Where’s My Money?
There is a buzz in the music
industry when it comes to downloaded music and the artists of the music being
downloaded are attempting to collect monies they feel are due. In a recent lawsuit brought about by the late
70’s R&B group Sister Sledge, the family act claims Warner Music Group is
miscalculating their royalties.
According to several lawsuits of the same nature, the record labels
supplied contracts in which the artists would be granted royalties for record
“sales” and “licensing” of their music. Although
the licensing percentage tends to be higher than the royalty “sales”
percentage, it’s still a considerable stream of income based on the
artist.
Watch What You Say and Read!
The film industry is no
stranger to legal battles as well. The
most current lawsuit involves last year’s movie, “Midnight in Paris” and a line
taken from William Faulkner’s book, “Requiem For A Nun”. Owen Wilson, the well-known actor and
sidekick to Ben Stiller, plays the main character in the movie. The passage from Faulkner’s book that is
allegedly used without permission reads, “The past is never dead. It’s not even
past.”
A Material Girl…You Certainly Are
Madonna is still relevant and
we’re still writing about her regardless, good or bad. On her current tour, Madonna happens to use a
photo of Marlon Brandon during one of her sets.
According to the article, she hasn’t been provided with full permission
to do so. In this case, Madonna walks a
fine line of using an image that has yet to have the commitment of Brando’s
people.
The entertainment industry is
a feeding ground for lawyers and opportunists.
With respects to the Sister Sledge lawsuit, I’m in full support of the
artist getting the money that they deserve.
Why are the record companies sweeping royalties due under the rug? Perhaps the labels enjoy flexing their power
and await an abundance of lawsuits that will take a long amount of time before
a decision can be reached. My
recommendation, each artist should be allowed one fully granulated audit each
year they are active with their label.
This type of control will help close the “fees due” gap.
The film industry will
continue to have its share of legal woes as well. I’m not much of a movie fan, however in my
opinion it would appear to be very easy to pin point wrong doings when it comes
to music being used in motion pictures, but rather difficult when it comes to
lines being lifted from books. Why not
have scripts submitted to a platform like “turnitin.com” to help identify
plagiarism?
Live performances are the
bread and butter for most artists. In
their mind, they want to give the best show possible by any means
necessary. It takes time to develop a
stage show and during the rehearsals creativity comes into play. It’s a show, a spectacle, and hopefully
memorable. I believe Madonna was in the
wrong and should pay up. I also believe
she’s very wealthy and a lawsuit like this doesn’t make her think twice at
all. If she doesn’t have a legal aid
traveling with her, it may be a good idea to start.
References
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