The 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 MoreIn the mid-twentieth century, some of the nation’s concert halls experienced financial challenges and fell into disrepair as the orchestras they incubated moved on to other performing locations.Although Philadelphia's Musical Fund Hall was not demolished, it no longer hosts concerts. Rather, in 1981, a developer purchased Musical Fund Hall and redeveloped it as condominiums.
Read MoreAn advanced musician will read the music by scale and arpeggio patterns that the musician has been practicing for years. People reviewing real estate contracts may act like advanced musicians. They may become so accustomed to certain contract clauses that they may breeze through them, thinking they are "standard boilerplate.” In this article, we will discuss “boilerplate” clauses that describe how a contract is signed and delivered.
Read MoreSight-reading is a crucial skill for a professional musician. Many auditions include a sight-reading “test,” to see whether the musician can perform at a high level with little rehearsal time. When reviewing real estate contracts, many people act like an inexperienced musician sight-reading music.
Read MoreOnce a music classmate asked me for help on his music theory homework. Immediately, I saw his challenge. My classmate he had glossed over the clef signs, thinking they were “boilerplate.” When reviewing real estate contracts, many people gloss over miscellaneous “boilerplate” sections. "Boilerplate” sections are important, and contracting party can get burned by not carefully reviewing and negotiating them.
Read MoreThe 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 MoreMusicians need to practice their instruments, both to learn music and to hone their craft. For those living next door, even professional musicians’ practice may not be “music to the ears.” As a result, it is not unheard of for professional musicians to find themselves in disputes with neighbors or landlords.
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 MoreA few weeks ago, out of the blue, I received an e-mail purporting to be from a real estate paralegal at a law firm with which I had been working on a real estate transaction several months before. The e-mail included a link, which appeared to be a legitimate link from a well-known electronic signature processor, asking me to securely download a document for electronic signature. This particular e-mail made me suspicious because I had no open real estate transactions with the law firm that sent me the link.
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