People raising money for a small business or real estate investment may be surprised that they are selling investment contracts subject to federal and state securities laws.
Read MoreConveying a composer’s original intention is more difficult than it might appear. Original manuscripts from Bach’s era were handwritten, often hastily with ink on parchment. Where the original manuscript is available, it may have been sloppily written or be damaged or incomplete, leaving the musicologist to reconstruct the composer’s intentions from later versions. Unlike with a music manuscript, we usually have a complete copy of the contract. Still, delving into the parties’ intentions can require an examination of the context in which the contract was written and how the parties acted after they signed it.
Read MoreOne month after my son started Suzuki violin at the age of three, I was surprised when his teacher said that he would be performing in a recital. He had barely learned to hold the violin and hadn’t yet played any notes. Contracts also have recitals. Although contracts don’t perform music, their recitals are up front and center, toward the beginning of the contract.
Read MoreConcertgoers typically receive a program as they enter the concert hall. Frequently, orchestras include several concerts in a single printed program, so the programs are small booklets, rather than just a couple of sheets of folded paper. These booklets contain the music program, information about guest performers, an orchestra roster, music notes about the compositions being performed. After a quick glance at the evening’s program, it can be easy to ignore the rest of the booklet as unimportant or routine. Boilerplate in contracts is like those concert program booklets. Contracting parties may view them as repetitive and unimportant. This article is one of several discussing contract “boilerplate” provisions and why those provisions are important.
Read MoreAlthough I would like to say I donate to the arts for arts’ sake, when deciding how much to donate to the arts, I consider which level of donor benefits I might use. Some people donate to receive free tote bags or other promotional items. Others may like seeing their name printed in a program or posted on a donor wall. Likewise, it probably is the desire to obtain US permanent resident status, rather than an altruistic desire to create U.S. jobs, which motivates immigrant investors under the EB-5 visa program.
Read MoreMy cats have “contributed” to my articles by walking across my keyboard as I work. I was less thrilled with the cats when one left a dead mouse as a present on my stairs. A recent Kennedy Center audience might have appreciated my cats’ hunting skills. In addition to music from the National Symphony Orchestra, “entertainment” was provided by a mouse in the concert hall.
Read MoreThe conductor asked each first violinist to swap his/her violin with one of the second violinists’ instruments. The conductor then had the students play with the borrowed violins. This raises an interesting legal question: If one of a first violinist’s expensive instruments had been damaged, who would be responsible to pay for the repairs? A similar question currently is in front of courts where real estate owners have brought trespass suits against the developer of Pokémon Go.
Read MorePerformers spend much time and effort planning out exactly how they will perform a work with the performer’s unique interpretation and rendition of a musical composition. Yet, a performer usually cannot be guaranteed control over what happens with that performance or that he/she will be compensated when it is reused. Composers, record companies, and visual artists fare better under the law. They all have clear protection under copyright law, and visual artists far even better; they have a special law, called the Visual Artists Rights Act.
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