MUSB 2305 Ch.12 Study Guide

NAME                           DATE

MUSB 2305 CHAPTER 12 STUDY GUIDE

“Representation and Further Advice”

THE PLAIN AND SIMPLE GUIDE TO MUSIC PUBLISHING

by Randall D. Wixen

1. ______  It is often the case that established songwriters and publishers don’t want to afford proper legal representation
2. ______ Experienced counsel will likely take about the same time to do your work
3. ______ Inexperienced entertainment counsel will probably not add many “markups” to your agreement
4. ______ The worth of your own services is what ultimately drives and music deal
5. ______ Some attorneys and business managers work on a percentage
6. ______ Attorneys and managers working on a percentage don’t  have an incentive to “front load” the deal
7. ______ If lawyer’s hourly rates went down retroactively the longer a dispute went on, things would drag out even more
8. ______ You can negotiate a “cap” on your legal fees for a job
9. ______ Transactional attorneys specialize in negotiating deals and handling day-to-day commerce

10. ______ Litigation counsel specializes in filing and handling lawsuits and defending against them

11. ______ It’s always advisable to fight someone in court if they file a copyright infringement lawsuit against you for a song that you wrote

12. ______ Infringement suits are common on hit songs

13. ______ “Every suit has a nuisance value settlement”

14. ______ It’s a good idea to listen to unsolicited demos after you’re a successful writer

15. ______ “Substantial similarity” will be only be argued by the plaintiff ‘s musicologist in an infringement lawsuit

16. ______ You should not blindly abdicate responsibility for money and investments to your business manager

17. ______ …there are people who had one hit that are comfortably living out their years in a paid for house in Bel-Air…”

18. ______ Because of the way these contracts are written, auditing their record or publishing company is not a smart move by an artist

19.  ______ Many of the potential payment shortfalls found in a publishing audit may be apparent from the statements themselves

20.  ___ ___ It is easier to make a publishing company audit pay off than a record company audit

MUSB 2305 CH 12 SG P. 2

BRIEF OUTLINE/ESSAY

1. Why hire more expensive, experienced legal counsel?
2. What’s the difference between your accountant to a business manager?
3. Outline the 4 “specific bits of advice” that Wixon lists on p. 142
4. When and why should you audit your record company?
5. When and why should you audit your publishing company?
6. What are 3 good sources for getting more in-depth information on music publishing?