Neighboring Rights in Music: § 106(6) and Beyond

ABOUT THE PROGRAM: 

§ 106(6) of the Copyright Act created a limited public performance right in sound recordings, and § 114 allotted the resulting royalties to rightsholders and to featured and nonfeatured recording artists.  But the statute leaves some problems unaddressed, and creates new ones with which the industry continues to grapple.  Who is a featured, and who a nonfeatured artist?  How does the limited scope of § 106(6) affect American artists’ and rightsholders’ efforts to collect royalties from abroad?  Please join our panel of international industry cognoscenti as they explore and explain the world of neighboring rights.

SPEAKERS:

Naomi Asher is Vice President of Neighboring Rights at Sony Music Publishing. She previously co-founded Wixen Music UK Ltd, serving as Director and President from 2010 to January 2020. She co-founded IAFAR (International Association for Arts and Rightsholders) in 2018, after being frustrated by the lack of transparency in the neighboring rights income stream. She is co-author of the UK edition of The Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing, released the fiction novel Shakespeare’s Ripper, and self-published her book By Page.

Joshua Graubart is the principal attorney at the Law Offices of Joshua Graubart, P.C., and is of counsel to Winslett Studnicky McCormick & Bomser LLP, both in New York City. His practice focuses on cross-border copyright and media matters. He is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey and California, and holds law degrees from Duke University and the University of London.

Ryan Lehning is Senior Director, International at SoundExchange, responsible for international activities on behalf of the company’s member artists and labels. Prior to joining SoundExchange, Ryan served as counsel with SONY BMG Music Entertainment in New York where he handled copyright, trademark, e-commerce, new media, and other intellectual property matters. Prior to SONY BMG, Ryan was an associate in the law firm of Smith & Metalitz LLP in Washington DC where his practice focused on domestic and international copyright matters for a diverse portfolio of clients in the music, film, television, software, and book publishing industries. In addition, Ryan served as counsel for the Coalition on Online Accountability, a group working to ensure the enforcement of copyright protection in the online world. Ryan is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center (2002) and Belmont University (1997).

Dwayne Young has been working in Neighbouring Rights for six years. Previously, he worked at PPL (UK) as Senior Membership Specialist and is now working at Sony Music Publishing as Neighbouring Rights Society Relations Manager. Dwayne is responsible for working closely with collections societies and managing performer’s worldwide society registrations and claims. Dwayne is also a member of the IAFAR education sub-committee and an artist manager running his own company Vanguard Music Group Ltd working closely with developing artists in the UK, he was also previously part of the management team for Grammy nominated artist Tiana Major9 who is now signed to Motown/Universal.

Neeta Ragoowansi (Moderator) has been an attorney and music business professional for over 25 years, serving as a strategic advisor, business development resource, and legal counsel to entertainment and tech industry clients. She is currently Senior Counsel, Legal & Business Affairs for Global Citizen. Neeta co-founded NPREX – the first-ever online platform for direct licensing of performance, mechanical and sync rights between music copyright owners and music users. Prior to that, Neeta was founding head of artist-label relations and legal counsel for U.S. digital performance rights organization, SoundExchange, VP of Biz Dev/Legal for Tunesat, Assistant General Counsel for The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and a former board governor for The Recording Academy. Neeta is also currently President of Music Managers Forum – US (MMF-US), a Global Co-Chair & Board Officer of Women in Music and Diversity & Inclusion Chair for the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries.

CLE CREDIT:

The Copyright Society is an Accredited Continuing Legal Education Provider in California, New York and Pennsylvania. Instructions for verifying attendance will be emailed to registrants prior to the program.

California:  1.25 Participatory
New York: 1.5 Areas of Professional Practice / This intermediate program is transitional and appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys.

Pennsylvania: 1.0 General