LOS ANGELES SONGSALIVE! SONGWRITER'S WORKSHOP 

GUEST SPEAKERS - Christiane Cargill Kinney and Gary P. Simonian

 TOPIC:  The Do's and Don'ts of Artistic Collaborations: A Legal Overview and Real-World Perspective

WHEN: THIRD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

NEXT: Sunday, February 19, 2012

TIME: Starts 12:00 am SHARP. Ends at 3 pm. Please be on time.

WHERE: THE FINNISH CENTER
10701 Magnolia Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA

COST: Free for Songsalive! Pro Members. Non-members pay a donation of $10. 

WHAT TO BRING: Scroll down to see the rules and what to bring to this Workshop. Critique preference is given to attendees who are prepared.

GUEST SPEAKERS - Christiane Cargill Kinney and Gary P. Simonian

 TOPIC:  The Do's and Don'ts of Artistic Collaborations: A Legal Overview and Real-World Perspective

Two entertainment attorneys who have each performed in the trenches as indie artists will be providing their wealth of legal knowledge and real world experience, covering the basics of copyright law, and steps you should (and shouldn't) take to protect your music when you are collaborating with another artist, whether it be a songwriting partner, a band, a producer, etc.  They will walk you through the steps of properly registering collaborative works with the Library of Congress, and why this is an important step in the process.  They will explain the oh-so-important but frequently-misunderstood Work for Hire Agreement.  They will also explain the legal consequences of artistic collaborations from a real world perspective: for example, what happens when one person writes all the music, and the other person writes all the lyrics -- can the co-writer who wrote the musical portion license an instrumental version of the song and keep all of the money?  Can you license a song without your songwriting partner's permission?  Does it matter if you belong to different performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC)?  What happens if an artistic collaborator disappears or dies?  These questions and many others will be answered during this engaging and important session.

Christiane Cargill Kinney:

Ms. Kinney is a partner at LeClairRyan and Chair of the Firm's Entertainment Industry team. Spearheading the entertainment division in the Los Angeles office, Ms. Kinney’s practice focuses on entertainment transactions, including the drafting and negotiation of film, television and music contracts and licenses, and application of new technology relating to music, including online music distribution and Digital Millennium Copyright Act issues. She also handles intellectual property litigation matters, and frequently advises entertainment clients on right of publicity, false light, defamation and related issues. She has been featured in SuperLawyer Magazine for her work in the field of entertainment.  Ms. Kinney, a musician herself, is a member of ASCAP and a voting member of the Recording Academy, and fronts the Los Angeles-based band Riddle the Sphinx as its lead singer and pianist.

Gary P. Simonian:

Mr. Simonian is an associate at LeClairRyan and a member of the Firm's Entertainment Industry team.  His primary practice areas include protecting the intellectual property rights of large consumer electronic corporations and technology providers from actions constituting piracy, counterfeiting, and infringement. He has also handled numerous trademark and copyright infringement actions.  Mr. Simonian is a keyboard player and enjoys collaborating with other musicians in his free time.

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ABOUT THE SONGSALIVE! LOS ANGELES WORKSHOP

Are you a songwriter willing to take your songs to the next level? Workshop your songs to be the best they can be, and get them out to the world.  

The Songsalive! Workshops are open to all songwriters, composers, musicians, singers and music lovers. This is your chance to develop your songwriting in a supportive and intimate environment, meet invaluable music industry experts, network with fellow members, and be part of your local songwriters community. 

Come to regular Songsalive! song critique workshops and develop collaborations, meet industry guests, showcase and gain feedback for your songs and music in a professional and supportive environment.

The Songsalive! workshops are open to all songwriters and music composers of all levels and music genres and you don't have to be a Songsalive! member to attend (though preference is given to Pro members for critique, and we encourage everyone to join Songsalive! to maximize your opportunities with us).

The first half is solely dedicated to an in-the-round critique workshop where writers present one song each - either on CD or live - with feedback and critique given by a guest speaker or the Songsalive! moderator (who inturn allows some comments from attendees also).

The second half is dedicated to an Music Industry educational and informative discussion/talk, often with a guest speaker, and plenty of time to talk and network.

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BE PREPARED

RULES AND WHAT TO BRING FOR SONG CRITIQUES AT OUR WORKSHOPS

You MUST RSVP through Meetup in order to be considered for a song critique by 11.45pm Friday before the workshop.  http://www.meetup.com/songsalive

1. Members and Non-Members can attend the Workshop, however, ONLY Songsalive! Pro Members can present their song for critique or pitch.
2. First timers (whether Member or Non-Member) may only watch/audit the workshop (not present a song), but can participate in question/answer segment.
3. Song presenters for critique/pitch must:
a)  Bring at least 30 typed copies of your lyric sheet (with full contact details)
b) bring your song on CD or perform live (bring your instrument - unplugged/no P.A). All CD's must be burned to work on a CD Player. Please check the CD first - if it won't play in your car CD then it won't work at the workshop.
c) have CD labeled with track number / and instruments tuned and ready.

4. All those wishing to register for the Song Critique are taken in the order that they arrive at the venue the day of the Workshop. We can only get 10 songs confirmed for the session, any others will be on a wait list if we have the time will will try to fit those in.

MORE ABOUT THE SONGSALIVE! WORKSHOPS

Our guest speakers represent all facets of the industry from A&R, publishers, successful producers, CD production and distribution execs and, of course, writers and composer who share their ideas, tips & techniques on all aspects of the songwriting craft. 

Some topics include song structure, song production, lyric writing, finding inspiration, songs and the media, promoting your music online, how to tour, how to get songs in film and television, performing at your best.

Our workshops are designed for songwriters and composers (from budding to professional) who have written songs, or are in the songwriting stage, who want to further their craft, gain feedback on their music, and potentially get their songs out to the world. However, we also have singers, musicians, and non music types who attend as it's a great networking opportunity (singers looking for songwriters, or musicians looking for songs, as examples).

The goals of the workshop are about 1) the SONG and making it the best it can be 2) providing a community for our members to gather, network, collaborate and learn.

 It is essential to register your attendance in advance so that the coordinator knows how many to expect and ensure a successful workshop for all.

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LINKS

More info and RSVP for this event: 
http://www.songsalive.org/events.htm

Alternate RSVP for event at http://www.meetup.com/songsalive

More info on this chapter: http://www.songsalive.org/chapters.htm
http://www.songsalive.org/group/losangeles

More about Songsalive! Workshops, Showcases and programs
http://www.songsalive.org/programs.htm

The Songsalive! website http://www.songsalive.org

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CONTACT SONGSALIVE! MAIN OFFICE
usa@songsalive.org - all general inquiries
membership@songsalive.org - membership only questions
1-866-JAM-6565    (That's, 866-526-6565) 

http://www.songsalive.org go Contact