Website Protection In Entertainment

Media based websites are open fields to legal liabilities and other various legal issues. Not only are there concerns towards appropriate licensing, but there are also concerns that deal with site traffic and dynamics. This is why it is vital to keep up to date with laws and regulations that can affect the immediate function and use of your website. After reviewing two entertainment law podcasts, the importance of keeping up to date on what is going on in the world of entertainment has increased for me exponentially.

A few heavy topics have been discussed and reviewed on www.entertainmentlawupdate.com that I find to be very informative. Keeping track of intellectual properties is always handy. Especially if it can affect any media the may be included on your site. The current dispute of copyright termination for the Superman Intellectual Property from Warner Bros. by MarcToberoff is an excellent example.

There has been an ongoing war over the Superman franchise for some time now. Warner Bros. even has a release scheduled for a new superman movie by Christopher Nolan, proclaimed savior of the Batman story with his latest titled “Dark Knight Rises”. The legal factors of this case bounce around, but staying on top of litigations that can affect the content on your website can be beneficial.

Many sites also have parody-like commercials that may be liable to legal concerns. In the case of Kim Kardashian v. The Gap, the Old Navy commercial with an alleged Kim Kardashian look-a-like led to a $20 million lawsuit back in 2011. It is claimed that the commercial has “created confusion in the marketplace and violated her rights to her name and likeness”. Similar issue like this may easily occur on your media based website if you are not careful.

Having an open eye to the world of entertainment law can come in handy and save you some headaches down the line. Always be sure to take that extra precaution that will keep you out of litigation or the unpredictable fate of the media.

Lady Gaga's Asian Tour Mayhem

Given the controversy with Lady Gaga's Asian Tour, manager Troy Carter has recently spoken out about her stand on the situation. Many countries involved with the tour have banned Lady Gaga's performances claiming her presentation and theatrics are too provocative. Fans have gathered in protest to the ban, but it has not lead to hopeful expectations.

Troy Carter stated that Lady Gaga has no intentions to tone down her act, even if it prevents her from performing in certain countries on the tour. This decision is a great stance for Lady Gaga to defend her artistic vision, but very unfortunate for those fans who will not be able to see her perform because of the controversy.

The main issue is the threat on the sense of conduct and morality from her performance. Lady Gaga's platform of entertainment is said to rival the traditional norms and standards of many of the places involved with this tour. This is ironic because the demand for Lady Gaga in the Asian market is very high. There seems to be no happy medium for the fans and non-fans of the pop sensation.

This situation is also interesting because the concerts that are being hindered are actually sold out concerts. In Indonesia, the permit for the concert was denied close before the show even though tickets for the event were already sold out. In South Korea, fans younger than 18 years old were banned from the concert.

There aren't many artists who have a deep international following and it's always disappointing when the fans are inconvenienced because of cultural and social differences. This is a very unfortunate situation for paying patrons who have invested in the Lady Gaga experience across Asia for this tour. In the future I hope to see more understanding and resolution that doesn't hinder patrons or ideologists from entertainment experiences.

Tupac Hologram Expands Entertainment

Just when you thought entertainment couldn't get any better, Tupac Shakur was resurrected at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. According to MTV, the idea was incepted by Dre and created by Hollywood special effects house Digital Domain and projected by AV Concepts. This new innovative technology opens the door to a plethora of opportunities for great entertainers of the past to be resurrected for "live" performances on stage. Nick Smith, President of AV Concepts, has not been able to say much about the creative production of the project, but he has said " it's affordable in the sense that if we had to bring entertainers around world and create concerts across the country, we could put [artists] in every venue in the country"and that the approximate cost is from $100,000-$400,000 to pull off the show.

Evolution of the Music Business

In the world of music, other moneymaking counterparts now accompany the digital download. The music business can now look forward to online subscriptions, and digital performance royalties based on the “Likes” of Pandora and Sirius XM as additional revenue streams. As technology continues become more accessible and portable, the music industry will continue to have more opportunities to gain revenue digitally by way of these counterparts. According to the RIAA, digital and synchronization revenue in the U.S. recorded music business has increased 0.2% in 2011. This provides a balance from the void left by the decline of physical music revenue. 

These figures show a huge decline in Music Video revenue by 11.6%. This figure is important because it raises questions to the source of sales and revenue from this area. I would assume it is from digital downloads via Amazon, iTunes, or other purchasing sources. I would like to know if music video revenues generated from Vevo and YouTube are calculated in this equation, but it is not indicated.  

My interest is peaked by the 38% decline in the area of Mobile sales and distribution. The figures in that area are calculated in the categories of master ringtones, ring-backs, music videos, and full length downloads. This significant decline can only be explained by the massive increase of ringtone making apps that elude ringtone purchase by allow users to edit songs they already to create their own ringtones free of charge. As mentioned above, Vevo & YouTube allow users to view music videos at their own will that only requires internet service and availability. Full length downloads have most likely went down due to the plethora of streaming options such as Spotify, Rhapsody and Pandora.

As technology progresses, the distribution of revenue will continue to fluctuate in the music business. Digital Performance Royalties and Synchronization Royalties have streamed a new source of revenue in the music world by adapting to the digital changes in society.

BMI & ASCAP Initiatives

I would like to take time and shine some light on some efforts of BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) and ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) for the world of music. For those who are not aware, BMI & ASCAP are organizations that help protect the copyrights of their members. They basically issue licensing fees from those who use the protected content of their members, which funnel back to the members as royalties.

BMI currently has an upcoming workshop for music in commercial media. This workshop is a three-day seminar geared towards teaching composition and producing techniques for advertising along with corporate branding and music production libraries. This approach is important to BMI because they believe that “These areas constitute the world’s most heard music and provide major revenue streams for composers”. This line of thinking is very logical and makes sense, especially on a marketing aspect.

Clay Shirky's Magnificent Speech on SOPA/PIPA

Clay Shirky’s manifesto on SOPA/PIPA is a crystal clear and perfect narration that depicts what has happened overtime in regards to copyright infringement laws and technology. He describes all the significant laws that have tried to mold our evolving society. The knowledge shared is objective and very precise. This speech carries its listeners on a clear path through the history of past legislations that lead up to the major issue that was face in January 2012 known as SOPA/PIPA.

When I first heard about the legislation that was trying to be passed, I wasn’t very knowledgeable about the history that led to it as accurately as described during Shirky’s speech. Many of the other articles and videos I read gave me a general idea, but many of them contained subjective content.

Clay Shirky’s makes his message clear by doing a few things that stand out quite vividly. He began by telling a story about how copyright infringement laws hindered an aspect of a niche used by a small local business in his neighborhood using a paper plate sign. The story creatively sets a solid tone and foundation for everything to be said afterwards. The sign also added a hint of American involvement, which is obviously related to the subject. It seemed to speak a greater purpose that silently stated, “This is what is happening here in America”. It also seamlessly showed the true intent of SOPA/PIPA, which is clearly described in the most objective way. At this point, the audience was completely vested in everything he had to say without any room for deviation. This technique of business storytelling is phenomenal because it compels the audience to focus on the content matter. The second greatest factor about the speech involved the strong and powerful closing remark that initiated thoughts and perspective to everything that was mentioned, “Time Warner has called and they want us all back on the couch, just consuming — not producing, not sharing — and we should say, ‘No.” Clay Shirky. I thoroughly enjoyed the content and delivery of everything said. I also find this information to be invaluable.

Apple TV vs. Google TV (Part 1)

With Apple's recent success in home entertainment, Google has chosen to follow suit with its new release and it’s called Google TV. Aside from smart televisions, the Apple TV has had no real competition in this market so now consumers have more options, especially Android users. This Google TV release will be the second attempt for Google after a terrible failure during the first run in their release with Logitec and Sony, which led to a fire sale of the unsuccessful product in 2011.  Google has since grown with the birth of Google Music and Google Plus as well as the continued success with the Android Market so this release should be more successful and Android fans will have one more thing to brag about.