4:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Session C:
Evaluating and Negotiating Artist Contracts in an MP3 environmnet
The nature of the artist’s relationship with the record company, the publisher, the TV industry, the merchandiser, even with the venues on tour is now up for grabs. As each new technology comes into place, the implications to the artist have to be re-evaluated. The entire business structure of the artist in the business community must be re-engineered and newly understood. It will be the job of artist’s management as well as the legal team to come to terms with these changes. As each current contract comes up, it will be their role to understand how the artist must best move forward given the new opportunities that the technologies provide.
A.J. Peralta, President, Digital Brandcasting Corporation
Daryl G. Berg, Vice President of Strategic Planning, TheOrchard.com
Kevin Nakao, CEO, MusicBlitz
David Helfant, Partner, Troop, Steuber, Pasich, Reddick & Tobey
John Shaeffer, Managing Partner, O'Donnell & Shaeffer, LLP
Owen Sloane, Partner, Berger Kahn
Nick Abrahams, SVP, Legal and Business Development, SpikeRadio.com, Moderator
A.J. Peralta, President, Digital Brandcasting Corporation: A.J. Peralta, who built his career developing the convergence of media, technology and entertainment, is one of the most respected rich media technology executives in America. He has a track record of creating pioneering production and media solutions and managing complex, multi-million-dollar projects on the Internet and in television, film and international business. Currently, Peralta is president to Digital Brandcasting Corporation, a digital management company bridging entertainment and technology for a client list including pop icons such as Will Smith, Savage Garden, Deftones, Trisha Yearwood, Boyz II Men, Montel Jordan, and Live. Peralta served as Project Lead on Bank of America’s nationwide launch of their ecommerce solution, the Internet Order Center (IOC) and the BA eWallet. He was content architect and project manager for the Warner Music Group (WMG) on the "Madison Project," the ambitious broadband music initiative that included partners Sony, Universal, BMG, EMI and IBM. Prior to that assignment, he produced WMG’s Internet music sample archive project. Peralta is co-founder of GreenGalactic.com, a pop culture marketing company specializing in Internet and entertainment clients. He also co-founded and served as chief executive officer of Tokyo-based Lamuz Inc., a next generation production company specializing in Internet, retail software and TV development, and was responsible for all domestic and international business. During his career, Peralta has worked with IBM, Sony, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Honda, the Samuel Goldwyn Company, Dick Clark Productions and other blue-chip multinational corporations. He developed Internet initiatives for the G7 Summit Nova Scotia and created the first multilingual, database-driven website for the government of Australia’s consumer efforts in Asia. As a rich media expert, Peralta has authored articles for Software Japan Magazine and Excel’s Music Industry Report. He also served as an advisor to Pioneer Electronics, Toyota Motor, and Kodak Japan on their Internet strategies. Peralta is the producer and co-writer of "Ted," the award-winning independent film, and has produced and directed numerous television commercials, including Jeep’s launch campaign in Japan, as well as campaigns for Honda and Toyota. In Los Angeles, he is active with charities including AIDS Projects Los Angeles (APLA) and has produced mixed media programs for The Getty Center. Peralta started his education in computer science and then graduated from the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Daryl G. Berg, Vice President of Strategic Planning, TheOrchard.com: Daryl G. Berg, Vice President of Strategic Planning, is an attorney who worked in the Business Affairs Department of International Creative Management and TVT Records. Daryl recently moved from The Orchard's Business Development Department to head the office of Strategic Planning, where he has helped to establish many of The Orchard's crucial business partners. Daryl is also responsible for setting up the New York Pho, the east-coast version of the weekly, cutting edge gathering of Internet music professionals founded by Internet pundit Jim Griffin in LA.
Kevin Nakao, CEO, MusicBlitz: Kevin Nakao is CEO of MusicBlitz, a music and technology company that creates exclusive music and video content from established artists for Internet, wireless, broadband, and offline distribution. With more than 10 years of music industry, Internet and start-up experience, Nakao has recorded and promoted top-selling artists, built award-winning Web sites, generated advertising and e-commerce revenues and developed successful customer acquisition programs. Launched in January 2000, the MusicBlitz has compiled an exclusive catalog of original music and video from more than 100 well-known artist, including several Grammy-winning and platinum-selling acts. MusicBlitz is also the first company to introduce several Web-based product/service innovations, and has built an extensive online and offline marketing and distribution network. Nakao recently spoke at the Digital Distribution of Music Conference/LA, Venture 2000, Web LA and will speak at the upcoming ChangeMusic/CMJ festival in Atlanta. He has presented at other events and conferences sponsored by CMJ, First Conference, Miller Freeman and UCLA.
David Helfant, Partner, Troop, Steuber, Pasich, Reddick & Tobey: David Helfant has an extensive musical background. An experienced classical, rock and jazz guitarist, he has served as executive producer on a variety of music-industry projects, including recording projects for Geffen Records, BMG and RCA Records. David also has served as executive producer for such high-profile musical projects as Jennifer Love Hewitt's debut record release entitled "Love Songs." David has represented a wide variety of clients in the entertainment industry, including Johnny Carson, Van Halen, The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm Ltd., Pittard Sullivan, Lyrick Studios, DirecTV, Saban Entertainment, Rita Coolidge, Domino, BMG Victor's Edoya Records, Pete Escovedo, Expose, Arlo Guthrie, Mitsubishi Electric's Meldac Corporation, J-Wave Music, Risk Music Group, Nippon Television Corp., Nia Peeples, Rhino Films, Rhino Records and Doug Weston's Troubadour.
Owen Sloane, Partner, Berger Kahn: Owen Sloane, one of the most highly respected attorneys in the entertainment industry, has represented a number of high profile celebrities including Elton John, Kenny Rogers, Suzanne Vega, Bonnie Raitt and Jeffrey Osborne. Others on his roster, past and present, include Roseanne Cash, Olivia Newton John, Fleetwood Mac, The Judds, Tanya Tucker, Reba McEntire, Donna Summer, Joe Cocker, Barry Manilow, Leon Russell, Rickie Lee Jones and Steve Winwood. In addition to representing artists, Sloane has also worked for companies such as Motown and Shelter Records. He has also worked for Playboy Enterprises, Lorimar and MTM Productions. He currently handles the Frank Zappa Estate, the Harry Warren Estate and is an expert in copyrights and intellectual properties. An honors graduate from both Cornell and Yale, Sloane was a member of the Yale Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. A frequent lecturer on various aspects of entertainment law, Sloane speaks candidly about "How To Break Into Show Business", "How To Choose an Entertainment Attorney," and "How To Negotiate A Deal." One of the subjects on which he is most versed, is conflicts of interest in the entertainment industry; a subject on which Sloane is credited with being an expert. In addition to having represented a number of music superstars, Sloane also has worked for individuals in film and television including Shelly Long, Elliot Gould and academy award winning cinematographer, Haskell Wexler. Sloane is an expert in new media and has many clients in the Internet and CD-ROM areas. He is a frequent lecturer on various subjects of entertainment law and has spoken at UCLA, Stanford, Harvard and before a number of bar associations. Sloane also has spoken to several industry groups around the world in London, England; and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. Owen Sloane has authored many articles on entertainment law for trade publications, law journals and consumer newspapers and magazines. Sloane enjoys spending time off with wife Beverly and their three daughters: Meredith, 24, Lindsay, 22 and Brooke, 16. Travel and entertainment events are frequent family outings.
Nick Abrahams, SVP, Legal and Business Development, SpikeRadio.com: Nick joined Spike in early 1999 and has been responsible for numerous firsts in the online music industry. Nick negotiated the first online music syndicator license with the RIAA and again with ASCAP. He put together one of the first OEM Internet Radio Station deals for Nike.com, with its Olympic station, "Radio Free Sydney." He negotiated the creation and production of the first convergent TV/Internet music video show "SpikeNow" for Pacific Century CyberWorks’ Network of the World. Prior to joining Spike, Nick was an executive at John Wells Productions (Warner Brothers), where he had responsibility for many of the business affairs, development and production issues involved in the company’s television shows (ER, The West Wing, Third Watch) and feature films. Nick practiced as an attorney for eight years in the Internet, entertainment, IT and media fields, both in private practice and as corporate counsel for IT multinational, NCR. He has degrees in Commerce and Law from the University of Queensland. He has a Masters in Film, Television and New Media Producing from the University of Southern California and has produced numerous short films and documentaries, including Searching for Alison Porchnik, starring Woody Allen and Carol Kane. Nick was the founder and proprietor of The Comedy Store in Tokyo, Japan’s only English language comedy venue. Nick is a regular media commentator on radio station 2BL in Sydney and has spoken at numerous conferences, including Cable & Satellite Television Conference (Sydney), Pan Asia Satellite & Cable Television Conference (Hong Kong), Media Finance & Investment Summit (Hong Kong), Asia China Forum (Shanghai). Nick is a founding director of New Creative Management, a management and production company focused on animators on the Web.