The Next Big Hit : Protecting and Exploiting (In a Good Way) Your Musician-Client's Intellectual Property

South Carolina has produced or been home to numerous nationally and internationally known recording artists and songwriters including Dizzy Gillespie, James Brown, Chubby Checker, Eartha Kitt, Maurice Williams (of the Zodiacs) and, more recently, Hootie and the Blowfish, the Marshall Tucker Band, Edwin McCain, Jump Little Children, Cravin’ Melon, Quiana Parler and Danielle Howle. Like all aspiring artists, each of these acts had to start the rise to fame somewhere.

For the singer/songwriter, the rise to stardom typically begins with dreaming up lyrics and an accompanying melody. The artist then captures those two components on something as simple as a napkin or the insert of a matchbook to something as modern as a laptop or smart phone application. One way or the other, once those original lyrics and/melody have been “fixed” by the songwriter in “any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device,”[i] that songwriter has created a potentially valuable piece of property. That property is federally protected and may, in the future, generate numerous streams of income.

What happens when that next great singer/songwriter (for purposes of this article, “Felicia Silverfolk”) arrives at your office with a sheet of paper in one hand covered with lyrics, chords and melodies representing potentially the next blockbuster song and a thumb drive in the other hand containing a recording she made of herself singing the song? She begins asking you for broad advice as to what she owns, how she can profit from what she owns and where she goes from here as a musician. This article addresses these often complex questions and provides guidance as to when a general practitioner should perhaps seek assistance from a lawyer whose practice centers around such issues.

 

[i] 17 U.S.C. § 102(a) (2012).

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The Next Big Hit : Protecting and Exploiting (In a Good Way) Your Musician-Client's Intellectual Property
Speaker Information
Williams Bee Ravenel Lewis
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South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on CLE & Specialization
Mandatory Continuing Legal Education: 1.00
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