From management problems to copyright infringement suits and merchandising deals gone sour, rock musicians have been plagued by legal troubles since the genre's earliest days. Here, rock critic and attorney Soocher profiles some of the industry's most seminalAand flamboyantAcourtroom battles. In pithy detail, he revisits the bitter disputes that artists such as the Beatles, the Shirelles and George Michael have had with their record labels; the dramatic trial in which the heavy metal band Judas Priest was accused of inciting two teens to commit suicide; and the landmark Supreme Court case involving the First Amendment rights of the rap group 2 Live Crew. What emerges is a cautionary tale about the uneasy intersection between art and commerce in which musicians who lack business savvy are ripe for exploitation. More noteworthy is Soocher's exploration of the ways legal wranglings can have an impact on an artist's creative output, often permanently altering the dynamics of the artist/record industry relationship. A copyright infringement suit filed against Michael Jackson in 1992, for example, has left record companies increasingly hesitant to accept unsolicited material from new artists, making it harder for unknowns to break into the business. Readers unfamiliar with legal jargon may at times get bogged down in the details of courtroom proceedings, but Soocher's account of the financial and legal pitfalls into which an unsuspecting musician can stumble is an eye-opening reminder that where there is money to be made, lawsuits are sure to follow. Foreign rights, Jennifer Hayes.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Founding editor of the industry publication Entertainment Law & Finance, attorney/journalist Soocher details nine court cases to illustrate his claim that "The legal issues and lawsuits that artists and their estates become involved in can have as much impact on the music we hear as do the musicians with whom the artists work or even the songs they choose to record." While most of the cases will be familiar to even the most casual newspaper reader, Soocher goes inside the courtroom for a bird's-eye view of such issues as copyright infringement (the Elvis Presley estate), obscenity charges (2 Live Crew), and alleged suicide responsibility vs. First Amendment rights (Judas Priest). While detailing the legal and political maneuverings of both sides, Soocher is also a skilled observer of events outside the courtroom. Readable for nonlawyers and recommended for public libraries; academic and law school collections should have an interested constituency as well.?David M. Turkalo, Suffolk Univ. Law Sch. Lib., Boston
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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