Recently, a Canadian Court awarded aspiring professional clarinetist Eric Abramovitz a six-figure judgment in an identity theft lawsuit he brought against his ex-girlfriend, after she accessed his e-mail and turned down a coveted scholarship on his behalf. While much of the recent news has been dominated by tales of sophisticated cyber attacks, this anecdote shows that low-tech approaches can be just as damaging. A good data protection plan will evaluate risks specific to the business and establish protocols designed to minimize data compromise and loss, including loss from human error and environmental factors.
Read MoreHuguette Clark died at the age of 104 in a hospital under a pseudonym, divorced, childless, and a recluse, belying her background. Three years after her death. While cleaning out a closet in one of Huguette’s New York City apartments, someone found a violin bearing the Stradivari label tucked away, untouched for more than 25 years. Reading about Huguette and the one-in-a-million real Strad, I recalled a recent experience in my own life. I received a telephone message no one wants–my bank manager was calling. She said it was important and I should call her as soon as possible.
Read MoreIt has been almost half of a century since I first picked up a violin. Yet, I recently started violin lessons again. I realized that I needed to adjust my basic technique–including how I hold the violin. Like small changes in violin technique can create noticeable changes in a performance, overlooked contract provisions can change the meaning of the contract or harm the contracting parties. This article is one of several discussing contract “boilerplate” provisions and why those provisions are important. In this article, we will explore severability clauses.
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One 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 MoreViolins need regular maintenance. Violinists usually change their own strings and clean and polish their instruments, as well as make minor bridge adjustments. Most will not attempt a bow rehair, “cutting” a new bridge, or even a sound post adjustment, much less anything involving the varnish or structure of the violin. Businesses, like violins, also need regular maintenance. What needs to be done may well depend upon the type of business and how many owners and employees it has.
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I had expected the usual “please turn off your cell phones and do not take pictures or make recordings.” Instead, we were given an explanation for the unpopulated stage -- half of the orchestra had not yet arrived at the concert hall because they were in a bus stuck on the DC Beltway.
Read MoreAs the story goes, in colonial India, the British governor was concerned about the number of wild cobras so he incentivized the population to hunt cobras by having the government pay a bounty for cobra skins. The plan seemed to work fabulously; the government had thousands of cobra skins, and there appeared to be a reduction in wild cobras, so it seemed time to end the bounty program and declare victory.
Read MoreDespite historic sex discrimination, female musicians generally have not faced pay discrimination. Although musicians aren’t known for their robust paychecks, there is a pay scale based upon position. If a woman obtains an orchestra position, she usually will receive the same pay as her male counterparts. Unfortunately, in other professions there still exists a gender pay gap.
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