No one knew that in the city of Dayton, Ohio in 1979 an extraordinary school was about to break the education scene and become a huge trendsetter in the entertainment industry. A man with an idea, a dream is all it took and soon with that idea it transformed into what was known at the time as "FullSail Recordnig Workshop." This trade school began offering educational courses that trained students on the production aspect of the entertainment industry focusing mainly on how to become audio engineers. As the school progressed the school eventually relocated its growing campus to Winterpark, Florida and changed their school name to Full Sail University where they expanded their campus, created more academic porgrams, and began to be recognized by the entertainment industry as one of the top Entertainment/Creative Arts School in the US.
Many creative students have graduated from Full Sail University, went on to break ground in the Entertainment Industry which has put Full Sail on the map. As of 2011 more than 36,000 students have graduated from Full Sail University and have made their almamater proud. Some major talents that are proud alumni's of Full Sail University are:
Oscar Award Winner, Sound Recording, "Inception"- Gary Rizzo
Screen Writer for "Saw I,II,IV & Repo", Darren Lynn Bousman
3 Time Latin Grammy Award winner, and 4 time grammy award winner Sebastian Krys
Dungeon & Dragons co- creator Dave Anderson taught at Full Sail from 2000-2008
In 2009 Full Sail University celebrated its 30th anniversary in the education system and in honor of that the school established the Full Sail University Hall of Fame where 6 students were inducted into the hall of fame. Since then Full Sail University continues to induct more students in the Hall of Fame which has created a place of inspiration and motivation to new students walking the campus halls, the same halls these extraordinary Hall Famers once did.
Artist now have a school they can call their home and sanctuary. A place that really offers you not only an education but also the opportunity to really refine your talent, access to state of the art equipment and resources to accomplish any thing, as well as teach you the life of the industry. Full Sails professors have had their own success stories and offer a unique and personal testimony that can aid to the students educational and talent growth.
I think that one of the best attributes of being a student of Full Sail University was learning all the statistics of the different Entertainment award shows like the Emmys, Grammys, Gold Globes, Academy Awards, MTV Awards and learning how many full sail alumni's were involved in the success of all those projects, especially the ones that won an award. It just tells you that Full Sail University is very much present in the Entertainment Industry. As I bring my Masters of Science Degree in Entertainment Business to completion, I can't help but pay tribute to Full Sail
University, the school of which I'm so proud to be an alumni of. I can't
wait to continue to grow my company and push my talents to grow and be
the best they can be just like Full Sail motivated me to do the same. I love the fact that all the alumni's are doing what they love to do and they are proud to say that they graduated from Full Sail University.
For anyone who is looking into a career in the entertainment industry whether its being in the business aspect of the industry, the production side, creative side, or even the talent side, as a soon to be Alumni Graduate of Full Sail University on October 26th, 2012 I highly recommend you look into this amazing educational establishment. You get out of it what you put into it. You should love and do what you love to do. An I can say that where ever the road takes me in life and career I will always be proud to say that Im proud to be a graduate of Full Sail University. Thank you for a wonderful educational experience.
I never really considered Beethoven as a sort of a Business man/ Entrepenuer. I was just too focused on his musical genius side to really sit back and analyze the business framework of his entire musical career. But as Mr. Bowen sheds light on the similarities it all starts to make a little more sense. We tend to look over the primitave years of how the music business evolved from making to sound to turning it into a musical written piece to selling printed versions of the musical piece. How that changed the face of the music industry is what people tend to overlook.
Bowmen starts by mentioning how music/sound began people just pick up rocks and made sound with it. As time progressed man eventually turned the idea of picking up rocks to make sound to creating wonderful instruments that created new sound. In the 18th century people began to play very expensive and complicated instruments and in order to hear that kind of music you didn't have it at the convenience of your own home like a stereo or mobile iPod. You had to go to a specific location that held concerts were you could hear the music. Essentially you had to get out of the house of you wanted to hear the music you were interested in live. As a result of having to go and see your favorite music live, this created social interaction. Mr. Bowmen explains that there were two what he calls disruptions which were Music Print and the creation of the piano. As a result of these two "disruptions" it Beethoven starts to create a market. Music begins to be massed produced and is readily available for a fan or aspiring musician to learn quality music by obtaining a copy of the work and learning the piece in the their home if they have a piano to play on. Also because Music is being printed we've created "cheap music." You no longer have to travel far and wide just to hear you music live but now you can obtain their printed works and try to learn them yourself. Beethoven realized that there was market for him in this industry to sell and print sheet music where it can be mass produced and everyone could have equal opportunity to obtain. As time progressed to 100 years later, we get the recorder, piano player, and later the radio. Once the radio came to existence it created less social activity and more of a personalized secluded music listening experience. We began to have walk-mans and records and all that developed in to the mp3s, Ipods and digital files. People no longer have to leave their home to seek the music that yurned for. You have music at the push of a button. Mr. Bowmen found commonalities between Beethoven and Bill Gates as software designers. They both live in a time where hardware is changing rapidly. Mr. Bowmen mentions that in 1803 a french Piano maker creates a piano for Beethoven with more notes and Beethoven's first reaction to the new piano is to create a new sonata incorporating those new notes. Something other famous composers like Chopin and Bach hadn't gotten their hands on yet. Beethoven in a sence has the same relationship with his audience as bill gates does. Beethoven writes more as he gets new hardware. Even though Beethoven wrote piano sonatas, he delays so that they don't use the extra notes in a sense staying up to date with the times but already a step ahead for the next pending release. He limits himself to the amount of keys on those pianos. He redefined the product as we know it today.
Mr. Bowmen mentions some of the changes we began to see in the evolution of the Music Industry:
Division of Labor.
Changed Expectations of Quality.
Less Social Interaction.
New Personalized Experience
More Consumer choice
Larger Global Pyramids
The music industry is every growing and constantly evolving. Beethoven paved the way for the music industry in a huge way and we have him to thank for that. He would be proud and in aww of how far the evolution of music print has come and where it has led to from the first music print he had done. I found this video to be very intriguing and it behooves me to want to research more about the history of the music industry and how music was marketed and promoted during their time as artists.
Today's insightful video of the week features BBC's Zeinab Badawi interviewing John Kennedy, CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Now for those of you who like myself did or do not know much about this organization you may find this intriguing. The IFPI is an international non profit organization that strives to protect every aspect of an artists or even a company's intellectual property as it pertains to the recording industry. The not-for profit organization was founded in November of 1933 in Italy. The overall mission of this organization was to promote legislation and copyrights to protect the legal rights of the British recording industry at the time. However, overtime the organization has grown and gained much support all over the world. Their membership covers over 60 countries worldwide. Today we find ourselves to be transitioning head first into the age of a digital market. The recording industry has suffered significantly as a result of music pirating world wide. The IFPI is continuously working to resolve that never ending dilemma. I will agree with Mr. Kennedy that it is easier today for someone to digitally market themselves now that it was maybe 10, 15 years ago. With the grow of social platforms digital marketing is at the fingertips of the every day common man wanting to make some sort of a statement. I can resonate with Mr. Kennedy that with the amount of work an artists puts towards an album and the amount of investment a label puts behind their signed artists, it proves difficult for one to sell more units with out someone obtaining that intellectual property illegally and then offering it to the public for free. That creates a bad habit to the general public and financially robs the artists. The piracy issue is a dilemma that is constantly under debate and scrutiny. Yes the economy is bad, and yes everyone loves the opportunity to obtain free stuff but if you are a true fan of the artist then you will respect their work enough to not obtain it illegally but to buy their single or their album. Support your talents because they will show their appreciation ten fold. The legalities are far more complex than most people really care to comprehend. But at the same time I find it re-leaving that there is a hard working team like the IFPI and the RIAA that are working around the clock to create new iniatives to protect the recording industry so that everyone can continue to enjoy the great entertainment the recording industry brings to the table.
One of my favorite websites to gain inspiration, knowledge, education, and enlightenment is non other than Ted.com. There are so many amazing speakers that place their life's or work's experiences in a perspective for people to go see or view online. As a fan of Ted.com if I find speaker that I resonate with weather it be work, career, or life I also want to share it with my readers who may find these guest speakers just as intriguing. With that said, I have chosen Dan Colbley, the Director of Marketing for Google in the UK Ted.com video as this weeks blog highlight guest speaker. Dan Colbley interestingly enough shares with us his love for physics and introduces us to a unique parallel perspective between physics and marketing. In this way bringing the idea of marketing to a more understandable platform for his listeners and online viewers as well as convincing his audience that physics is cool.
Brand building takes a lot of drive and work. Colbley mentions in his talk that "[...]...the physics is, the bigger the mass of an object the bigger the force is needed to change its direction. In similarity, the marketing point is that the bigger the brand the harder it is to reposition it...[...]" I found myself agreeing with this point because when you start a brand, no one knows about it yet your brand idea is full of boundless possibilities. But how our you to build that brand to such a massive point? Its almost similar to the idea that if you start too big you become overwhelmed and nothing gets done. Yet if you start small and slowly build on to the brand it will have a stronger foundation and inevitably have a longer "shelf life." Colbley later mentions that "[...]...the physics is: that you cannot prove a hypothesis but its easy to disprove it...any hypothesis is shaky. The marketing aspect is: that no matter how much you've invested in your brand, one bad week can undermine decades of good work. Be really careful to avoid the screw ups that undermine your brand. With this point in mind I found it a very useful tip in consider the different pros and cons that may come with the process of building my brand. In addition with marketing comes clear decision making. You would need to have a clear sense of what it is your doing so that you don't go shooting yourself in the foot later for a marketing decision you made that in all truth may not have necessarily been the best move for you and your brand. The feedback one receives from their marketing efforts on a given project or brand development endeavor, varies from day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year. There for you must be careful to make moves that are in the best interest of your brand and its growth and development.
In closing, Colbley states that "[...]...entropy will always increase. Its a fundamental law of physics. The message for marketing is that your brand is more dispersed and you can't fight it so embrace it and find a way to work with it."
Marketing takes guts and drive to be successful. With the entertainment industry heading full speed ahead into a new digital era, marketing approaches are being reassessed to bring the most rewarding results possible. But how does one do that not knowing what the outcome would be? Seth Godin known as the marketing Guru couldn't have said it better as he elaborates in this 18 minutes presentation of what marketing is all about and how we should tackle it. One thing I really resonated with Godin is when he made the comment of "how do you get your idea to spread?" Yeah the market is constantly changing especially for those in the music industry however knowing that challenges will present themselves as a result of change, doesn't make a difference as Godin puts it. Godin goes to explain that people who have an idea and know how to spread that idea usually win and succeed at it. It doesn't matter what your trying to market whether its a record, a book, concerts, new clothing, etc. Its about selling it to the people who are listening; the ones who after listening just might tell a friend. Sometimes the all it really takes is to really hone in on what is it the people want. Who cares? When you figure out your target it market and you "talk to them" they just might tell someone about it and the chain effect is planted. Godin uses Pearl Jam as an example of good marketing because they only sell their music on their website and no where else. This directs all fans and intrigued visitors to go straight to the website and through there is where they find out everything they need to know about Pearl Jam. Also being directing all marketing to one major source (their website) it allowed for the integrity of the band to stay consistent and credible. Fans know that if they want to know all the low down on the latest music and retail products available that they can get their hands on, they can find it in the one place and one place only, the official Pearl Jam Website. In all if you create something remarkable like Godin puts it, it definitely more noticeable and where it grabs your attention is where you'll want to be. Find the consumer/fans/people that actually care about the product you wish to put out because those loyal, interested followers will definitely spread the word. In the words of Godin "Make it Remarkable."
So as I was browsing the web looking for the next insightful video to share with my readers, I came across this resent interview of Swizz Beatz and NYU from back in March of this year. I really appreciate the fact that the artists that have really mastered their trade in the entertainment industry have not forgotten where they came from. It is refreshing to see that even a producer as well recognized as Swizz Beatz can give back to the next generation by teaching classes and offering constructive critics and in sight to students seeking a career in the entertainment industry. Swizz Beatz is a mega entrepreneur in every sense of word. From breaking into the industry at the young age of 18 to now, Swizz Beatz is known as a Super Producer, Rapper, Designer, Writer. Swiss is a great example and testament to how the marketing direction of the entertainment industry is moving since his start in the industry. As a result of the market going digital and the demand for music is readily available through music downloading sites; artists, record labels, publishing and distribution companies have had to come up with innovative ways to feed the public demand and yet win them over in such a fashion that the fans will still reach out and purchase their album. Everyone knows that album sales have continued to plummet as the digital demand grows and advances. So how does the entertainment industry compensate for the fall in album sales despite all the financial efforts spent in marketing the product, meeting the financial quota for publishers and distributors? That readers, is the question of the day and the answer keeps evolving as the days, years go by and a new generation of eager creative talents join the industry. However for the time being Swizz beats has come up with an proactive method to the madness; Offering free singles under what he calls "Monster Mondays" where he releases free music on a weekly basis to his fans to create buzz for his work, please his followers, and also demonstrate his ability to stay relevant with the times. Fans are the driving force behind the artist. Fans help a single go viral and as a result of that, demand builds up. When the buzz is great then money sponsors begin to pour in and maybe a music video will come out of it or a surprise performance or appearance you never know. Luckily this method of offering back free music to the fans has proven successful for Swizz Beatz and numerous opportunities have presented its self to him. Other artists such as Timbaland and Kanye West have notices the success of Swizz Beatz with "Monster Mondays" and have also started to offer complementary music. Among all things I feel that artists who have been in the industry for years should definitely consider taking Swizz Beatz by example and maybe offer interactive seminars, public figure talks, or even teach a class like Swizz Beats does as another way of giving back to the next generation of entertainment entrepenuers, agents, artist, managers, etc. Just as a well accomplished artists can sign a new artist to his or hers label, so can he/she teach or educate a class of what they have come to learn of the years. The more educated students are to tackle the industry the more interesting the direction of the entertainment industry will take. With the industry becoming more technologically dependent, Music marketing, publishing, and distribution and everything that surrounds entertainment will need more heads than one keep it flourishing for many more decades to come.
During
the past week and a half yours truly had the opportunity to interview one of
Orlando, Florida's finest, Scott Goldberg an Entertainment Attorney who's been
in the industry for over a decade. Attorney Goldberg shares his insight into
the world of Entertainment. Maybe rising entrepreneurs, agents, or even artist
managers may learn a thing or two from this interview. Enjoy....
Maestro J:
Hello Mr. Goldberg, Thank you for seeing me today.
Attorney Goldberg:
The pleasure is mine.
Maestro J:
So today I'm here to interview you on pretty much your experience as an
Entertainment lawyer, the entertainment business and how your insight can be
helpful to aspiring entrepreneurs like myself going into the field of talent
management and/or booking agent among other things. Would you please share some
general insight on that topic.
Attorney Goldberg:
Certainly, for artist management, you have to have connections. You have to get
yourself out there, mingle, network like crazy. Get names, numbers, pass out
business cards and obtain them as well. Many people say "Hey, Im a
manager" but what can you really offer to that talent or band to prove
your value as a manager. It’s a very people intense profession. You have to go
to functions. See what music events are in town that are easy to get to? If
you're going out of state, what are some good conventions to go to where you
can meet record label people, production companies, sponsors, and promoters
that put on events that you can try and place your talent with them. Getting a
databases of all your connections is very valuable to have in the industry.
Maestro J:
Im working on obtaining my agent lisence; what are your thoughts on that?
Attorney Goldberg:
As a manager, managers are not allowed to procure employment for their talent,
that’s what an agent does. If you're getting a commission from your talent from
a job you just got them that you most likely will be viewed as being a talent
agent and if you're not properly licensed, you may be subject to certain
actions and penalties under Florida Law. Other states have their own laws as
well. So it would be in you're best interest to get the proper agency license if
you think not only are you going to be managing talent but you are also going
to be acting in the function of a talent agent. I would also recommend that you
form a company and then go through the procedures of applying for the license
which means paying the fees, getting your bond, in order to get your agency up
and running.
Maestro J:
If I were to have the agent license under my belt would I have to draw the line
with certain talents that I manage vs. those that I'm just booking gigs for?
Attorney Goldberg:
Well that’s entirely up to you. The way I see it is that you are a talent
manager but because you are licensed you are also able to book gigs for them.
So it’s like the best of both worlds. But yeah, if you wanted to separate both
that its possible. You can try and test
the waters and see what works best for you. It would be ok to keep things
separate "I'll manage you only or I will only be your talent agent",
you can do that.
Maestro J:
So with my company in its premature stages and for other companies starting out
in the industry in the right way, what are some helpful tips to keep in mind?
Attorney Goldberg:
Well did you form a company and what is the company name?
Maestro J:
Yes I did, its called Models 2 Music Excluzive Entertainment, LLC. but I do
business as the abbreviated version: M2M Excluzvie Ent. LLC.
Attorney Goldberg:
OK, well when you think about branding yourself you want to focus on a name
that is not being used by other people or entities. Especially be mindful if the
name is being used by people in the same industry. You want to think branding. You want to think
unique and different. You have to do your searches on the internet making sure
that there's no other companies in the entertainment industry with the same
name or otherwise that has a very similar name. You should also obtain a
trademark search clearance report through a reputable company.The test for trademark infringement is
“likelihood of confusion”. So if its really similar, I would stay away from
that. When you're starting out that is the time to think of something different
if you have to. Do your Google searches, do whatever you can online. If you
need help with that we can certainly assist you with that. Keep in mind that just
because you spell your name somewhat unique may not be enough to make it
distinguishable. It may still cause consumer confusion. You don't want someone
to be confused by the two names. I would also recommend that stay away from
adjectives and descriptive words. Adjectives are descriptive, they describe
what it is that you're providing. Those are very weak trademark names, brand
names. You want to think of something unique, arbitrary, made up if at all
possible. You can have a name for your company and have a different name, a
fictitious name, for your products or services that are provided by your
business.
Maestro J:
If you finally went through with the trademarking of the name, it is
non-refundable there fore it is better to be exactly what you want correct?
Attorney Goldberg:
Absolutely, make sure its exactly what you wanted it to be and that there is
nothing out there already first in use. It is not first to file with the
trademark office, it is first to use the trademark, so use it! If there's
somebody out there somewhere in the United States already using the same or a
very similar trademark name they will most likely have superior rights over
you. For example, you filed your trademark first in the US Trademark Office, and
lets say a company in California was already using that trademark for the past
five years, and even though they didn't file with the US Trademark Office, they
were using the name before you.Under
this situation, even though you have a federal trademark now registered, you'll
be able to sell you're services all across the country except for California
because of this company using the trademark prior to your use.They would have superior rights and would be
able to bock you from selling your services or products in California.So make sure you perform an adequate trademark
search prior to filing.
Maestro J:
What if you get you're agent license in the State of Florida, then can you only
be an agent in Florida?
Attorney Goldberg:
Yes I believe so, I believe that's how it works,.For any state you work in, you need to be
properly licensed in that state.
Maestro J:
The questions spawns whether to launch the company in the state of Florida? But
what if I move? Then am I starting over.
Attorney Goldberg:
Either you can start the company in a new state or you can take the Florida
company and register it as a foreign corporation in that new state. So that
allows you to transact business under that company that you registered in
Florida in whatever other state. Or if it's cleaner, you can always form a new
company. However, if you start a new company, with a new name, you will loose
your brand and your trademark . However, you might be able to keep the name if
it is not already registered as a company in that new state.
Maestro J:
Wonderful, because that's initially what I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to
launch my business here and Florida be the home base.
Attorney Goldberg:
Yeah, just go to the website for the Talent Agency. The Department of Business and Professional Regulations
online. Look up the talent agent license. There are a lot of Q & A all over
the place regarding talent agencies. I'm sure that there will be answers to the
questions you posed about you practicing in another state under your license. However
every state has it's own rules and procedures. You probably will have to get
multiple talent agency licenses for each state you are working in. And that's
just filling out the application, going through the process and paying the
fees.
Maestro J:
Or get them in the states you work the most right?
Attorney Goldberg:
yes, probably so
Maestro J:
So Mr. Goldberg, how long have you been practicing as an Entertainment lawyer.
Attorney Goldberg:
I've been practicing Entertainment law as an Entertainment Lawyer for about 12
years now.
Maestro J:
What motivated you to get into that line of work?
Attorney Goldberg:
This may sound silly but I grew up wanting to be a rock star, mind you I could
neither sing nor play an instrument regardless of my love for music. So in
figuring out my career, when I went off to college, I just started thinking to
myself that I might as well represent those that can since I can't. Sound's
cliche, silly, I know, but that's what happened. Thought that going to law
school would be a good vehicle for me to get into the Entertainment Industry.
That's what I wanted to do because I love movies, music, television, I love
everything that goes along with it. And it's not just that it's authors of
books, internet companies, it’s all the new multimedia that's emerging
everyday, everything new and exciting that's happening. I went to law school
wanting to be in the Entertainment industry one way or another. And that's what
made me want to go to law school and be an attorney.
Maestro J:
And what school (s) is/or are your Alma-mater?
Attorney Goldberg: I
went to University of Florida for college. I went to St. Thomas University School
of Law for my Law Degree and then I got another law degree, which is my Masters
of Law degree in Intellectual Property at The John Marshall Law School in
Chicago, IL.
Maestro J:
So if you're a lawyer, like you went to law school and stuff, did those
programs have curriculum geared towards entertainment or just when you
graduated you just kinda put yourself into that?
Attorney Goldberg:
There is Entertainment Law. I would say it's more like... I don't know the
proper terminology for it but Entertainment law is like a whole bunch of different
types of laws put together specifically for artists & entertainers. For
example, sometimes you're dealing with first amendment rights, Freedom of
Speech and the right of publicity. These laws go together with entertainment
law because celebrities have those issues all the time w/ use of their name and
likeness. And newspapers & magazine have issues with freedom of speech all
the time. Freedom of speech applies to movies, and television as well.
Copyright laws and Trademark laws, which falls under the umbrella of
Intellectual Property Laws are also apart of entertainment law because artist
and entertainers need copyright protection. They need trademarks to brand
themselves. Whether its their name or band name or whatever products theybrand
themselves. Its all kind of like a bunch of different areas that kinda fall
into the realm of what is commonly referred to as Entertainment Law.
Maestro J:
Does that also include you're public figures, athletes, etc. ?
Attorney Goldberg:
Correct, there is also sports law. I can certainly assist an athlete to a
certain degree. There will be certain things I can't do because you need to be
properly licensed. For example, the NFL requires you to be a licensed NFL
contractor/negotiator of sorts. However, I can counsel sports figures because
it's mainly contracts. It's contract review, drafting, negotiating. I am a
transactional attorney, andI do a lot of contract drafting and negotiations.
That's what I do. I work the contracts.
Maestro J:
Ok. and what was your most memorable client(s) that you go to work with?
Attorney Goldberg:
My first clients that I helped out were the Haxan Film guys, creaters of the “The
Blair Witch Project.” Its always fun to
work with movies and famous celebrities. Always a joy to be apart of it.
Maestro J:
Oh cool.
Attorney Goldberg:
I was one of the attorneys on the project and I helped with the distribution
deal for the film.
Maestro J:
Is Entertainment law all your firm does?
Attorney Goldberg:
No, we also do and practice other areas of law; personal injury, criminal
defense, DUI, auto accidents, etc.. I have two other law partners James Hetz
and Jonathan Jones that do alot of the litigation for the firm. So myself and Mr.
Hetz are located here in Orlando while the Mr. Jones practices in our West Palm
Beach, FL office.
Maestro J:
Whats the difference between a manager and an agent?
Attorney Goldberg:
A manager would be the one to help a talent get to the point of obtaining a
record deal. They should be a position where they're managing your career, your
day to day itinerary, handling the money and expenses for their talent. They
will consult with the talent on what is best for your career. There is a
blurriness between what a manager can and cannot do in order to get that record
label deal. I don't see that service to the Talent as procuring employment, but
some people might. What a manager cannot do is be an agent and book gigs, like
concerts, television, advertising, endorsement deals, things like that for the
talent. A manager will consult with the talent on whether it makes sense to do
or not and they may help negotiate things for you but they cannot procure
employment for you.
Maestro J:
So the Manager need the agent as the booking liaison between the work and the
paycheck?
Attorney Goldberg:
Yes, unless the manager is a properly licensed agent as well.
Maestro J:
So for the talent when they're starting out is it important for them to look
for a manager first or an agent?
Attorney Goldberg:
It really depends on what you're needs are first. Just be careful and stay away
from people that want you to pay them money upfront so that they can represent
you. Managers and agents should only get their manager fees and agent fees out
of whatever work or money is coming in. It should not be out of your personal
pocket. There should not be any set up, registration, or administrative fees
involved. There are people out there that do that. If they are a really big
company there maybe a necessity but on the norm if they are a legitimate agency
or legitimate manager they are not going to charge you money out of your pocket
to represent you. You should never have to pay for that.
Maestro J:
What do you find the most rewarding out of you're job?
Attorney Goldberg:
I love going on sets, watching them film a scene here and here. Every once and
a while you get to meet a celebrity and introduce yourself, that's always fun.
Just being around them, being around the camera, being around the lights, and
see what goes on. A lot of it can be boring because it takes forever to shoot
one scene. But its fun to watch the whole creative process of filmmaking and
television making. It's just fun to be around. I enjoy the Entertainment
Industry. I wanted to get into it and that why I'm doing it.
Maestro J:And
you're business partners how did you guys come together and form this team?
Attorney Goldberg:
Well, I was on my own for a little while. My law partner who's here in Orlando,
Jim Hetz, proposed the idea of "Lets make a full service Entertainment law
firm here in Orlando." He had some entertainment clients as well and does
some intellectual property matters as well. And we do focus primarily on
Entertainment law even though we do offer other things as most law firm do. So
we are a full service entertainment law firm. Through our relationships with
Universal Studios we were able to obtain an office location here on the Universal
Studios Orlando back-lot.
Maestro J:
That's wonderful, and what about your Miami location?
Attorney Goldberg:
The one in West Palm Beach doesn't do that much Entertainment law. Whenever
something does come up in that location it usually gets forwarded to us here in
Orlando. Mr. Jones does a lot of the personal injury work, and foreclosure and
bankruptcy, etc.
Maestro J:
Well for those baby entrepreneurs starting out in the industry of
Entertainment, what is the best possible advise you can throw out there?
Attorney Goldberg:
Well you want to make sure you're structured properly from the beginning. Any
start up company requires a lot of money. That’s just the initial capital you have
to put into youre company to get it up and running. A lot of people don't want
to do this or don't want to do that because they don't have the money or don't
want to spend that kind of money on that kind of stuff. They'll say to
themselves, they will just figure it out later. For what it's worth, if that's
what you want to do fine but it may cost you more down the line. Yeah you may
have had to pay $1000 to do this, but it might cost you $5000 later on if
there's an issue that you need to fix because it wasn't done the right way, perhaps
you should have paid to have it done the right way in the first place. So yeah,
get a company formed. Make sure you have proper contracts in place with people.
A lot of people do things without contracts. So just get things in writing. It
makes it a lot easier to defend things in court later on.
Maestro J:
Ok, and for my final question in terms of starting an Entertainment company,
what is the pros and cons between starting an LLC. and starting a Co.?
Attorney Goldberg:
Companies can definitely vary with the type of company structure you want. For
example, there can be tax differences between the various types of companies. From
a liability standpoint, which is what I counsel clients on, either company will
protect your personal assets. However, there are certain restrictions when you
form an Inc. as opposed to an LLC. For
example, if you are an "S" corporation this means you are subject to
a limited number of shareholders, whereas an LLC has no limit on the number of
members.Also, LLC allow for a little
more flexibility in the structure of the company than an Inc would allow.. Both
LLC’s and Inc.’s give you limited liability protection as long as you do
everything as an officer of the company and you sign things as an officer of
the company. Basically, you do everything under the umbrella of the company. Then
you are not personally liable, only the company is at risk. If the company gets
sued, they can only go after the company's assets, not your personal assets. An
LLC is a unique vehicle for corporate entity. You can treat it for tax purposes
in lots of different ways. It can be treated as a partnership, S corporation, C
corp, or sole proprietorship for tax purposes.
Maestro J:
Alright awesome. Well that concludes our interview in the Entertainment industry.
Thank you so much for meeting with me. Im sure many will take this as a very
insightful interview.
Attorney Goldberg:
My pleasure. Keep in touch. Good luck with everything and let me know if you
need anything, and if your friends need help please send them my way...
1000 Universal Studios Plaza Building 22A, Suite 206 Orlando, FL32819 United States ph: 407-210-6588 fax: 877-539-6507
Mattel, Inc. (founded in 1945) is the world's largest toy company completely based off of revenue. They are known for producing popular brand products like Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels, and Fisher Price. Mattel Inc. filed a lawsuit against MGA Entertainment over rightful ownership of the popular doll brand "The Bratz" dolls of which did indeed hurt the sales of the barbie dolls when the Bratz were on the market. To Mattel's ironic dismay a California judge ruled in favor of MGA Entertainment forcing Mattel to pay MGA $88.5 million dollars citing that MGA Entertainment is the true owner of the brat dolls because Mattel did not own the drawings of the dolls thus bringing a 7 year long battle to a disappointing close for Mattel but a victorious close for MGA.
My Thoughts:
According to this article it just amazes me how a product can start with one company and end up in an ownership battle with another. If MGA Entertainment was indeed the original owners of the "Bratz" dolls as the court ruling decided then how can they have let such a product make its way to Mattel, Inc. to the point where they find themselves in a grueling seven year long lawsuit. That's a prime example of how its so important for business to guard their property or else some bigger company could very well take it and try to claim it as theirs. A win for MGA but also a lesson learned.
Danika Gerner va. Columbia Pictures, Amblic Entertainment, and costuming co-workers on set
So Danika Gerner was some sort of a stunt woman/extra on the set of Men in Black III. She is suing for a supposed wardrobe malfunction that left her "injured". She claimed that costuming provided her with a defective costume that was not in exceptional conditions. As a result she sustained bodily injuries from executing her role on set while wearing that defective costume. Gerner "claims" that the costuming staff, Columbia Pictures, and Amblic Entertainment failed to insure her safety by providing an adequate functionally safe costume in order to perform her role without pain and suffering. As a result she has been unable to perform her normal life routines in addition to whatever other jobs/roles she's committed to. Gerner did not provided specific details of her injuries nor did she specify what costume actually caused the injury. A verdict has not yet been reached the suit is still on going until updates have been released.
My Thoughts:
According to this article, I find this case to be absolutely ridiculous. If your gonna take the time to sue someone you need to come prepared. How can you have the nerve to sue so many people for a so called "injury" you sustained and not specify the type or magnitude of the injuries sustained in addition to not specifying what on the costume is it that caused the injury. People now a days are sooo ready to get up and sue someone over the most ludicrous things and then when they make it to the court room they shrivel up like a raisin because their case holds no water. A court room is neither a game nor a joke. One needs to come prepared with all necessary documentation to demonstrate the credibility of the reason why he/she suing or it will be dismissed in a heart beat by the judge. Also if Gerner was a supposed extra she had to have read a description of what her role in the film would entail and have signed some kind of a waver agreeing to all the good and bad that came along with that specific role. If you sign away and agreed to everything without reading the documentation you were signing, then the fault is even more on you. Movies will require you to take risks you don't normally take in your everyday life. Own up to your decisions and don't complain because you got a scratch, fell, or something which is pretty much what Gerner did, WINE AND COMPLAIN. Don't blame others for your inability to make cognitive, wise decisions.
Universal vs. The Asylum
Small win for Universal as they settled a lawsuit with The Asylum over trade dress and copyright infringement. The Asylum produces low budget knock off versions of large studio movies and distributes them straight to DVD, VOD, and TV just around the same time as the heavily anticipated large studio movie is nearing its premier. The Asylum has its legal reputation well established with the Hollywood lawyers. Thus Universal's suing of The Asylum case is just another addition to the list of movies that have fallen victims to Asylum's cheap productions. Universal eventually reached a settlement with Asylum in which Asylum agreed to change the name of the movie and also modify their marketing and packaging in return for Universal dropping the lawsuit. Universal had the movie "Battleship" set to premier May 18, 2012 and The Asylum made a low budget version of the movie and called it "American Battleship". In addition to creating the film, Asylum was marketing an packaging the movie around the same time "Battleship" was about to premier sending it straight to the stores knowing Battleship would not hit stores for couple more weeks post movie premier.
My Thoughts:
First off as an artist myself, I have a huge issue with this case the most. How can you proudly make a copycat movie and not only name it extremely similar to the highly anticipated box office version in addition to planning the release of the copycat film in stores before the real battleship was set to premier. I see that as a form of malicious sabotage. It's as if Asylum was using the promotional attention of the box office film Battleship to help sell their version in away taking away from the highly anticipated movie as well as ruining the thunder/ momentum of the want to go see the box office film because people may have gone and purchased the copycat version and it ruined it for them. People's ideas may get miss construed also thinking that since American Battleship came out "First" that they were the originators of the concept behind the film and that the box office film "Battleship" is the copycat of that which is totally the contrary. If you're going to make a movie, well then bigolly be original. Why make something that is clearly a copycat version of the original have it set to hit stores before the premiere of the box office movie knowing that something so close in resemblance will take you straight to court and will cost you x- amount that you did not have planned to spend. Well, according to the article post by the Huffington Post, The Asylum has quite the reputation for producing these kinds of copy cat films. It is not their first time they've been taken to court to settle copy right and trade dress infringement. What strikes me odd is that if The Asylum has this notorious history of copycatting films of which each case is recorded, why hasn't anything been done to severely penalize this company. Clearly "Battleship" is not the company's first infringement indiscretion. If they have a history, and are repeat offenders in the like then something needs to be done. They should have learned from the first time and its blatantly clear that either they didn't learn from the first or they just simply don't care and they're stuck in this mindset that it is acceptable to do what they do.
In conclusion, of the three I think that the last article discussed concerning the hit box office film "Battleship" was the one that concerned me the most. Its is a prime example of how you have to be on top of your product or someone else will wittingly try to steal from you and make it their own. The Asylum was pretty much ready to do that but the makers of "Battleship" where able to intervene just in time before their movie premiered in theaters. There are people out there that want to grow with you and there are others that seek to discredit and tear you done. Your company and the product produced by it is your baby. Protect it for all its worth. Stay on your legal issues because someone out there is looking for the perfect opportunity to sue you for whatever they can possibly come up with and if you are not prepared they can get away with the most downright crazy things. Stay on your game and be ahead of your attackers because they will come at you from every which direction.
References:
Belloni, M. (2012,
May 31). Universal lawsuit sinks 'battleship' knockoff 'american battleship'. The
Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/universal-battleship-movie-knockoff-331150
Gardner , E. (2012,
May 30). May 30 3 days 'men in black 3' extra sues over alleged wardrobe
malfunction. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/men-black-3-lawsuit-wardrobe-malfunction-331034
Groom, N.,
Skariachan, D., Levine, D., Bavdek, M., McCormick, G., & Lewis, M. (2011,
April 21). Mattel loses lawsuit with mga entertainment over bratz dolls . Huffington
Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/21/mattel-loses-lawsuit-with-mga-bratz_n_852223.html
