The relationship between a violin and the violinist who plays it[1] is a close one. Such likely was the case with violinist Roman Totenberg with his close companion, the Ames Stradivarius when, in 1980, the violin was stolen from Totenberg’s office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A violin thief does not gain title merely because he has possessed the violin for a period of time. With real estate, however, there is the possibility of someone who unlawfully uses someone else’s property gaining title through “adverse possession.”
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.
Read MoreIt is difficult to play a violin in tune. For one thing, unlike with a guitar, there are no frets or markings on a violin fingerboard to tell the violinist where to put his/her fingers. Even a millimeter difference in finger placement can be the difference between an in-tune and out-of-tune note.
Read MoreImagine you are a professional musician who is building a performance career. You hire an artist manager to promote you, obtain performance gigs, and to negotiate contracts for your gigs for a period of five years. You hire an artist manager to promote you, obtain performance gigs, and to negotiate contracts for your gigs for a period of five years. Your manager’s primary compensation is a percentage of the compensation you receive from your gigs, plus reimbursement of certain of the manager’s costs. This arrangement is designed to incentivize your artist manager to work hard to get you as many bookings as possible as soon as possible.
Read MoreFine violins do not have serial numbers, but they do typically have a label inside identifying the maker and frequently the year and location where the violin was made. Many violin makers, or luthiers[i] as they are known, like to copy well-known instruments, sometimes even down to the label inside the instrument, and the most famous violin maker, Antonio Stradivari, is also the most frequently copied.
Read MoreA real estate investor might start small, with a single duplex and eventually, through a series of purchases, sales, and reinvestments, the real estate investor may own multiple large apartment complexes, office buildings, or even high-rise mixed-use buildings. In those instances, although the primary purchase was real estate, each purchase would come with a certain amount of personal property in the form of appliances, furnishings, supplies, and other equipment necessary to operate the real estate. Comparing a real estate transaction to a violin purchase, purchasing the violin would be akin to purchasing the real property, and purchasing the bow and case would be more like the personal property that is purchased with the real estate investment.
Read MoreMost people have heard of Antonio Stradivari, who likely is the most renowned violin maker of all time. Few outside of the violin world, however, have heard of Francois Tourte, who developed the modern violin bow and has been called the “Stradivari of the bow.” Just as the violin student may overlook the importance of the bow, the real estate investor may overlook the importance of financing options and structure.
Read MoreMy son started at age three playing a 1/32 size violin, which with an eight-inch body looked more like a toy than a violin. A few months ago, my son traded in his ¾ size violin for a 7/8 size instrument, which is valued at 20 times the price we paid for that original 1/32 size violin nearly nine years before. When we made the most recent violin purchase, I realized how our “investment” in violins is like real estate investment.
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