What You Need to Know about Music Copyrights and Music Licensing

What You Need to Know about Music Copyrights and Music Licensing

March 29, 2023

12:00-1:15 p.m.

Via Zoom

Description: This session will provide lawyers with the fundamental concepts, terminology, applicable laws, and market considerations for engaging with music copyrights.  From creating music copyrights to music licensing to terminations and estate considerations, participants will acquire a deeper understanding of music industry stakeholders, including why the music industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the United States.  This session will cover music publishing and sound recording rights, licensing, and performances; where to go to secure music licenses; and tips for advising clients when music issues arise.  It will also provide an overview of the 2018 Music Modernization Act and recent music law cases.

Speaker: Ari Solotoff, Esq., Solotoff Law

Bio: Ari Solotoff is an entertainment lawyer and the Managing Attorney at Solotoff Law, a law firm based in Portland, Maine. He launched the firm in 2020 with a specialized focus on counseling clients at the intersection of copyright, entertainment, literary publishing, and the arts. In addition, Ari serves as an adjunct professor at the Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, and the University of Michigan, where he teaches courses on Music Law and Legal Issues in the Arts.

Ari's practice uniquely blends representation of a diverse range of clients, who are known for defining and defying contemporary culture (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame producers; Billboard-charting catalogs; Pulitzer Prize-winning literary authors; Top 20 podcast producers; and today's leading composers, concert artists, and ensembles), and copyright-driven cases (valuation and sale of music catalogs; digital therapeutic use of prescription music; scripted, unscripted, and documentary television and motion picture development and production; theatrical adaptations; literary rights acquisitions; and cutting edge issues in comedy recording rights and distribution). Of particular note, Ari has been sought out for his work with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists and their estates, regularly championing issues of equity, inclusion, and representation on stage, online, and on radio airwaves.

An active member of the entertainment and copyright bars, Ari serves as the Chair of the Theatre & Performing Arts Division of the American Bar Association's Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries, and also as a member and frequent panelist for the Copyright Committee of the American Association of Literary Agents.

This program has been approved for one hour of general CLE credit.  Registrants will be emailed Zoom login credentials one day before the program.