Commercial Practice Solicitors frequently host seminars on media and entertainment industry. Our goal is to educate our clients and friends in a variety of legal and business issues.
Please direct questions to info@commercialpractice.com
Upcoming seminars
No upcoming seminars
Past seminars
10 August 2017: The Role of Entertainment Lawyers
The services of entertainment lawyers are indispensable in music business. They play a broad and vital role in the music industry and are involved in all areas of an artist career. Their role goes beyond the normal duties of drafting agreements and advising on the relevant laws. They are deeply involved in shaping deals and identifying opportunities for their clients.
The seminar will provide lawyers with an overview of music industry and opportunities available. It is also an opportunity to network.
21st November 2017: Understanding the Terms of Recording Agreement
Record companies generally use their own standard-form agreements because they have sufficient negotiating power. However, if the agreement is unreasonable on the artist, the agreement may later be challenged. The grounds for challenges include undue influence, restraint of trade, and ambiguity.
In this seminar, we will look at the key terms in recording agreements and discuss the implications. This seminar is for artists, managers, lawyers and record company employees.
14th December 2017: Overview of the Music Publishing
A principal source of income for songwriters is from exploitation of their compositions. Songwriters generally assign their rights to publishers. In return, publishers find users, issue licences, collect royalties and pay the writers.
Understanding music publishing is fundamental for any person in the music business, including digital service providers, radio stations, television networks, record companies, artists, filmmakers etc. The seminar will provide attendees with an overview of music publishing and the role of collecting societies.
16th January 2018: Understanding the Process of Creating a Film
The Nigerian movie industry is one of today’s most prominent media institutions. In 2013, Nollywood contributed 1.42% ($7.3 billion or N1.4 trillion) to Nigeria’s Re-based GDP.
This seminar deals with the process by which films are made, from development of underlying works through to production, distribution and exploitation of the finished work.
13th February 2018: Music Clearance for Films and Television Programs
Almost all motion pictures or television programs contain either pre-existing or original music. There are more than three separate rights that subsist in a song and there could be owned and/or controlled by different people. Therefore, unless your film or television program is only shown in classrooms, clearing the music is absolutely necessary.
This seminar provides an overview on the rights that subsist in a song, how to locate the right holders, and point to consider when negotiating a deal. The seminar is suitable to filmmakers, distributors, songwriters, artists, and publishers.