Interview with Entertainment Attorney Ben McLane

I had the pleasure of interviewing Attorney Ben McLane about his experience and thoughts on the music industry. Over the years Attorney McLane has advised many people on the complex aspects of artist management, music publishing, administration, music licensing and other areas of the music business. 
Attorney McLane earned his undergraduate degree at Kansas State University. He also completed his law degree at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, CA. Attorney McLane has a long list of experiences in the music industry with legal and business affairs at record labels, and has worked with artist managers. These opportunities were just a stepping-stone for Attorney McLane and his success. As of today, Attorney McLane and his partner Venice Wong run a well-known entertainment law firm in California called McLane & Wong Entertainment Law. He is licensed to practice law before all courts in the state of California. He has over 75 published articles on the music business and several other impressive accolades in the music industry. After contacting Attorney McLane, he was more then willing to do an interview with me.

In speaking with Attorney McLane, he expressed that he grew up loving music and decided to work on the business end because he did not have talent. His goal was to help other artists succeed and make it in the industry. I became very fascinated by how humble and excited he was about the careers of the artists he works with. He expressed some of the liabilities that he encountered in the music business. He also discussed copyright infringement, management and just his thoughts and opinions on making it in this industry. I posed a few questions about the industry to him. Here are the results of our discussion:

Me:

What constitutes copyright infringement?

Attorney McLane

Copyright infringement is when you are ripping off or using someone “else” s”ong without their permission!

Me:

What do you recommend first time artists need to know?

Attorney McLane:

My best recommendation for a first time artist is to understand and master your craft, because if you do not put out good songs there is no real career there. Also pay attention to every detail!

Me:

What kind of music deals should artists look for?

Attorney McLane

The best deal an artist should look for is something with the shortest term with best pay!

Me:

What are your requirements to take on a new client?

Attorney McLane

My requirements are not too much! I just hope that they can pay for legal services and hopefully there is some form of talent there.

Me:

What are your fees for services?

Attorney McLane

 My fees vary case by case but I try to work with my clients so that they get the best results for their career.

Me:

What are good ways for artists to get financing for projects?

Attorney McLane

I feel the best way for anyone coming in the industry is to invest in yourself. Try getting funds from your fans, friends, family, church and other areas. Your career will only be what you put in it.

Me:

When going over details for an endorsement deal, what should an artist watch out for?

Attorney McLane

The main thing to watch out for when looking over endorsement contracts is the restrictions on endorsing other products.

Me:

Do you think it is best for an artist to stay independent or sign a deal with a big record label?

Attorney McLane

It varies case by case! It all depends on what the artist’s expectations are and what their goals are for their career.

Me:

What is IP? Is that important in the industry? What is the best way to protect IP in the music industry?

Attorney McLean:

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. It is very important to understand the different forms of IP and the best ways to protect them are to register and use them.

Overall Attorney McLane gave some great advice for future artists and their careers. He also stated that he is always on a mission to find the next best talent. If you would like to know more about Attorney McLane or utilize his services, you can go to his websites below.

benmclane.com

myspace.com/benmclane

facebook.com/benmclane

twitter.com/benmclane (follow him on twitter for free music law updates)

linkedin.com/in/benmclane

benmclane.blogspot.com

Industry Liabilities in the Music Industry (3 Cases)

Napster vs. RIAA

This case is an ongoing controversy on the Web. Napster is a company that allows people to find music by connecting them to the computers of millions of other users. It is the easiet way to find the MP3s they want, whenever they want, and share them with others. With all the people who support Napster, there are just as many that want to see it shut down. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is suing Napster for copyright infringement. RIAA found that 87 percent of the songs transferred through Napster are copyrighted. Musicians such as Dr. Dre and Metallica also sued Napster and now anyone who tries downloading their music will be banned. Napster has been banned on campus servers at 40 percent of the nation's colleges and universities. Copyrighted material being transferred through Napster has also upset several labels. Major labels, such as Warner Music Group, BMG Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Sony Music have sued Napster. They already won one partial victory in the suit, when federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel rejected Napster's first attempt to have the case dismissed. Now companies in the industry wants more! They were asking the judge for a preliminary restriction against the company, to stop a huge volume of recorded material from being swapped through Napster while the suit goes to trial. Napster allows its users to trade MP3-format music files over the Web, which violates music industry copyrights and robs artists of royalties for the reproductions, according to the RIAA. Napster says it is protected under the fair use doctrine, similar to the use of videotape recorders. Another argument is that Napster is used to preview music, so the musicians who aren’t heard on the radio and all the music channels have a chance to be heard. Are these points good enough to sway the opinions of the people suing Napster?  I’m not supporting either side, I’m simply providing you with some information and you can make your own decision. If you would like to know more about this case the link is below

Source:

Napster Case. E-Business Ethic. Retrieved June 4^th, 2011, from http://www.e-businessethics.com/napster.htm

Warner Brother Music Group vs. YouTube

This was a very interesting case that really help me to understand how copyrighting is very important in this industry. In this case Warner Brother has told YouTube that they do not want any of there music on this website. Warner Brothers stated, that their artist were losing money because videos that are on this site, are being played and they are not getting money for them. With that issue at hand YouTube was ask to take down all videos that were connect with their label! Now Warner Brothers have several different subsidiary labels under them like, Atlantic Records, Bad Boy Records, Elektra Records and much more. Also under these labels are several artists and with this being a large company, it would take years to take down every video that was posted on YouTube.  Overall this case was a result of a breakdown in negotiations between Google and the music label over a licensing deal.  Warner Brothers and YouTube were trying to negotiate the renewing of the licensing but there was no common ground. I feel personally that both parties could have worked this out especially since Warner Brothers is the 3^rd largest label and YouTube is the most known company for videos. If you would like to know more about this case please click on the link below.

Source:

Warner Brothers Pulls All Videos from YouTube. Cnet News. Retrieved June 4^th, 2011, from http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10127666-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

Eight-Mile Style LLC. Vs Audi

I really enjoyed reviewing this case and it had some good information about using music that was not authorized. According to billboard.biz, artist Eminem and his publishing company Eight Mile Style LLC, is suing Audi for there commercial for the new 2012 Audi A6 Avant. It was stated that they used his song “Lose Yourself’ as the background music. So lets check out the commercial bellow!

According to Eminem publishing company they already allowed Chrysler to use the song “Lose Yourself” for the Imported from Detroit campaign during the super bowl. As of now the issue is that there were some copyrighting violations and also Chrysler is upset that there personal idea and branding for their commercial was stolen by Audi.  Eight Mile Style filed a law suite in court in Germany for the use of the music. As of now they are not sure what actions Chrysler will take with Audi. The commercial however has not been aired in America yet. The plan is to file a cease-and-desist order to stop the commercial from being aired or supplying payment for use of material. I have also attached the video, Imported from Detroit campaign through Chrysler. I honestly believe that there was some type of copyrighting infringement going on with this case and that Eminem’s publishing company and Chrysler will have a good case. If you would like to know more about this case you can click below.

Source:

O’Leary, N. (June 03, 2011). Eminem’s Publishing Files Lawsuit Against Audi’s Chrysler like Ad. Billboard.biz. Retrieved June 4^th, 2011, from http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/legal-and-management/eminem-s-publisher-files-lawsuit-against-1005215172.story