Lewis Silkin leads panel sessions at global music conference

Leading media law firm Lewis Silkin sponsored and participated in the internationally renowned music business forum London Calling, held at Earls Court last week. Partner Cliff Fluet from the Media, Brands and Technology team at Lewis Silkin presented and moderated several conference sessions during the event, addressing the current issues that face the music industry today. 

The successful event attracted numerous international players in the music industry, including major and independent labels, publishers, professional services and musicians, with Sony Ericsson, Universal Music Publishing, Mobile Entertainment Forum, Bebo and Motorola as some of the organisations which attended.

One of the main themes of the event was a focus on alternative revenue streams for record companies feeling the effects of filesharing and illegal downloading on the Internet.  A particular element that has evolved out of the changing music landscape is the new ‘360°’ perspective on contracts, involving record companies looking to access other sources of revenue in their artists through live events, merchandise, brands and advertising.

How to avoid going around in circles: the lawyers’ view
Cliff led a panel of four experts from law firms and record labels to discuss the trend of ‘360° deals’.  The panel consisted of Jeff Liebenson - Herrick Feinstein, Kirsty Jones - Wiggin, Michael Smith - Sony BMG Music and Nigel Jones - Sheridans.

The main topics included:

• The definition of 360° deals – record companies looking to secure alternative revenue streams by signing deals with artists that will go beyond their usual remit of record sales.
• Alternative revenue streams – live events, merchandise, promotions, advertising.
  360° deals as a rising trend – whether record companies will increasingly use this kind of contract.
• Types of 360° deals – whether record companies can use different forms of these deals and whether they will evolve in the future.
  
  

Key issues debated inclued:

• Are 360° deals the future?
• Are the deals too complex?
• How can companies legitimately manage the costs when they have so many factors to consider within these deals ie merchandise, touring etc?
• How will 360° deals affect the artist?
  Will alternative record companies such as Live Nation become more attractive to artists in the face of 360° deals?
• Are 360° deals about control, ownership or money?
  
  

Brands, content and rights
Cliff and Trainee Solicitor Charlie Phillips presented a session on the different problems and issues faced by music companies through branded content.

Main topics included:

• Types of revenue streams – brands, marketing and advertising are the new forms of revenue for music companies and artists – instead of simple record sales. 
• Distribution of content – brands and advertising have evolved and use more content.  There is a need to push this content out to multiple platforms as technology diversifies, for instance through the rise of user-generated content and TV on demand, eg. BBC iPlayer or Sky Plus. 
• Rights – how are rights regulated on the internet?  YouTube displays lots of content with no copyright.
• Liability – who is liable for content being downloaded for free?  How are record companies trying to challenge filesharing/illegal downloading etc?