In 2006, my client, We the People, LLC, (“We the People”) was just a sparkle in the eyes of Jim Corrigan and Michael Elly, fueled by a desire to bring back the sounds, energy and emotions of the folk music era of the 60’s and 70’s. Over the years, as they say, one thing led […]
NBC Universal recently hired a company called Envisional to study counterfeiting activity over the Internet. The results of this study – despite the fact that it is industry funded – are literally astonishing: 24% of all global Internet traffic involves digital theft! Stated another way, one in every four people surfing the Internet are stealing […]
Origins of an Idea–Nothing New Under the Sun?
It was allegedly King Solomon who declared “there is nothing new under the sun!” Now a recent strain of thought seeks to recast King Solomon’s casual observation in order to challenge the basis of U.S. copyright laws, i.e., original ideas. This line of reasoning is perhaps best exemplified in the popular cult film by Brett […]
featured on ABC’s The Shark Tank
Since before the day that Napster was a twinkle in Sean Parker’s eye – well over a decade ago now – the legal and music industries have each struggled with ways to cope with and transform their dusty old business models from the physical status quo to the digital revolution.
My friend and client, Dr. Jimmy Eugene Pollard, performed a sampling of his music in front of a sold-out crowd, performing as the opening act for Gary Allan’s immensely successful Get Off On the Pain tour. The Pavillion at the Coushatta Casino Resort welcomed over 4000 people for the February 19th event. Allan’s tour has […]
By Nathan Drake & Barry Neil Shrum Warner Music Group’s (“WMG”) year-end financial reports for 2010 came as little surprise when you take into account two factors: (1) the general economic downturn in the U.S. and (2) the continued piracy in the global music industry. See the report on WMG’s website here. WMG has been […]
by Ross Hill & Barry Shrum The new formula for the music industry, as described by Techdirt’s Mike Masnick, is “CwF + RtB = $$$$,”5 which, translated means “connect with fans,” and give them a “reason to buy,” which in turn translates to sales! Masnick’s presentation at MIDEM09 was geared towards this new business model […]
I have to put a plug in for my brother, C. Kim Shrum, whose collaboration with the artist, Lance Songs, Baby Be My Valentine was released this week on iTunes. You can check out the production here. My brother has been writing songs as long as I can remember, and is one of the reasons […]
In response to concerns in the fashion industry, a bill originally introduced by Senators Schumer and Senator Clinton in 2006 has been revised and reintroduced to the new Congress as Senate Bill 3728. The new bill would amend Title 17 of the Copyright Act of 1976 of the United States Code to include copyright protection for “fashion design.” If it passes, this would represent the first addition of a new protected class of copyrighted works since Congress passed the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act in 1989