This panel addresses the question as to why, with music accessibility and consumption at all time highs, music revenue and royalties are at all time lows. Our experts will discuss the history of music distribution from retail outlets, to the inception of Napster to the present; and how content creators (and artists) are paid, the applicable laws and legislation, and the present and future landscape for creating and selling music.

Panelists:

• Jay Cooper, Esq., Greenberg Traurig LLP
  Jay Cooper, Esq. is one of the nation's leading music attorneys. His practice focuses on music industry, motion picture, television, multimedia and intellectual property issues. He has earned numerous awards and accolades for his work and has been featured on Daily Variety's List of Top Dealmakers in the Entertainment Industry and the Daily Journal's Top 10 Copyright Lawyers in California. He is the Former President of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

• Dina LaPolt, Esq., LaPolt Law PC
  Dina LaPolt, Esq. is an attorney at LaPolt Law, P.C., a boutique transactional entertainment law firm in West Hollywood that specializes in representing creators, including recording artists, songwriters, producers, musicians, authors, writers, photographers, actors, and others. She is an expert at strategizing and solving complex and sophisticated legal and business issues relating to contracts, copyrights, trademarks, rights of publicity, and litigation. In addition to practicing law, Dina serves as an activist for creators and celebrities in the areas of privacy, copyright, and fairness in radio, often becoming involved in legislative matters that affect the rights of her clients and advocating on their behalf.

• Cedar Boschan, Boschan Corp.
  Cedar Boschan is President of Boschan Corp. She has 13 years of music accounting experience. Cedar audits major companies for music rightsholders including talented composers, publishers, recording artists and their heirs. She also consults on community property and estate matters concerning music rights, values damages and gives expert testimony in litigation matters. Cedar currently serves the Association of Independent Music Publishers as its national treasurer, with P&L responsibility for New York, Nashville and Los Angeles. She earned a BS in Music Industry from the University of Southern California.

• Edwin McPherson, Esq., McPherson Rane LLP
  Ed McPherson, Esq. is a partner with the Los Angeles entertainment litigation firm McPherson Rane LLP. He was recently recognized in Billboard magazine as one of “50 Attorneys of Note in the Record Biz.” Mr. McPherson has handled numerous matters involving celebrity rights of publicity, rights of privacy (including internet privacy and stalkers), defamation, record production and distribution, music publishing, copyright and trademark infringement, management/artist disputes, motion picture and television production and distribution, breach of implied contract (submission cases), net profits, unfair competition, WGA, DGA, SAG, and AFTRA disputes, legal malpractice, and general civil litigation. Mr. McPherson is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received a BA degree in Psychology and a Music degree in Recording Engineering, and a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law.

Moderator:

Keith Cooper, Esq., de la Peña & Holiday LLP
Keith Cooper, Esq. manages the Los Angeles office of de la Peña & Holiday LLP. Since beginning his practice in 1995, Mr. Cooper has represented clients in copyright and trademark matters, including acquisition, protection and licensing. His practice has also entailed negotiating and drafting many entertainment agreements related to recording, merchandising, authorship, songwriting, production, management, distribution, contractor/works for hire, internet privacy and terms of use. Mr. Cooper has represented a range of clients, including music artists/performers, songwriters and arrangers, as well as actors, photographers and designers. He has also represented a number of businesses, including video game and software entities, a film production company, and clothing and design companies.     

*CLA is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. This program qualifies for 1.5 hours of general MCLE credit and zero hours of Legal Ethics, Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession and Prevention, Detection or Treatment of Substance Abuse credit. This event may meet the requirements for continuing legal education credits in other states.  Please check with the bar in the state in which you are seeking credits to determine if this event is eligible.