Dubstep

Dubstep is a vastly growing trend in the music industry in the United States.  Originating in the U.K. dubstep is defined by allmusic.com as “a genre of electronic dance music” said to be “tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals.”  This electronic, computerized sound started showing up in the middle of hits from artist such as Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Flo-Rida, Kanye West, Jay Z and many more.

Press Kits

A press kit is a collection of materials that helps promote a person and their work to the media or their agent.  This material can be submitted as a traditional hard copy press kit or as an electronic press kit.  I recently learned about press kits and got the opportunity to create one of my own.  Before I created my press kit, I was given many different resources to help me be creative and organized.  I found it was easier to use Keynote to properly organize everything how I wanted, but before I decided this method I visited powerpresskit.com. 

Expert Blog

http://feeds.feedburner.com/LNPatentLawCenterPodcast

LexisNexis is a provider that combines information and technology in order to educate professionals in legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting, and academic markets (LexisNexis, 2012).  LexisNexis provides many podcasts in order to share information with its professionals and I recently listened to one on IP laws.  On this episode, Walter Palmer and Cristina Pinheiro, talk about the developments of IP laws in Brazil in 2010.  They focused on Trademark, Copyright, and Patent laws, and how they have changed over the years, and how they hope to change in the future.  There was something very interesting to me about music copyrights in Brazil.  Palmer talked about how it is illegal in Brazil to buy a CD from the store, take it home, burn it on your computer, and then make a copy to a blank CD.  Something else very interesting about this podcast was the discussion that took place about Law No. 9.610.  This Law on Copyright was originated in 1988, but was not official until February 19, 1998.  It took the government ten years to come to an agreement on what copyright laws and punishments needed to be in the Law.  Brazil still has a lot of work to do in order to finalize the IP laws to something everyone is satisfied with.  They are hosting the 2016 Olympics and are trying to finalize most of these laws before this event.

Industry Liabilities

When dealing with any business, it is important to become knowledgeable about the different intellectual property issues that can affect your business.  In the entertainment industry, these things happen everyday, so it is important to protect yourself and to make sure you research others in the industry as well.  This will help you avoid infringing on others belongings and having to deal with a lawsuit.  While researching the entertainment industry on legal controversies, I found three lawsuits that taught me valuable lessons, and made me aware that paying attention to small details can help prevent me from infringing upon others.

In March of 2012, Power Rangers owners sued Michael Alen, the owner of “Power Hoodiez,” for infringing its copyright and trademarks (Gardner, 2012).  SCG Power Ranger LLC sued Alen over lookalike-hooded sweatshirts that had similar design and symmetry to its owned intellectual property (Gardner, 2012).  The hoodies have been displayed on many websites, are being sold for $85, and SGC says that Alen “never got permission to use Power Rangers IP in connection with the sweatshirts” (Gardner, 2012).  SCG also feels that the hoodies have formed confusion in the marketplace and that Alen should be punished (Gardner, 2012).  The clothing is not the item protected by copyright; it is “any pictorial graphic, or sculptural authorship that can be identified separately from the utilitarian aspects of an object” (Gardner, 2012).  This lawsuit shows me that research and permission must be done before releasing a product to the public.  If Alen would have asked permission from SCG, he might have been able to sell his product with no problem.  It seems to me that SCG was more upset that Alen felt he could just release a product, with a pattern that they made recognizable, and was not even asked permission for using it.  With a lot of designs, artists take a lot of time and effort to make something that is hopefully so recognizable, that the moment you see it your think of one product.  When I first saw the hoodies, I thought Power Rangers.  You can like a TV show, like a design, but you can’t take someone’s trademarked design and make a profit off of it, without permission.

Derek Womack

Derek Womack is a singer, songwriter, producer, and musician who has had a passion for music since he was a little boy.  Passion might be an understatement, as the art of performing has become his lifestyle; a lifestyle that defines who he is and who he wants to be.

Born and raised in Tampa, FL, Derek started performing at the young age of three in his living room.  As most music artists, Derek loved Michael Jackson and at age three he was able to watch his tour and reenact the entire performance for his family and friends.  This is just the beginning of what you would see from this talented performer.  By age 14, Derek was writing his own songs, playing the bass, drums, and singing back up for his mother Belinda Womack.  He had a desire to share his talents with anyone who would listen.

Tiffany Deriveau

Tiffany Deriveau has a gift.  A natural performer at heart, Tiffany is not only a talented singer but she is also an actress, musician, and a songwriter you can’t take your eyes off of.

Tiffany is not new to the entertainment industry.  Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario Canada, Tiffany’s first gig was at the age of 14 in a local legion hall.  At 14 years old parties and hanging out were not her priority, all she wanted to do was perform.  Since she was under age, her and her mother had to convince the legion that she was 19 and with her mother’s accompaniment, she would make $50 a night every weekend.  This was only the start of great things to come.

Annie DeVaux

Annie DeVaux is a performer and Production Sales Representative for Event Show Productions.  Event Show Productions is a corporate entertainment company that provides creative and technical services for corporations across the globe.  Annie has been performing for the company for eight years and recently has taken on the responsibility of putting together proposals for clients, who are looking for entertainment and production ideas at their next conference, party, and many other corporate events.  I got a chance to sit down with Annie and ask her a couple of questions regarding negotiating.

In the entertainment business, you have dealt with a lot of clients as a performer.  Now that you are proposing ideas to these clients and you know how some of them operate, how do you separate the people from the problem?

I always tell the client that it is going to work out.  Telling them that it is going to work out calms them down before we even get started.  I try to make them feel a part of the solution.  I do not give them multiple options.  I give them one option, and then get their feedback.  If they do not like the first option, then I give them another one.