Life Rights: Do You Need Them?
Life Rights: Do You Need Them? Many people live inspiring lives. Some people’s lives are so inspiring that other people (for example, writers) are compelled to tell the inspirational person’s story in the form of a movie, book or some other form of creative expression. Writers, or other creative types, seeking to tell another person’s story will often acquire the “life rights” of the person whose story they are […]
Can Agents Sign on Behalf of Performers? What are the Risks/Benefits?
Understanding the Role of Agents in Contract Signing: An Introduction Can agents sign on behalf of performers? A client recently asked, “what is the risk of having an agent sign a contract on behalf of an actor or other performer hired for a production?” While the practice of having agents sign on behalf of performers […]
Canadian Music Law: Most Favoured Nations
Your 3 Favourite Letters as a Canadian Musician: MFN MFN stands for Most Favoured Nations. Most Favoured Nations, in the context of music, has nothing to do with the Olympics, Canada Day or international travel. Within the music ecosystem, it means equality, essentially receiving the same treatment as others. Here are some examples of scenarios […]
CanCon – Being a Musician is a Business
What is CanCon? For years we’ve spoken about music law, producer agreements, SOCAN, and more, to future producers and recording engineers at The Audio Recording Academy (TARA), run by the one and only Shannon Murray, at her Raven Street Studios. Recently, we received a question about MAPL, which led to this blog. What is it? […]
Virtual Reality Legal Issues – An Intro
Virtual reality legal issues, what are they and why do they matter? Virtual reality legal issues exist. Why? Well VR entertainment is currently the hottest trend in the video game industry and, if you are one of the diminishing number of people who have not tried it, you’re probably missing out. Virtual reality, commonly called […]
Music Contract Tips – Being a Musician is a Business
Music Contract – Introduction The two most common ways we work with musicians are (a) to help them understand and negotiate agreements they’re asked to sign, and (b) to prepare agreements musicians want others to sign. Here are some general tips that we encourage musicians to keep in mind when negotiating music deals, whether it’s […]
Animation Legal Services
Introduction How can an entertainment law firm help animators and animation companies? Here are some of the ways Edwards Creative Law helps animators: Option Agreements Have you been offered an option agreement by a production company for your creative concept? We help animators understand the rights they are being asked to provide, and negotiate […]
Record Label Agreements… Understanding That Stuff above the Dotted Line
You may be wondering, what is a record label and how do I get one? Well, we must preface this article by saying, “being a musician is a business”. One way to more likely have a sustainable career as a musician is through the support of a record label, including from recording funds, distribution and […]
Copyright Protection & Classical Music
Copyright Protection & Classical Music Copyright protection & classical music is a widely searched topic. You may be wondering what it (copyright protection) does, well, copyright protection covers original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works of authorship. This is during the lifetime of the author, the remainder of the calendar year in which the author […]
Virtual Reality in Gaming and Derivative Works : Ask a Lawyer
Virtual Reality in Gaming and Derivative Works – Introduction It’s a time of rapid technological change. As a gamer, I am very excited to see the game industry move to Virtual Reality (VR) and its much more immersive gaming experience. While technology might be changing, copyright law is not. If your VR project involves creating […]
