waivers of exclusivity - festival concert promoters take concert streaming rights from performing artists - this is the World of Music in 2014.

 

This panel will discuss the Aereo decision, current deals, negotiations and rate setting mechanisms, both traditional and digital, for songs and sound recordings used on television, motion pictures, apps, video-games, broadcast, satellite and webcasting radio, downloads and physical product sales, musical theatre, dolls, toys and e-cards, will explore trends in obtaining consents for streamed performances by recording artists and more.

Henry W. Root,  Esq., Partner, Lapidus, Root & Sacharow, LLP, Santa Monica, CA

Jeffrey Brabec, Esq., Vice President, Business Affairs, BMG Chrysalis, Co-Author “Music Money and Success,” Beverly Hills, CA

Todd Brabec, Esq., former ASCAP Executive Vice President, Co-Author “Music Money and Success,” Los Angeles, CA

JD Connell, Esq., Vice President & Counsel, New Media, SESAC, Nashville, TN

Megan Joyce, Esq., Vice President, Head of Business & Legal Affairs, Warner Music, Nashville, TN