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The Talent Agency Act and You

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Biletsky Law - TAA“Procure employment.” These two words are something every artist and manager (and possibly others acting on behalf of an artist) should be aware of. In 1978 the Talent Agency Act was passed in California which required that any person acting as an artist’s agent be licensed. Most importantly, these laws broadly defined those who act as agents as those who “procure employment” for another. Also important is the repercussions for those who violate the Talent Agency Act (TAA).

One of the most famous of these cases is the 1996 case of the musical band the Deftones versus their former manager, Dave Park. Dave Park had sued the Deftones for failure to pay earned commissions. In return, the Deftones filed a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner regarding Park’s violation of the TAA. The Labor Commissioner’s investigation found that Park had violated the TAA on 84 occassions by procuring employment without a license. The result? All commissions earned by Park in relation to the Deftones was disgorged and returned to the Deftones and all management agreements were cancelled.

This hasn’t been the only instance where the TAA has caused headaches for managers though. Matthew Katz, the former manager of Jefferson Airplane, forfeited more than $12,000,000 resulting from his violation of the TAA. Other sizeable cases can be found in almost every corner of the entertainment industry from music, to movies, to theatre.

From the above examples, you would think that managers across the board would be inclined to attempt to keep their distances from any kind of activity that could potentially violate the TAA. But, that’s not necessarily the case. The roles of managers between industries are very much the same, yet vastly different, depending on the industry.

In the motion picture and television industry, the role of a manger is more confined to that of how the role of the manager is defined. The manager will look after the day-to-day operations, ensure that all of the projects are lined up and running smoothly, and make sure that all of the jobs that the agent had obtained for you are on your calendar and ready to go.

In the music industry, the role of the manager can sometimes be a bit more blurred. Your manager will do similar tasks such as ensuring that your recording projects are lined up and going smoothly, but from time to time, a manager may be able to book you a gig or an appearance. Although this seems to be within the normal realm of a manager’s duties, you can see why “procuring employment” could be as simple as booking a gig for your client or arranging an appearance where the client gets paid (autograph signing, product sponsorship, etc.).

So, after all the problems that the TAA can cause a manager, you may be asking yourself, why don’t these managers just obtain a Talent Agency license to make it so that they don’t have to deal with these sort of problems? In many instances, companies may offer both managerial and agency services and may be equipped with the necessary licenses. But for the most part, it is usually a pretty good bet that your manager does not also simultaneously have their agency license.

California has enacting somewhat strict guidelines and regulations for agents to be licensed. Although not prohibitively expensive or complex, the process is somewhat costly and lengthy enough to deter your average manager from also pursuing an agency license without having a legitimate agency business to run.

So where does this leave you? Well, if you are on the talent side, you can rest assured knowing that the law is usually on your side when it comes to keeping your team compliant with the law. On the management side, you need to walk a thin line in providing your services to your client to ensure that you do not run afoul of the TAA.

For more information on the Talent Agent Act or for assistance in a matter related to the TAA, contact Biletsky Law.

Streaming Issues

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The way that people consume media has been evolving throughout the 20th century. The advent of commercial radio in 1920 followed by the first television station in 1941 were seen as milestones in the evolution of entertainment. Fast forward to the second half of the century and the evolution of our media consumption has evolved at an unprecedented rate. Radio and phonographs evolved to audio cassettes which evolved into 8-tracks and eventually compact discs. Terrestrial television morphed into cable and satellite, which was eventually recorded onto VHSs, DVDs, and BluRay discs.

Even the 21st century has made a leap into a new format which was not even conceivable until recently. In 2000, the way that music was being consumed drastically changed as a result of downloading services such as Napster, Kazaa, and Limewire. From that point on, the digital download started taking a larger foothold in the marketplace of the music industry. Within just a few short years, as personal computers and internet capabilities advanced, streaming services began to flood the marketplace where downloads had just recently taken over.

Nowadays, high speed internet delivers unlimited steaming capabilities right into our hands, anywhere in the world. Streaming media still continues to evolve with resolution and quality constantly reaching new levels. But with anything new, comes new problems. The earlier years of internet media and in particular, downloadable content, brought a new wave of piracy into the world. Copyright infringement soon became as easy as the click of a button. While the music and motion picture industry are constantly battling to thwart online piracy, streaming media has not only caused those industries new headaches, but has also created these headaches for others.

Take for example some of the recent sporting events that have taken place. On May 2nd, the world watched the “boxing match of the century” featuring Floyd Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao. Pay-per-view orders of the fight in the U.S were around $100 per order. The revenue earned from just the video on demand sales sky rocketed to reach record breaking figures. But it wasn’t just the paying or legally watching customers who were able to view the fight.

In the beginning months of 2015, well known and easy to use live-streaming applications have started to transform people’s ability to transmit content around the world, live. While the purpose of these applications are to facilitate the distribution of user made content or to broadcast certain events, these applications are more commonly being used to distribute the content of others illegally. HBO and Showtime, the co-producers of the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight, had done all they could to attempt to eliminate the possibility of people in the crowd streaming the fight for free. Other live-streaming concerns include movie premiers, sporting events, music festivals, concerts and other pay-to-view events.

With the spread of the popularity of these types of applications, it is difficult to see how content producers will be able to keep their content from being distributed for free. But, going back to the beginning of this article, this isn’t exactly the first time that these content makers have had to deal with this issue. Starting with programs such as Napster in 2000 and torrent downloading software thereafter, content producers have been in this struggle for a while.

Perhaps most hardly hit has been the music industry. Albums featuring 10-15 songs were at one point able to get a premium sale price of $20 per unit. With the explosion of downloading software, the business models have had to shift and now iTunes sells songs for just 99 cents and streaming sites offering music for free.

But the music industry hasn’t collapsed because of this, and in fact, new artists that would never have been known are now starting to thrive due to the free distribution of their music which has allowed consumers who would not have usually purchased their music to become fans. Where the future of streaming content goes is anybody’s guess, but what impact it has on the entertainment industry is up to the consumers.

For more information about the legal issues involved in streaming media, contact Biletsky Law.

New Mexico Tax Incentives

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Biletsky Law - New MexicoMany states around the country offer tax incentives to film and television productions in an attempt to lure the production into the state. With major motion picture and television productions comes the possibility of a state receiving a great economic benefit from having the production team located in the state as well as the use of many of the state’s resources.

While Louisiana, Georgia, and Massachusetts have been recognized as some of the states with the most favorable tax incentives, other states such as Alaska and Pennsylvania have started making a name for themselves on the list. On April 10th New Mexico has also boosted their tax incentives when Governor Susana Martinez signed a new tax incentive bill which allows production companies to pre-assign their tax rebates to third parties and which also extends a 30 percent tax credit to stand-alone pilot episodes under the condition that they shoot the show in New Mexico and encourage producers to hire and source locally.

This move marks an effort from New Mexico to join the ranks of states which offer production companies substantial tax credits in order to bring in revenue from the entertainment industry. But the new productions that may be enticed to film in New Mexico won’t be the first ones on the scene. Starting in 2008, the hit AMC television series “Breaking Bad” began their five season run by shooting on location in New Mexico.

It is no wonder that the bill signed by Governor Martinez applies to pilots which may at some point become television shows. The five seasons of filming that Breaking Bad brought to Albuquerque likely brought substantial revenue to the city and state due to the production crew and actors who stayed in New Mexico during the production as well as the locations and resources that were used throughout the series.

Although these immediate economic benefits are the majority of the reasoning behind these types of tax incentives, certain hit movies or television shows also leave a lasting impression in the area where the production was filmed. Take the sets that were used for the Breaking Bad filming for instance. Now that the film crews and sets are gone, a new type of tourism has been created in the city of Albuquerque. This type of tourism, which is often created as the result of a hit production being filmed in a certain location, is a form of “pop-culture” or “filming” tourism. Tours, guides, and maps are set up which provide tourists with information on the locations that were used for the production’s filming. http://www.visitalbuquerque.org/albuquerque/film-tourism/breaking-bad

For more information on state-by-state tax credits, contact Biletsky Law.