Hit the right notes without tripping on the legalese

We know that building a successful music career can be overwhelming... so we put together this checklist just for you! It's not exhaustive, and not every item is relevant to everyone—but it's a helpful start to navigating the legal and business side of your music!

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P.S. "Own Your Sound: Master the Business of Music" is still running! Catch this six-week FREE online series brought to you by Colorado Attorneys for the Arts (CAFTA) and Colorado Music Industry Alliance (CMIA) all about the law and business of music to secure your rights, collect your revenue, and have a successful career.

Musicians!  When it's time to record, what do you need to know? Producer and engineer agreements, synch and master use licenses, sampling and more...

Dave Ratner will cover everything related to #contracts and deals related to your recordings at Week 4 of "Own Your Sound: Master the Business of Music" brought to you by Colorado Attorneys for the Arts (CAFTA) and Colorado Music Industry Alliance (CMIA)!

"Own Your Sound" is a six-week series about the law and business of music to secure your rights, collect your revenue, and have a successful career. And yes, it is FREE!! The virtual sessions are held weekly on Monday nights from 6:00 – 7:30pm until April 7.

You can still sign up! https://cbca.org/own-your-sound-master-the-business-of-music/

What's the relationship between licensing, copyrights, and human creativity?

Publishing, Split Sheets, Publishing Deals, PROs, and Mechanicals. Writer’s share? Publisher’s share? ASCAP? BMI? MLC? 

Dave Ratner will cover all of it at Week 2 of  "Own Your Sound: Master the Business of Music" brought to you by Colorado Attorneys for the Arts (CAFTA) and Colorado Music Industry Alliance (CMIA)!

"Own Your Sound" is a six-week series about the law and business of music to secure your rights, collect your revenue, and have a successful career. And did we mention it's for FREE?! The virtual sessions are held weekly on Monday nights from 6:00 – 7:30pm until April 7.

You can still sign up! 👉 https://cbca.org/own-your-sound-master-the-business-of-music/

Questions? Send us a message.

When does "inspiration" become "infringement"?

Dave Ratner explores this common question in the creative industry.

Follow us on social @creativelawnetwork for more insights on your creative business.

Musicians—we want YOU to win in the music industry!

We're excited to be part of Colorado Attorneys for the Arts (CAFTA) and Colorado Music Industry Alliance (CMIA)'s "Own Your Sound: Master the Business of Music". Our very own Dave Ratner joins Max Hass of Holon Law in discussing about the law and business of music to secure your rights, collect your revenue, and have a successful career. And did we mention it's for FREE?!

The virtual sessions will be held weekly on Monday nights from 6:00 – 7:30pm from March 3 through April 7, 2025. You can sign up in advance for any or all of these sessions:

📅 WEEK 1 / March 3: Music Copyright and Contract Fundamentals. Understand the rights you have in your music, the contracts that control those rights, and the money that flows from those rights.

📅 WEEK 2 / March 10: Publishing, Split Sheets, Publishing Deals, PROs, and Mechanicals. Writer’s share? Publisher’s share? ASCAP? BMI? MLC? We’ll cover all of it!

📅 WEEK 3 / March 17: Masters, Session Musician Agreements, Record Deals, and SoundExchange. Master your master rights! This session will cover everything related to your sound recordings.

📅 WEEK 4 / March 24: Producer and Engineer Agreements, Synch and Master Use Licenses, and Sampling. When it’s time to record, what do you need to know? This session covers everything related to the contracts and deals for recording.

📅 WEEK 5 / March 31: Management, Booking Agent, and Live Performance Agreements. Contracts, contracts, CONTRACTS! You need to know these deals and we’ll explain them all.

📅 WEEK 6 / April 7: Running Your Band Like a Business: LLCs/Corporations, Band Agreements, and Trademarks. This session is all about the business behind the music. We bring it all together in this final class.

Sign-up link: https://cbca.org/own-your-sound-master-the-business-of-music/

Questions? Send us a message!

Are creatives and artists the same?

Who are creatives?

Are you one of them?

As a law firm serving creative individuals and businesses, we've worked with clients of various industries and specialties. Here are a few examples of creatives we love working with.

P.S. We're sure this list is not complete! What would you add?

Good food deserves great marketing!

This month's Client Spotlight is on Grapevine Local Food Marketing. Founded in 2016, it was born from Sarah Highlen's diverse marketing experience and long-time advocacy for local food. 

Now a full-fledged team of local food marketing professionals, Grapevine offers cost-effective marketing solutions to local farms, food businesses, and local food initiatives across the US and Canada.

If you love farm life and local food businesses, you'll also love following Grapevine's stories and social updates! Give them a follow and check out their website to learn more about their farm marketing services.

Which one is your favorite?

Here's a bit of trivia you might love: Do you know that there are two copyrights in every song? 

1. The first one is the composition--the words and music, also known as publishing rights.

2. The second one is the recording, also called the master.

As music lawyers, we help our clients with contracts, copyrights, and business law. We take care of everything on the business side so they can focus on and enjoy creating music.

So if you're a musician or creative who needs some support with the legal stuff, that's our forte.  

Send us a message so we can help!

They say timing is everything… but does it apply to copyright registrations, too?

Should you register every iteration of your work? Or the final version only? What if you want to update it?

Dave Ratner shares how you can make the decision more confidently.

Got more questions? Send us a message!