Industry Liabilities

In today’s world there are a multitude of liabilities that business owners have to prepare and protect their selves against before, after, and during ownership; however, not everything you do will ensure that you are protected against those who “will try anything to make a million” (The Personal Injury Lawyer Directory, 2013). Not that everyone is out to get you but in order for you to be as successful as possible  you must take the proper steps to ensure that you and your customers are protected.

For those of us that are already working in the industry, we know that you must take the proper steps to protect yourself and your artist’s work.

There is one particular case where Joe Satriani, Cat Stevens, and Sammie Lee Smith filed a copyright lawsuit against the members of Coldplay and Capitol Records alleging that some of the band’s songs contained “substantial, original proportions” of their own tracks (Iplj, 2010.). Coldplay’s main defense for these lawsuits was that the one artists were not very well known, the others were similar but very different, and made a point that they were being sued well after the songs had been released to the public.  These cases have not been finalized and have no further details. However, as a future artist manager, I will have to face similar problems to this with artists that I work with and will need to be prepared for it. I will need to become more prepared and detail oriented as my artists popularity rises simply because they will be more prone to similar lawsuits. I can prepare and avoid a similar situation, possibly, by having another artist manager listen to my bands music before it’s release to ensure that it isn’t similar to other music out there. I would even go a step further by having a process to follow with my legal team in the rare case that someone actually did sue my artists. 

Another legal case that I found rather interesting that has recently popped up was one between Shakira and Antonio De La Rua. Antonio, her former business partner and boyfriend, is suing Shakira for $100 Million Dollars he feels that he deserves for helping achieve Shakira’s current global success. Antonio goes on to claim that their partnership was terminated without warning and Shakira has refused to pay his earnings from 2011. The case is currently on going and there is no further information on it.  The main lesson that I learned from reading about this particular case is to always have a contract with everyone even if they are your boyfriend or girlfriend. Having a written contract holds each party responsible for their actions and might have allowed Shakira to avoid these legal issues. Applying this to my future business will ensure that if my business partner walks out on an artist or me even, I am protected and will not have to face the same legal issues.

Another case that caught my eye happened in 2011 where a Michigan woman hated the movie Drive so much that she sued them for false advertising. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sarah Deming filed a lawsuit against FilmDistrict claiming that the distributors of Drive, “promoted the film Drive as very similar to the Fast and Furious, or similar series of movies” (Hollywood Reporter, 2011). She also claimed that it “bore very little similarity to a chase, or race action film” and proceeded to get a refund for her ticket as well as having the intention of engaging in a class action lawsuit. One of the best things that you can do as a business owner is to promote your business in almost anyway you can to boost sales; however, as the movie Drive did, don’t over do it.

Even though many of you might think that reviewing a few current legal issues is a waste of time, the benefits of knowing other people problems and being prepared for them is worth a lot. The ability to foresee these problems and prepare for them will potentially save your artist, yourself, and your business thousands! A question for my readers, “ How do you prepare or protect yourself from facing similar legal issues with your business and/or artists that you work with?”

References:

IPLJ. (2010).  Coldplay Feels the Heat Once Again. Retrieved on May 8, 2013, from; http://iplj.net/blog/archives/1371

IPLJ. (2013). Legal Woes for Colombian Popstar Shakira Ignite. Retrieved on May 8, 2013, from; http://iplj.net/blog/archives/5988

The Hollywood Reporter. (2011). FilmDistrict Sued Over ‘Misleading’ ‘Drive’ Trailer. Retrieved on May 8, 2013, from; http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/drive-filmdistrict-lawsuit-ryan-gosling-245871

The Personal Injury Lawyer Directory. (2013). The 10 Most Ridiculous Lawsuits of All Time. Retrieved on May 8, 2013, from; http://www.the-injury-lawyer-directory.com/ridiculous_lawsuits.html