Joel Falconer has just been interviewed by Robert Janelle at FreelanceSwitch on matters of intellectual property that Allforart was involved in with Joel a few months ago.
The interview, conducted by email, points up some of the things the Free Articul…

Advice included the following:

* When you get offers you should always be very careful to stipulate that your IP in the completed work is not up for grabs unless specified as a Work-For-Hire.

* You want to know what rights are wanted, for how long, what territories, ancillary rights (if any) may be desired, and what–if any–exchange is being offered. If there are going to be live broadcasts then they will generate revenues through broadcast licensing fees that are collected by Performing Rights Organizations (e.g. APRA) on behalf of the songwriters and publishers.

It’s also a good idea to boldly ask - early in the piece - the person presenting the offer or proposal how familiar they are with Intellectual Property Rights both nationally, and internationally, and establish their degree of expertise immediately.

When you, as an artist know what these Acts, Laws, Treaties and Conventions are then you can easily formulate questions which determine if the people you’re dealing with (and receiving this offer from) do know their intellectual property nationally and internationally. The degree of knowledge or ignorance will define and characterize all dealings and extend the time and effort made to negotiate and manage a proper licensing deal.

WIPO offers some FREE courses online (http://www.wipo.int/academy/en/courses/distance_learning/catalog/c_index.html) in intellectual property law such as copyright primers. One takes 3 hours to do, and then they have some others available that are more comprehensive and still FREE, but take up to a month to do. These provide a good start and background to a more comprehensive study and working knowledge that is necessary to grok the business of art & entertainment. It is a rights-based business.

This part especially is sooo true ‘A lot of musicians run their bands like a lunchtime club‘. I’ve played with a lot of musicians that would fit this description! (and they usually complain things are not moving forward) It’s difficult enough to develop some sort of chemistry and make the creative juices flow… but when you start thinking of it like a business and develop a business plan it all starts to make more sense