Sunday, May 27, 2012

I haven't posted in some time, I've been very busy with so many great projects, so I've decided to post some photos enjoy....

Entertainment Lawyer of the Year Dinner. Beverly Hills Bar Association. Nick Blesich & Charlie Sheen
2012 Grammy Awards Nick Blesich & Taya Rayden


Chalice Recording Studios: Nick Blesich & Taya Rayden
Courtside Laker Games: The Game and Nick Blesich
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich & Nick Blesich
HSN Oscar Party @ Four Seasons, Nick Blesich & Taya Rayden
Chalice Studios
Nick Blesich - Julie Pilat & Tess Taylor
Reality Show Awards: Nick Blesich & Puck
2012 Grammy Awards Nick Blesich
Entertainment Lawyer of the Year: Tom Arnold & Nick Blesich


Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2012. The Holidays are now coming to an end and we are all preparing to return to work. I myself took the past two weeks off and will be kicking back up on Tuesday, with a development meeting at Disney on Friday afternoon.


So the new year and has come. Over break you've prepared a list of objectives focused on your career. How are you going to put those plans into motion? Below are some points to think about and use in your efforts in completing those goals. These are not in order, be sure to thoroughly read each point, take notes, and contact me with any questions.

www.nickblesich.com

1. Timeframe: Be realistic, a career in music does not happen overnight.
2. Budget: Have you prepared a detailed budget covering all costs with a misc expense bracket?
3. Representation: Who is managing your career? Do you have a lawyer or similar to review and/draft your agreements. Be sure you have someone experienced in music. Do not hire your friend fresh out of law school to do your record deal. You will probably get crushed.
4. How do you plan to market your music?
5. Image: How do you plan to shape your imagine into a star quality artist
6. How well can you handle rejection?
7. Everyone in a Hollywood nightclub is a producer, probably full of shit. Nevertheless, get their info and forward it to your management.
8. Never pay your manager any upfront or monthly fees. Max is 20% commission.
9. Learn publishing, mechanical, public performance, etc etc rights.
10. Join BMI
11. What studio are you planning on recording at?
12. Who's your engineer?
13. Email me and I'll set you up with Universal Music Mastering for all your mastering needs
14. Email or call me with any questions.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

What I would do if I was President???

I know this is completely off topic of my usual music blog.

This is a list of things I would do if I was President. I'm not a politician and I don't know much about politics, so bear with me and see what my views are as a normal citizen.

1. If I was president, the spending would be cut, no more wars, and if it doesn't effect or benefit this country, I wouldn't care what is going on in other countries, isn't that what Nato and the United Nations are for?  I'd focus on this country because I would be president of here. Not president of everywhere else. 


2.If we pay a 20 percent tax to sell our products in china. Well china would pay 20 percent tax to bring their product here. China would be forced to re-evaluate the value of their currency and stop under valuing it. 


3. If you move your company out of the country to China, Mexico, India, etc etc,  expect to be taxed so bad you'll bring those jobs back to this country. I would ask you if you're crazy thinking that you're going to end thousands of American jobs and still benefit from selling your product in this country?


4. Politicians would have a set salary, no bonuses, stealing, or raises. No government spending accounts for dinners and vacations. If your politician is caught stealing they will face the maximum penalty allowed until the law. 


5. I would provided welfare for 6 months, if you cannot provide valid proof you've applied for work, your welfare is cut off, no more funding for the lazy ass people. I'd be an awesome leader.


6. The troops come home immediately and let someone else deal with the worlds problems. $9 billion a week or whatever it costs for these wars would end. That money would be used to support this country, this countries schools, economy, people, and society of this country, not everyone else... 


7. Oil & Opec. we will pay you no more than $25.00 a barrel, if you won't except that price, tough shit and leave your oil ships floating around the ocean and we'll use our own oil. 


8. Taxes will not be going up for the wealthy, the poor, or the middle class. Spending will be cut drastically to prevent continued tax hikes.


9. Banks will lend to anyone who is worthy of repayment. The mortgage industry will be very closely regulated to ensure the borrowers are able to pay a mortgage within reason. Mortgage Modification attempts will be a requirement before foreclosure can begin. 


10. Education: every and all children regardless of their financial status will have the same opportunities to attend college as anyone else. An amount saved by not going to war with everyone will be allocated to education,  provided education for all student, young and old. 


11. We will be building schools and business in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Detroit and other troubled cities instead of the middle east. 


12. The wall street executives who scammed and defrauded millions of people out of billions of dollars would face criminal charges similar to Madoff. No bonuses on wall street would be permitted until every single penny of the bailout money was paid back including interest. 


13. Healthcare: you chose your own doctor, this country cannot force you to spend money or force you to pay for something you do not want. Healthcare is your choice to make. Employers who offer healthcare will be offered the service at a highly discounted rate and will also receive a tax benefit for supplying their employees several different companies and offers in obtaining healthcare.  Troops will also receive comp'd healthcare to address their wounds and injuries, both physically and mentally. 


There is alot more I can talk about, but these are just some thoughts. 

Monday, March 21, 2011

Samples - Get The Permission Before Usage

Today's topic is on the sampling of another artists material. There are many different types of samples and when you would like to sample something you must be sure you are prepared and knowledgeable when inquiring about using a sample. First you need to learn whether your planning on sampling the master composition or a re-sample.  For example you have an idea and want to use a re-sample to a track that was released by Sony Music. Would you contact Sony Music, NO, you would contact the law firm or publisher who owns the rights to the musical composition. In the case you wanted to use the exact sample you would then be using the master composition and you would be required to go through Sony Music. If you used the sample knowingly, you would be willfully infringing on a copyright which would lead to a serious issue/ lawsuit.

The legendary bands of Queen and The Rolling Stones both fell victim to new groups who used their music without their permission. Vanilla Ice used a sample of Queen and The Verve used a sample of The Rolling Stones which lead to both of the groups earning themselves lawsuits and being sued by the Stones and Queen.

In the case with the Stones and The Verve. The Verve used the Stones track in their own track call Bitter Sweet Symphony and as a result of this the court ordered that all revenues generated from this track go directly to the Rolling Stones.

That was the only hit for the Verve, it's sad to see such a popular track go to someone else because they didn't follow the guidelines and laws pertaining to copyrights and ownership of music.

Before you want to use a sample from a major artist learn the laws,  and consult a reputable entertainment attorney, because the couple thousand dollars you pay him will be a whole let less than having to pay damages and fork over all your revenues to the artist you stole the sample from.

Till next time. 

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Have a safe and fun Holiday- Do not drink and drive

Before you go out and drink and drive tonight, think about that life changing or life ending those drinks can cause. Be smart, have a good time and a cab ride is always worth more than a life.

This was a best friend of mine.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

American Idol 2011 - Best Season Yet!

This season of American Idol is shaping up as the best yet. With the help of Interscope legend Jimmy Iovine and Geffen CEO Ron Fair, the contestants are utilizing tips and trades from the legend to their advantages with some of the best performances to ever hit the Idol stage.

The Judges are working pretty well together even though Randy Jackson has the "position" as the tough guy, Steven Tyler has been the one a couple times to lay down the truth. Jennifer Lopez is doing well, but may be a little soft sometimes in her expressions of the performances.

As of now, not from a fan stand point but from a talent stand point, this is who I have in the top three, and why they are there.

1. Pia Toscano - Great control, hits the keys, great looking girl, with a very powerful voice. She holds the ideal market for young girls. A disadvantage of hers is the consistent ballads. I would have her switch it up and release a pop style track with her vocal. That would be a great performance, with a great stage performance and presence.

2. Paul McDonald - This guy has the smile, the voice, the qerky style that makes him that much better. His vocal style is very unique and will sound very good on the radio in a more laid back acoustic style track. Perhaps even a James Blunt style but brighter.

3. Scotty - Country music in his soul. If he doesn't win American Idol (I don't think he will) he will most likely get a record deal from Interscope or Nine. I would have him do nothing but sing those country songs. And of coarse finish school.


Why won't James Durbin make it? Those highs will only be enjoyable for a short amount of time. That style of rock is no longer in "style".

I'm curios how the season will shape up to with performances by Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez coming up. How will the contestants react to upcoming changes and the fear of being sent home? 
How will the X-factor and it's five million dollar grand prize effect American Idol?

That's all to come along with a new blog about independent artists who promote themselves, and the world of digital distribution and content.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Rights and How Important They Are Part 1.

Today's blog is based on music rights. Many musicians and new comers to the industry are completely unaware of the importance of retaining rights. The rights I will be discussing today are as follows:


1. Copyrights
2. Publishing Rights
3. Mechanical Rights
4. Public Performance Rights.

Copyright is the right to copy, specifically, a property right in an original work of authorship including literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, motion pictures, and other audiovisual works and sound recordings fixed in any tangible medium of expression, giving the holder exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, and display the work.
Copyright laws are governed by the copyright act of 1976. 17 USCA ss101-1332

The Copyright Act of 1976  was a major revision of the U.S. copyright law, extending the term of protection to the life of the author plus 70 years, measured from the date of creation, greatly expanding the types of work that qualify for protection, dropping the requirement that the work be published before it can be protected, making fair use a statutory defense to a claim in infringement and the preempting state common law of copyright.

PUBLISHING RIGHTS: Music publishing rights refer to who owns the rights to a song and who gets money from it. You own your own rights as soon as you've written a song, meaning if it generates any money, you get all of it. You can choose to find a music publisher if you don't have the time, inclination or contacts to make your music generate more money.

A very successful and hit musician gave up half his publishing rights for the next three years for $100,000. I will not say who bought and sold the rights, but the buyer is the one enjoying the benefits of that deal.


MECHANICAL RIGHTS: The rights to reproduce a song in a phonorecord form, such as an audiotape, or CD. The rights obtained by paying a statutory royalty, it is not necessary to obtain the songwriters express permission. 
ALSO educate yourself on Mechanical Royalties:

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS: A copyright holders exclusive right to recite, play, act, show, or otherwise render the protected work publicly.  Whether directly or by technology means. "as broadcasting the work on TV. Every public performance of a copyrighted work require authorization from the copyright owner or its representative, unless a statutory ephemeral recording exemption applies.



Questions or comments are always welcomed and will be answered.
Nick