Though the coronavirus has put the spring concert and touring season on hold, the Music Business Program at the University of Georgia is inviting musicians, producers, filmmakers and policymakers interested in their intellectual property rights to join them online for a symposium on “Artist Rights in the Time of the Virus.”
The multi-week series is free and open to the public. Weekly panel discussions will focus on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on revenues streams for artists, efforts to launch the new federal Music Licensing Collective and concerns surrounding the National Emergency Library.
“We wanted to provide students, artists and music industry professionals with the most up-to-date information on how the music industry is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions,” said symposium organizer David Lowery, a musician and Terry College of Business faculty member. “We are trying to balance the focus on the current crisis, with discussions of other emerging issues that are being overshadowed.”
To join any of the panel discussions live, register for free by contacting Lane Marie O’Kelly. All live panels will be recorded and posted at a later date to artistsrightssymposium.wordpress.com.
The first panel on music licensing and metadata will take place Thursday, April 2, at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
The Music Business Program hosted its first Artists’ Rights Symposium in 2018 at the Terry College of Business.
Lowery is a founding member of the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven and researches the implications of music streaming on artist’s revenue streams and intellectual property rights as a lecturer in the Music Business Program.
Each week in April the symposium will draw on the broad perspectives of legal experts, musicians and music industry professionals to explore the most pressing issues facing artists today.
Panels on the schedule include:
April 2
“Kafka Meets the Accountants: Metadata, Licensing and Money”
- Keith Bernstein, Crunch Digital and Royalty Review Council
- Chris Castle, Christian L. Castle Attorneys and editor of MusicTechPolicy and MusicTechSolutions
- Michelle Lewis, Songwriters of North America
- Ali Lieberman, SoundExchange
- Helienne Lindvall, Ivors Academy
April 9
“Fair Use Update: YouTube, Google v. Oracle, National Emergency Library and More”
- Leslie Burns, photographer advocate and litigator
- Colleen Doran, New York Times bestselling cartoonist
- Ellen Seidler, co-founder of Fast Girl Films
- Ken Doroshow, chief legal officer, Recording Industry Association of America
April 16
“Music in the Time of the Virus: Performers, Agents, Venues, Promoter Perspectives”
April 23
“Music in the Time of the Virus: Record Labels, Publishers, Songwriters and Streaming Service Perspectives”
April 30
“National Emergency Library In-Depth: Altruistic Effort or Shameless Opportunism”
Panelists for future discussions and their full biographies will be added as they are confirmed. Check the symposium’s website for more information or follow @ArtistRights on Twitter.