This week sees the return of Face The Music, two jam-packed days of panel sessions, keynote presentations, networking opportunities, workshops, and master classes, bringing together the best of Australia’s music industry.
From keynotes on DIY culture, to panels discussing and dissecting music journalism, independent record labels, gender equality, the future of vinyl and everything in-between it’s definitely set to be an enlightening experience for musicians, fans and industry folk alike.
One panel we’re getting excited about is ‘Better Get A Lawyer Son’ a ‘Legals 101’ panel featuring some of Australia’s sharpest music legal minds. They will pull apart some of the legal topics that have served as endless clickbait for the media this year, from royalty rows to illegal download cases, and give some invaluable legal tips.
Ahead of the panel we asked some of the crew to share with us some important insights and advice every muso and industry person should know. Check it out below and if you want to know more pop by www.facethemusic.org.au for more info.
Ask!
Darren Sanicki, GI & Sanicki Lawyers: “Best general advice I can give is don’t be scared to ask for advice!”
Copyright Law Basics Are Important
Jennifer Tutty LL.B, Studio Legal: “If you’re writing music (especially with others), you need to have a grasp on some copyright law basics in particularly that each song you write will have two separate copyrights, the ‘sound recording’ and the ‘musical work’. When you sign a record deal, the label will own or licence the rights to exploit the ‘sound recording’ copyright and the publisher will take care of your ‘musical work’ copyrights.”
Sort Out Your ‘Splits’
Jennifer Tutty LL.B: “If you are working with other people, it’s vital to agree on ‘splits’ for both copyrights during the writing and recording process. ‘Splits’ is an industry term referring to a percentage of copyright a musician will legally own in a ‘sound recording’ or ‘musical work’. Always make sure the splits are agreed in writing and ideally signed off by all co-owners to avoid ownership disputes down the track.”
Agree On Payment
Jennifer Tutty LL.B: “If you invite a session musician to perform on one of your recordings, make sure there is an agreement confirming what they are getting paid and that on receiving payment, they will ‘transfer’ over to you or the band, ownership of any copyright they may have acquired in their performance. Whenever you make an agreement with co-writers, band members or other performers, make sure your agreement is in writing.”
Keep Contracts Simple
Jennifer Tutty LL.B: “Contracts don’t need to be complex – they can be as simple as an email of dot-point terms that you’ve all agreed to, with an acknowledgement by reply email that all parties agree. Or you can speak to a music lawyer and get some basic collaboration agreement templates drafted up.”
Hobby Or A Job?
Brett Oaten, Brett Oaten Solicitors: “The first thing you need to work about about your musical endeavours is whether it’s a hobby or something you want to do as a career. If it’s a hobby, you can ignore all the legal stuff and do whatever you like, because you’re just having fun.”
If It’s A Career…
Brett Oaten: “If it’s a career, then you should treat it like a business so you can get from it what you should and need to get from it, and lower the chances that you will have to do something with your life that you don’t want to do.
That means working out what your arrangements with people are. It means working out how you divide the money from your shows and from your songwriting even if that’s a discussion you’d rather avoid. It means working out how your band makes decisions and aligning yourself with people who share your goals and values, to help you get where you want to go.”
For more info on music and law, check out the Face The Music panel Better Get A Lawyer, Son on Friday the 13th November info here.
