James A. Rose

Well, in case you are following the Kane Brown federal litigation saga and my analysis from 3/18/2019, mediation is now officially OUT as a remedy from the vantage point of this entertainment lawyer. At least for now. It seemed that someone on Kane's legal team was reading my blog and rebutting it all in one fell swoop. Just as my spiel on the complaint filed by Zone 4, Inc. went live, the answer, affirmative defenses, and counterclaim of Kane Allen Brown went to the court clerk in Atlanta. So read backward to March 18 of this year. But read forward, too. Because this litigation is not going to end soon. The upshot is that Jamal Jones p/k/a Polow Da Don ("Polow") has some explaining to do regarding his prior relationship with Sony Music Nashville via Epic Records. The answer from Brown indicates a "Secret 2013 Epic/Sony Deal" by which Polow and his company Zone 4 were obligated to bring any identified artist talent to Epic/Sony. This secret deal pro...

If you have been in the music industry for any significant time period, you already get the title line from this post. You've seen it or done it or been on the "out" side looking in. The business may be one we love, but it also has its dark, cutthroat side. Maybe that is why no one in showbiz is eager to know a lawyer. Unless you need one, that is. My first reaction on social media when I learned from The Tennessean  that Zone 4, Inc. had sued Kane Allen Brown in the Northern District of Georgia was to suggest that the parties head for mediation. Given the nature of federal litigation, it is a good bet that mediation will at least be attempted. Probably judicial settlement conferences of some sort, as well. Given the nature of the expense of federal litigation, it is not a bad idea for either party. A director and officer of Zone 4 is producer Jamal Jones p/k/a Polow Da Don. According the the complaint filed by the corporation, the professional resume is quit...

I get it. The intricacies of compulsory licensing are not as cool of a read as analyses of litigation and other subjects that an entertainment attorney might choose to write about. And the metrics of this blog reflect that. And yet I follow my train of thought from the last blog post on section 115 of the Copyright Act and encourage industry professionals to read on. The Music Modernization Act is now law. If songwriters, publishers, and artists want to get paid for their music, basic knowledge of licensing and how this new system works are essential. And so we go to blanket licensing. A digital music provider that qualifies for a compulsory license may obtain a blanket license through the mechanical licensing collective, also known as the MLC.  The MLC has not yet been put formally into place. A recent editorial in Billboard magazine frames the quest of the American Music Licensing Collective to have authorization to name directors. This ultimately will be decided by ...