Sports, Film&Entertainment Committee

• view member profiles
• member login
• become a member
• membership benefits

• opportunities & careers
• chat & forums
• calendar
• resources & links
• courses & workshops

• SFEC features
• industry news
• photo gallery

• profile
• SFEC conference
• our services
• our partners
• sponsorship & donating

Rules to Live By
secured
Thomas M. Kastelz, Esq.
secured

Here’s the scenario: you’re a new artist, a new entertainment company, a car dealership who needs a jingle or anyone who needs music. You ask around and finally decide to use the local songwriter at the popular recording studio in town. You meet the songwriter, tell him what you want, shake hands, and get your song. The song takes off like a rocket; it’s the biggest hit since Thriller. Everybody’s happy, champagne is falling from the sky. So…who owns the song? It was a hand-shake deal. Now it’s basically a race to the Library of Congress with your copyright filing papers in hand. The solution to these problems (and believe me, they happen all the time) is my number 1 rule to live by: NEVER ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH ANYBODY IN THIS INDUSTRY WITHOUT A DRAFTED CONTRACT!!
Read that rule again. Now again. One more time. If you are currently in the entertainment industry or are toying with the idea of getting into the entertainment industry, you should write that rule on the blackboard one hundred times. As important as contracts are in any business, they are that much more important in the entertainment industry. Why? Well, because everybody in this business isn’t as nice as you and I.

secured payday loans online