Dina Lapolt article about an entertainer's Brand and Navigating the music Industry

[Tusk]

In doing some Googling, I came across this aritcle by Haley's Lawyer, Dina Lapolt, about her thoughts in the industry. I found it interesting because I wonder if this is the type of advice Haley is following post Interscope.

Dina LaPolt on Building Your Brand and Career
http://www.ascap.com/playback/2011/12/we...areer.aspx

(the article doesn't allow to copy and paste the text so I'll type up relevant points.... )

*In the past, songwriters made their money from publishing deals which included advance payments.... Now that the music business in becoming an almost wholly service-based industry, that is changing. Music is everywhere, being consumed in more ways than ever....With all of these emerging revenue streams come rewarding opportunities for songwriters.

*The questions now are 1) How do you get your name out there and stand out from the pack?....The internet makes it possible for anyone who has ever written a song to share their work with the world.

*First and most importantly, find your songwriting niche and identify your target audience. Then you build yourself to reach them. This will become your "Songwriter Brand"

*When you reach a certain level of success, push yourself to experiment with new technologies and formats. Copyright holders are notorious for resisting change, but change is necessary, and can even be beneficial, if it is embraced. Get creative with your brand, stay ahead of the curve and be a trendsetter

*You have to ensure that your business affairs are in order. That means surrounding yourself with a competent, trustworty team

*It is critical for everyone who works in the music industry to realize that intellectual property is our currency.

*Do not put all of this responsibility on your representatives, though. You must understand how your business is run and ensure that those around you are working towards a common goal.

*Though it is often hard for the creative mind to conceptualize, you must begin to view yourself as a brand and conduct yourself accordingly....Look at what other people aren't doing and try to fill that niche. your brand will emerge and success will hopefully follow shortly thereafter.

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Phew...too much typing, but alot of these points appear to be ones Haley is heeding in what she has/is doing, moving forward towards a future without Interscope and/or 19.

Here's an interview with Dina, where she talks a little more about the artist and the business.



The caption for this video

In this clip from www.artistshousemusic.org - Dina LaPolt, an entertainment lawyer based in Los Angeles, CA, presents to an audience at Loyola University, New Orleans a wealth of advice drawn from her careers as a musician, manager and lawyer. She discusses how to build the foundations for a career in music, how to hire a music lawyer, what to fight for in your recording contracts, what a management agreement should consist of, why you should be glad that people steal your music , and what it takes to become a music lawyer yourself.

[Miguel]

I found this earlier tonight,

"Breaking Down the Artist's Team with Dina LaPolt:"

http://www.artistshousemusic.org/videos/...ina+lapolt

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*First and most importantly, find your songwriting niche and identify your target audience.

In writing about "stupid boys," Haley has apparently decided her market is teen girls. At least to get signed. That's who's buying the bulk of the music these days.

Listen Up! is more sophisticated than that. So I hope she means the new music is also centered around relationships/love.

[cherelann]

^^^Oh, my goodness gracious, my head is spinning after listening to that interview. I am such a ditz when it comes to business...
Lawyers seem to be a necessary evil in our litigious climate. Ultimately I think Haley has good counsel in Dina. At first she put me off but by the end of the seminar I felt like she was someone a new artist could trust...

[Tusk]

*First and most importantly, find your songwriting niche and identify your target audience.

In writing about "stupid boys," Haley has apparently decided her market is teen girls. At least to get signed. That's who's buying the bulk of the music these days.

Listen Up! is more sophisticated than that. So I hope she means the new music is also centered around relationships/love.

If you look at the 'stupid boys' comment, in it's context, IMO, the operative word is that she "Jokes" about it.

Taking a cue from American pop singer Taylor Swift, a songwriter known to write break-up songs about every ex-boyfriend who has done her wrong, Reinhart jokes her new songs will also be inspired by "stupid boys".

Although, she does follow that up with

Just ask Taylor Swift, she knows all about it... it's always a good outlet.

So who knows ....

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^^^Oh, my goodness gracious, my head is spinning after listening to that interview. I am such a ditz when it comes to business...
Lawyers seem to be a necessary evil in our litigious climate. Ultimately I think Haley has good counsel in Dina. At first she put me off but by the end of the seminar I felt like she was someone a new artist could trust...

Dina is an artist who became a lawyer, so she is more intimate with what an artist faces, or what is best for the artist, than lawyers who don't have that background..

[Tusk]

Dina LaPolt ‏@dinalapolt 16m16 minutes ago
Hey DOJ – see you in court! http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/j..._4.twitter …

Songwriters and composers have been relegated to the sidelines for way too long on an issue that directly affects their livelihoods. So yesterday, songwriter advocacy group Songwriters of North America (SONA) and a few individual songwriters and composers took matters into their own hands and filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice....

...Thus, songwriters are left with really no alternative but to take matters into their own hands. Songwriters are frankly fed up with the way they’re being treated—by the DOJ, by digital service providers, by outdated copyright laws—and they’re not going to take this any longer.

So to the DOJ—we’ll see you in court.

[Tom22]

I found this earlier tonight,

"Breaking Down the Artist's Team with Dina LaPolt:"

http://www.artistshousemusic.org/videos/...ina+lapolt

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I liked the article that Tusk shared too ,

but for those interesting in the business of music definitely listen to this one too!

I really would have had no idea that the attorney played the role "agents" do in the movie/acting industry... or that is how I heard her describe it.

[riley]

I found this it is really old but it gives you a sense of Dina and how she got to be a lawyer. She too was a starving artist.

http://www.musicdish.com/mag/index.php3?id=6496

[john]

I found this it is really old but it gives you a sense of Dina and how she got to be a lawyer. She too was a starving artist.

http://www.musicdish.com/mag/index.php3?id=6496

It is an old article so a lot may have changed, but I found the article quite interesting. This is from part two:

[Gabrielle Hewson] Tell me a bit about your clientele.

Dina LaPolt We have basically three tiers of clients here at the firm. Tier A clients who are basically real successful recording artists who have sold millions and millions of records. Tier B clients who earn steady income that no one knows about, like writers, producers and people who always have agreements on the table that we negotiate, but no one knows who they are, like executive type people. Then there are our Tier C type clients. And these are the artists that we develop that are the Bs and As of tomorrow. We actively shop Rock, Hip-Hop, Heavy Metal, Singer-Songwriter, Pop. We have a lot. Keeps us busy.

[Gabrielle Hewson] You work on flat fees and contingencies instead of the traditional "billable hour," contrary to the conventional and traditional law firm structure. Nonetheless, how do the C tiered artists/bands afford you?

Dina LaPolt I don't ever want a client of mine to not call because they're afraid they can't afford it. I'm not motivated by money. However, we will not take on Tier C type clients unless one of the attorneys here really likes their music and what they are doing, or the artist comes to us from someone in the industry who we really respect.

[Tusk]

Dina LaPolt ‏@dinalapolt 17m17 minutes ago
We won!!! BMI Rate-Court Judge Rules Against Dept. of Justice's '100 Percent' Licensing Decision http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7...-licensing … via @billboard

BMI Rate-Court Judge Rules Against Dept. of Justice's '100 Percent' Licensing Decision

In a surprise move, BMI’s rate court judge ruled on Friday that fractional licensing is allowed under the consent decree the performing-rights organization operates under, industry sources tell Billboard.

In making that ruling, Judge Stanton ruled against the Dept. of Justice’s controversial decision on June 30 -- which insisted that the consent decree mandated full-works licensing and gave both ASCAP and BMI a year to adopt that type of licensing. The decision was roundly criticized by the publishing industry and embraced by licensees, including digital services and radio networks.