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Music Business: The new "songwritersoulkitchen.com"

Derrick Black

Director, Songwriter's Soul Kitchen

After producing over 20 Soul Kitchen weekends and inspiring thousands of artists and lovers of pure music, the Soul Kitchen is no longer a few local artists hanging out, but a true, vibrant international community. Now, we deserve to have a unique internet home..Then and Now...Vinx and I always envisioned the Soul Kitchen as a catalyst for artist connections and interactions...a true community for artists, created by artists....one without the boundaries or limitations of the "industry". We hoped to spur an opportunity to bring a diverse group of artists and provide resources and information to help them further their individual music goals and pursuits. The Soul Kitchen workshops and retreats has been successfull in connecting the dots...but we never wanted the workshop and weekends to end there...but become the genesis for joining a larger community of artists of like goals . Had it not been for your weekend at the Soul Kitchen, many of you would have never met and connected. Since the Soul Kitchen, many of you have gone onto write, produce, and perform together.But you gotta know what we know...there are literally thousands of other artists, listeners, and business people from across the nation and the world who have experienced what you experienced at your Soul Kitchen. So with that, we have designed this new website to continue the Soul Kitchen way beyond a weekend, embracing our theme of "everyone is a teacher and everyone is a student".What to Look Forward To...We are bringing together our entire network of artists, writers, producers, promoters, lawyers, busienss people and admirers of the Soul Kitchen to this social networking community. We will celebrate our successes and challenge our huddles so that independent music is not ignored. So you can look forward to regular Blogs and Features on:Artists ProfilesThe Music BusinessLegal MattersContribute to the Cause...No doubt this site is all a family effort. Already, the response has been incredibly supportive with many SK family members eager to contribute. Just like everyone cooking and cleaning around our evening meals at the Soul Kitchen Retreats. Many of you have asked how you can help with the keep the Soul Kitchen "cookin". Share your artistry, insight, and exprience with us...we're all in the same boat, so let's get their together. You know me, I'ma hit u up and ask for you anyway.Enjoy the view!Peace & Life,D.Black!

Legal JM

Legal Matters: What in the World Did You Put in that Song?

Jonathan Mason

Entertainment Lawyer

Part 1--SamplingLike a chef in the kitchen trying to come up with the perfect recipe, songwriters in the digital age have a wide range of “ingredients” to choose from to create that perfect musical composition. Unfortunately, all too often those ingredients come in the form of material that is itself protected by copyright, such as portions of previous sound recordings, commonly referred to as “samples.” Simply put, sampling is the practice of digitally copying or transferring snippets or portions of one or more preexisting sound recordings to make a new music composition. Sampling and the Copyright ActThe Copyright Act grants the owner of a copyright in a “work”, such as a music composition or a sound recording, certain exclusive rights, often referred to as a “bundle of rights.” The bundle of rights are the exclusive rights to 1) reproduce or make copies of the work, 2) prepare derivative works, 3) distribute copies of the work, 4) publicly performance the work, and 5) publicly display the work. With a few notable exceptions, this bundle of rights cannot be exercised by anyone other than the copyright holder unless the copyright holder grants permission (a license). For the purposes of this article, music compositions incorporating samples may be viewed as derivative works of the previously recorded sound recording and music composition. A derivative work is an expressive work that includes major, copyright-protected elements of an original, previously created first work. As such, in most instances, the copyright holder must grant a license before the copyrighted sound recording can be used. Unlike many other copyrighted works, the Copyright Act affords musical recordings two separate copyright protections. The first copyright protects the music composition itself, including the lyrics and music notation affixed in written form. The second copyright protects the actual sound recording, which is the sound that is affixed in a tangible medium, such as a record or compact disc. Unauthorized sampling impacts both the sound recording and the music composition copyright.Sampling versus InterpolationSampling should be distinguished from interpolation. While sampling involves the actual use of the original sound recording, the practice of interpolation does not. Instead, interpolation is the practice of replaying or recreating the melody or re-singing (or rapping) the melody and lyrics (often with modifications) of a previously recorded song. This distinction is important because, among other things, the two practices have different license requirements. First, with respect to sampling, two different licenses are required: a license for using the sound recording and a second license for using the underlying music composition. The sound recording license is usually obtained from the record label which owns the master sound recording, while the license for the music composition is usually obtained from the songwriter(s) and/or music publisher(s). By contrast, interpolation does not require a license from the record label since the original sound recording is not being sampled. Instead, only the license to use the music composition is required. Rights in the compositions are often called “publishing rights”, while rights in the sound recordings are often called “master rights”. Music publishers and songwriters control the publishing rights, and record labels and recording artists (if they own the label) own and control the master rights. Obtaining Licenses for SamplingThe landmark sampling case of Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films concluded that those who create digital samples must live by a simple rule: “Get a license or do not sample.” Needless to say, it is advisable to get licenses for ANY sample usage after Bridgeport Music no mightier how slight. The first step in doing so is identifying and contacting the persons or companies that hold the rights to the sound recording and music composition that you are interested in sampling. Finding out who owns the rights may be as simple as reviewing the album credits, contacting ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, or researching the Copyright Office database.Once you have identified the copyright holders, you will have to negotiate a fee for using the sound recording and the music composition. The price for a sampling can vary widely, depending on such factors the stature of the song and/or artist being sampled, how much of a sample you will be using, and how and where the sample will be used in your song. Structuring an entire song around someone else's will be very costly, while only using brief sections will be cheaper. The fee may be expressed as a dollar figure, as a percentage of the copyright, or both. In some extreme instances, sample usage may cost up to 100% of the copyright in the new composition! On the other hand, some licenses may be free or substantially discounted where the sound recording being sampled has been dormant for a long period, and the copyright holder is eager to get the music circulated again. One thing that should not be overlooked in the licensing process is that the copyright holder is not required to issue a license. In most instances, the songwriter seeking to use a sample will have to make a recording to send to the copyright holder to allow the copyright holder to decide IF they even want to issue a license, which could turn out to be a huge waste of time and money for the songwriter if the copyright holder decides not to issue the license. For those who do not wish to tackle this process themselves, there are music attorneys and music clearance firms available to assist in the process of obtaining sample licenses and negotiating license fees. Regardless of how the license is obtained, before any songwriter tries to sample another’s sound recording to create a new song, no matter how small a portion of the sound recording is used, they should secure the right to do so from the owners of the pre-existing copyrighted owners - the songwriters, publishers and/or the record companies. The Consequences of Unauthorized Sample UsageUnauthorized sample usage amounts to copyright infringement, plain and simple. In addition to costly legal problems, the penalties for copyright infringement can be severe. Sample another’s sound recording without obtaining the proper licenses could result in liability to the copyright holder equal to the copyright holder’s actual damages, plus the infringer’s profits. Alternatively, the copyright holder may opt for “statutory damages,” which generally range from $750 to $30,000 for a single act of copyright infringement. If the copyright owner proves you willfully infringed their music, you can be liable for damages up to $150,000 per work. The copyright owner also has the right to obtain a court order against any further infringements. There is also a destruction procedure, which forces the infringer to collect all the illegal copies of the infringing work and destroy them. In addition to the legal consequences of an infringement action brought by the copyright holder, there may be other consequences for the infringer. For example, if the infringing songwriter is also an artist signed to a recording agreement, the artist may find himself in an awkward position with his or her record label, and possibly in breach of his recording agreement. Almost all recording agreements contain provisions in which the artist warrants and represents that the music contained on the album does not contain any un-cleared samples. If the record liable gets sued because of the artist’s breach of those provisions, the artist will find himself in the position of having to indemnify the record label and pay the record’s attorney’s fees. In addition, artists may also be liable for unauthorized samples incorporated into their music without their knowledge by co-writers or producers. The bottom line for songwriters is very simple: be careful what you put in your songs. As tempting as it may be to sample someone else’s music, that decision could have major financial implications, even if done properly. sts , provide resources and information to help them further their individual music goals and pursuits.

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