Tag Archive for: music row

written by Jeff Scheese

Law on the Row is making the jump from digital to “old skool” hardcover. Barry Neil Shrum’s article The Magical Ring of Gyges: Why Illegal Downloading is So Rampant in the Age of Cyberspace was selected by author and editor Thomas J. Hickey, responsible for the Taking Sides book series published by McGraw-Hill.  Mr Shrum’s article is set to appear in the next edition of his Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Crime and Criminology . This will be the third edition oclip_image002f Mr. Hickey’s book. The books are set up in a “point/counterpoint” debate structure, and Mr. Shrum’s article will go toe to toe with an article from famed singer Janice Ian on the issue of illegal downloading of intellectual material from the internet.

As we all know, Piracy is becoming more and more of a problem in recent years due to many advances in technology. Shrum’s article takes the side that it is human nature to steal and take the plunder if they know they can get away with it and cites the famous mythological story “The Ring of Gyges” written by Plato. However there are those that know right from wrong and will remain from engaging in the piracy. It is his hope that if people choose to respect others intellectual property by not stealing it then it will encourage others to be creative without the worries of their own works being stolen. It is a very well written article that brings a lot of truth to the issue and really digs down into people’s motivations and discouragements of music piracy. Ian’s article The Internet Debacle – An Alternative View takes the opposing view that all music should be free to download from the internet.  The books thus establishes both positions, allowing the reader to “take sides,” i.e., see both sides of the argument and can then make their own judgment about the issue at hand for themselves.

The publication date is set for October 12, 2012. You can purchase either the hardcover edition or, for those of you with a Kindle, the Kindle edition. Both will be available on Amazon.

 

Jeff_Scheese

Jeff Scheese, a senior at Belmont University which an emphasis in music business, is currently interning with Shrum & Associates.

 

By Jeff Scheese* (with Barry Neil Shrum, Esq.)

Great news for those of you who listen to The Music Row Show on WLAC Nashville! The show features my clients, Scott Southworth and Heino Moeller, who recently announced that starting June 3rd the weekly radio program will make the Photo2leap to WSM, the 86-year-old 650 AM station known fondly as the “Air Castle of the South.” Along with this change on the radio “dial”, the team also announced an agreement with BlueHighways TV (responsible for programs such as American JukeBox Theater and Dry Creek) who plans to film the program and begin airing the show on its cable network in July.

“We can’t even express how excited we are to bring The Music Row Show to WSM and BlueHighways TV!  It’s an honor to be even a small part of WSM’s 86 year history and its musical legacy,” says co-host Southworth. Moeller added, “…to become a member of the BlueHighways TV family and its commitment to celebrating American music, art and culture is more than Scott and I ever imagined when we started the show.”

For those of you unfamiliar with The Music Row Show it is a weekly, two-hour radio show that airs every Sunday. Southworth and Moeller host the program while interviewing guests, listening to performances, and informing viewers on the happenings of the Music Row community. The Music Row Show began airing in November of 2007, and has since gained mass popularity and established an international fan base. This popularity has been attracting an array of guests that include some of the music industry’s most notable decisionmakers and recording artists, including legends Dolly Parton and Vince Gill.

WSM, the Air Castle of the South, has a rich history. It is known worldwide as a leader in the country radio genre. Its first program, WSM Barn Dance, began airing in 1925. The Barn Dance was a weekly Saturday night program at the Grand Ole Opry, WSM has been credited with shaping Nashville into the recording industry capital it is today. The stations’ historic, massive antenna, located in the suburb of Brentwood, gives it one of the largest footprints in the country. This extensive reach gave WSM a massive audience, giving many musicalPhoto1 acts from around the country incentive to come to Nashville in hopes of getting their performances played on the legendary station. The term “Music City USA” was coined by one of the stations disc jockeys, David Cobb, and since then the name has been adopted as Nashville’s unofficial nickname.

BlueHighways, based in Hendersonville, Tennessee, was started by Stan Hitchcock in 2009. It is an independent network celebrating original American roots music, culture, and events. Hitchcock is no stranger to running successful networks, as he founded Country Music Television (CMT) in 1984. BlueHighways, Hitchcock’s 3rd such venture, features shows such as Cooking Outdoors, Mule Training, Your Home Studio, and a slew of music programming. It’s goal is to offer a window into the experiences, music, neighborhoods, art, festivals and celebrations that define America’s vast culture as well as character.

Tom English, the General Manager for 650 AM WSM expressed his excitement for the duo to join his station:

Scott and Heino have done an amazing job building such a loyal international fan base for The Music Row Show. We are very proud to now bring the duo to our legendary airwaves and introduce this video version of the show exclusively on BlueHighways TV.”

Stan Hitchcock, Chairman and CEO of BlueHighways TV is also eager for the two to get started:

Our viewers will love this video version of Scott and Heino’s The Music Row Show. Their entertaining delivery and keen knowledge of the music industry will connect with the BlueHighways TV audience. We are also pleased to partner with WSM, as it brings strong credentials to our television version of this popular radio program.”

In reference to the deal, Scott and Heino added:

Barry Shrum has been instrumental in navigating us through the completely new waters as far as television negotiations. Not only did he go through the contract line by line with us (translating to english), he also helped us change some of the sections to take into account upcoming technology for future protection. There is no "Fear Factor" as we take The Music Row Show to a new medium with Barry in our corner!

Catch The Music Row Show on Sunday evenings on 650 AM WSM from 7-9 PM CT starting June 3.

Jeff_Scheese

 

*Hey folks, Jeff Scheese here just wanted to introduce myself. I’m currently enjoying the summer in Nashville before my Senior year at Belmont University. I’m a Music Business major currently and loving the realm of opportunities the city of Nashville offers. Upon graduation I plan on attending Vanderbilt’s Law School to further my education on the legal side of the music business. My ultimate goal is to become a lawyer in the music industry, mainly on the litigation side of things. I’m currently interning with Barry Neil Shrum, Entertainment Attorney, at his location in downtown Nashville. I’m learning a lot about the industry and enjoying my experience so far. Look forward to more pieces from me in the future.

Source:

Harr, Dan. “The Music Row Show Finds New Home on 650 AM WSM & BlueHighways TV”. MusicNewsNashville.com. May 16, 2012. http://www.musicnewsnashville.com/the-music-row-show-finds-new-home-on-650-am-wsm-bluehighways-tv

Clarence Spalding

Rascal Flatts is arguably one of the most successful bands in recent history, selling more than 20 million albums as the headline act on Disney’s Lyric Street Records until that label succumbed to the effects of illegal digital downloading that has a stranglehold on the music industry.  When that happened, the band moved to the wildly successful label that the Swift family and Scott Borchetta built, i.e., Big Machine Records.  Now, Flatts is making another significant move.  Just a few short weeks ago, they parted ways with the management company that took them to the top, Turner Nichols & Associates.  Now, they have inked a deal with Clarence Spalding and his firm, Spalding Entertainment, for personal management.  Spalding is, perhaps, a bigger icon in the industry than Rascal Flatts, as he begin managing the career of Brooks & Dunn in 1991 and continued during their heyday.  He continues to manage the post-B&D solo career of Ronnie Dunn, as well as the musical careers of Jason Aldean, Terri Clark, Pat Green, and Ashley Monroe.  Spalding serves on the board of the Country Music Association,  the Academy of Country Music, Vanderbilt’s Bill Wilkerson Center, and is a member of NARAS.  He received CMA’s President’s Award in 2009 for his service at the helm of that organization.  In an article by Peter Cronin for American Chronicle, Mike Dungan, President and CEO of Capitol Records Nashville said that Spalding was “at the top of his game.”  Dungan described him as a “people person,” and as a “very bright guy who has a firm grip on all aspects of our industry.”

imageBelmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business will honor the International Entertainment Buyers Association and one of its founders Harry “Hap” Peebles with the 2011 Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence.

Established in memory of program founder Bob Mulloy,the annual Award of Excellence recognizes an individual or organization that has achieved a level of excellence in the music business and entertainment industries with notable service to Belmont University and the Nashville community. Previous recipients include last year’s recipient, Vince Gill, and Donna Hilley, who was the first recipient in 2009.

Harry Peebles, or “Hap” as his friends called him, was one of  a founders of both IEBA, originally known as the International Country Music Buyers Association, as well as the Country Music Association.  Peebles started booking artists when he was 18 years of age.  He served the country industry over 60 years, working with Barbara Mandrell when she was only 11 years old.  As Ms. Mandrell says, he was “country when country wasn’t cool!”  In the formative days of country music, Hap booked some of the early favorites among country music performers into fairs and festivals, including such well known legends as Tex Ritter, Red Foley, Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, the Wilburn Brothers, Roy Acuff and many others.  Hap has been nominated for the Country Music Hall of Fame and inducted into the Hall of Fame in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota, as well as named “Fairman of the Year” in several states.image Through his involvement with the industry, Hap is credited with giving big breaks to such stars as Johnny Cash, Roy Clark, Loretta Lynn, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Price and Johnny Horton, just to name a few.

The International Entertainment Buyers Association was formed by Hap and Hubert Long in 1970 as a non-profit trade organization for talent buyers, promoters, agents, managers and artists.  Hap and Hubert were two among a growing list of country music promoters – Hap in Wichita, Kansas and Hubert in Texas – that included the likes of Abe Hamza, Don Romeo, George Moffett and Smokey Smith – men who knew one another but rarely communicated their needs or struggles to each other.  Peebles and Long felt that the country music talent buyers needed some means of formal communication between the talent buyers, as well as a voice in the fair and festival industry, which didn’t see the potential of adding country music entertainers to the roster of the larger state fairs and therefore relegated country music to the smaller county and city fairs.

“The first meeting I knew anything about was held in Hubert Long’s office in Nashville,” says Wilson Sparks, who managed the Mid-South Fair in Memphis.

We met and talked about an organization for people who buy and sell  country music. I guess that was in 1970. I think we talked about it for six months or more before it ever got off the ground.

Don Romeo, whose Omaha-based agency bought a number of country music acts for fairs in the Midwest at the time, remembers that the other country music buyers were concerned then with many of the same problems that are being addressed today:

Hubert Long and Hap . . . were very concerned that the cost of talent was getting out of line, and they wanted a stronger voice in the industry.  By having a buyers’ association to get together to discuss these issues with the agents and the acts, they felt we would be able to get a fairer price and would be able to make our concerns known.

Johnny Matson, who worked with Hap at the time IEBA was formed, remembers that Hap’s primary consideration was a little bit of buying power for small producers.

At that time, the big agencies had the buying power, and the smaller agencies didn’t have the respect that we have now. As far as fairs were concerned, we usually got Sundays; the big agencies got the choice dates.  There would be one night where country music was featured.  I think that a few fellows who booked fairs and one-nighters saw a need for an organization where they could share ideas about what was going on within the country music industry.

Smokey Smith, another talent buyer based in Des Moines, recalled:

I think Hap’s idea was that we needed an organization of the people who were buying country music who could go to the managers and talent agencies and say, “Look, we need a better price on this talent—what if two or three of us go together and offer you a string of dates, could we get a lower price?”

Long died an untimely death shortly after ICMBA was formed, and it was Hap that took up the slack as a major force in its formation.  He served as president of ICMBA for six years and was chairman of the board for the organization for nearly twenty years.   By the time it celebrated its 10th Anniversary, the organization had grown from its humble beginning to include almost 300 members.  Peeples dies in 1993 at the age of 80.  In 1995, IEBA celebrated its 25th imageAnniversary with honors as Tennnessee Governor Don Sundquist commerated the occasion by proclaiming June 2-5, 1995 as “International Entertainment Buyers Association Week.”

Tiffany Davis took over the helm as Executive Director in 2008.  Commenting on the Mulloy Award of Excellence, Davis said:

IEBA is very proud to be recognized by Belmont. Our founder, Harry Peebles, left a great legacy in the talent buying community, inspiring many leaders like Don Romeo, George Moffett and JP Williams. IEBA is thrilled to help students through these scholarships while also honoring four great pioneers of the entertainment industry.

IEBA established the IEBA Scholarship Endowments Fund in 1991 in honor of Peeples.  Since IEBA has established three additional endowed scholarships for Belmont students in honor of Don Romeo, J.P. Williams, and George Moffett. Collectively the endowments represent over $300,000 in investments.

IEBA celebrated it’s 40th anniversary in 2010.  Currently IEBA has well over 800 members. The organization’s annual conference, attended last year by well over 500 people, stands alone in the entertainment industry by showcasing the most diverse entertainment options available while striving to be the go-to organization for the entertainment community by offering continuing education and networking opportunities to its members.

The presentation will take place at the Mike Curb College of Music Business’ Best of the Best showcase, March 26, 2011, 7 p.m., at Belmont’s Curb Event Center.


100 different cards

What songwriters can do to protect their ideas when submitting demo tapes to publishers

Every songwriter has heard the words “sorry, we’re not accepting unsolicited material” from at least a dozen publishers. In fact, in a recent informal survey conducted by Law On the Row, two-thirds of the thirty publishing companies contacted indicated that they do not accept unsolicited material. Additionally, the survey revealed that none of the “major” publishers accept unsolicited material.

As unfortunate as this information is for the aspiring songwriter, it is a good business model for the publisher because it avoids idle submission claims — the theory that a publisher “stole” an idea from a songwriter’s demo tape and used it to write another song based on the same idea or concept. This genre of litigation is also prevalent in Hollywood, where movie ideas are stolen almost as often as hooks in Nashville. Is there anything a songwriter can do to protect his or her material when submitting it to a publisher? The answer, of course, is yes.

Register the copyright. While the $30 fee is sometimes a burden on the struggling songwriter’s budget, registration of the copyright is a beneficial and necessary first step in the process of protecting a copyright. Even though the copyright effectively exists from the moment a song is created, registering the copyright empowers the writer to collect statutory damages (i.e. proof of actual damages is not necessary) and attorney’s fees in a submission claim.

Keep good records of all submissions. The first element a songwriter must show in an idea submission claim is access by the defendant publisher (hence the reason many publishers do not accept unsolicited material). You can establish access by maintaining accurate business records of communications and submissions. (The second element, substantial similarity, is a more subjective determination which must be proven by expert testimony).

Establish a relationship with a reputable publisher. By establishing a good, working relationship with a reputable publisher, you minimize your risks and increase your chance of success as a songwriter. Of course, this is the “catch 22”: how to establish a relationship with a publisher without submitting material.Exposure, exposure, and more exposure. Play or have your material played at every opportunity you can — showcases, writer’s nights, gigs, etc. Don’t play your best material — play your “B” songs, i.e, those that are good but don’t necessarily “knock your socks off.” This is not to imply that every audience is full of infringers waiting to take your hook into the studio and “steal your song,” but the fact is that the typical Nashville audience is probably full of other songwriters whose subconscious minds might “soak up” your idea and regurgitate it in the form of a new song incorporating your idea.

Hire a reputable song-plugger. Nashville has a generous supply of good song-pluggers — people who pitch your songs to major labels for a fee, usually $150-300 per month. Find one with a good reputation and hire him or her. Remember to have all agreements reviewed by an entertainment attorney.Join NSAI. Nashville Songwriters Association International is a good organization with services that will assist you in developing as a songwriter and reaching reputable publishers.

Of course, none of these suggestions will guarantee that your submitted material will not be used illegally by a publisher or songwriter. If you feel you have been the subject of blatant theft of intellectual property, contact a reputable attorney.

This article originally appeared in the print edition of Law on the Row, Volume 1, Issue 1, on September 9, 1999.

Beginning this Saturday, Feb. 14, legendary radio station 650 AM WSM will move its acclaimed Bluegrass Underground series to a new time slot. The program will now broadcast on WSM every Saturday night from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. CST and stream worldwide at www.WSMonline.com.

WSM A performance by Nashville bluegrass band, The Steeldrivers, will be featured on the first show broadcast at the new time slot.

“Having Bluegrass Underground as a part of the weekly WSM broadcast schedule enhances the diversity of our programming, which no other Nashville radio station can stake claim to,” says WSM program director Joe Limardi.

It is the perfect lead-in to our ‘crown jewel’ of programming, the Saturday Night WSM Grand Ole Opry.”

WSM’s first official broadcast day was October 5, 1925. The Nashville-based station is the radio home for the Grand Ole Opry, which has been broadcast live over the airwaves on WSM since its inception.  The 50,000 watt, low frequency station can be picked up in 38 states on 650 AM and heard worldwide at www.WSMonline.com.

Bluegrass Underground Each Bluegrass Underground show is taped live in the Volcano Room, a naturally formed amphitheater located 333 feet below ground at Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, Tennessee. Since it began in August 2008, the show has featured performances by The Infamous Stringdusters, Tim O’Brien, The Steeldrivers, The Grascals and Cadillac Sky

“WSM is synonymous with the original American music form called bluegrass, and Cumberland Caverns is one of the world’s most unique show caves,” says Bluegrass Underground creator and producer Todd Mayo. “We are proud to broadcast our show from such a magical location as The Volcano Room, and we think our new time slot on legendary 650 WSM provides a great platform for this genre, particularly on the station that’s always been a friend to bluegrass music.”

The unique venue also has surprisingly pleasant acoustics, according to Bluegrass Underground recording engineer Phil Harris. “The sound in here is phenomenal,” he says. “It has a really nice, warm sound, unlike a lot of other man-made things that you encounter. The room is fantastic!”

Upcoming performers scheduled to be on the show include The Travelin’ McCourys with Ronnie Bowman (Mar. 14), Steep Canyon Rangers [April 18] and CherryHolmes [June 27].

Visit Bluegrass Underground for tickets and more information.