Welcome tothe month of May. 

Graduation season ishere, and Jeff and I would like to send out big congratulations to law clerks Katherine West,Will Dugoni and BenShaw.  Enjoy the ceremony, the party and the shortbreak…and then get ready to start studying for the BarExam.

A couplenotes on this month’s podcast, which can be found below, and my conversationwith Rebecca Brian the COO at NextSpace. Our legal discussion had to do with business entities, but we failed tomention the newest form of business entity the Benefit Corporation. Why is thisimportant to note?  Well, NextSpace justbecame a certified B-Corp, which is a Benefit Corporation thatmeets the B-Corp standards. Benefit Corporations are different from standardCorporations in that they are formed for a purpose that may or may not placethe interests of the shareholders first. For more info on Benefit Corporations and B-Corps check out our Benefit Corporation FAQ, and a hearty congrats to NextSpaceon becoming a certified B-Corp.

During theconversation we make reference to the movie “The Lost Boys (1986)” which was filmed on-location inSanta Cruz, CA.  I couldn’t remember thestand in name used in place on Santa Cruz in the Vampire drama starring “The Coreys”(Feldman and Haim) and Kiefer Sutherland. Of course, Santa Carla is the answer.  

For thoseof you who’ve already listened to the podcast, below is a picture of Rebeccadonning the infamous orange NextSpace wig. If you haven’t listened yet, this picture shall serve as a preview ofthe fun to be heard.

TheBritish are Coming!  Yes, the RollingStones are on tour incelebration of their 50th anniversary.  There has been a lot of talk about the ticketprices for the “50 & Counting….” tour, which have an average price of over$500 for the two Bay Area shows.  Manylong-time fans are priced out of this go around.  Generally, speaking, ticket prices have goneup dramatically in the last decade.  Thereare a number of factors contributing to the rise in ticket prices for concerts,including the “360” Deal. 

Traditionally,a record company received income off the sale of master recordings by bands thatit had under contract (see,  owned). The record company would pocket 80% ofthe profits from the sale of an album giving 20% to the band or artist. Thingslike touring, merchandise and publishing were usually not part the recordingcontract. However, once digital downloads hit the scene income from album salesdropped dramatically.  Record companiesseeking to find profits where they could, started offering artists and bands“360” deals, meaning the record company got a financial piece of all activitiesin the entertainment industry.

While itmay be the case that the Stones are simply big enough to command $500 ticketprices, the general increase we’ve seen in prices is partly due to the factthat bands and artist now have to share touring income with their record company.  If you want to find out more about recordingcontracts I’ll be speaking on the topic at this year’s CaliforniaMusic Industry Summit,happening the weekend of June 15th and Laney College in Oakland.

Finally,an interesting ruling came down in the 9th Circuit last monthinvolving the Jersey Boys. As part of the hit musical a clip form the old the EdSullivan Show wasshown in connection with a segment showing the Four Seasons battling theBritish Invasion of the late 60s (another Stones reference?). The owners of therights to the Sullivan Show sued the Jersey Boys producer for copyrightinfringement.  The producer counteredwith a fair use argument based on commentary and criticism (for more on fairuse check out this podcast episode). The 9th Circuit ruledthat the use was, indeed, fair use as far as the stage play, but warned thatthe use might infringe should it ever be used in connection with a recorded (TVor Film) version of the Jersey Boys. Interesting, at least for all us copyright lawyers.  

Until nextmonth…

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