The Musician's Guide to Band Partnerships & Legal Issues

Welcome to the "Musician's Guide" Series!

This series is pulled directly from the courses I've created for my university position in Music Business. All of these courses are designed for the everyday musician - amateur or professional - who has little or no knowledge on the topic, but wants to master it.

This class is all about Band Partnerships and Legal Issues. In other words: How bands (and any musical collaboration) work together. In this class, I'll give you a template for a typical agreement between band members, and walk you through what everything means.

100% Answer Rate! Every single question posted to this class is answered within 24 hours by the instructor. 

It is ideal for anyone who is in a band or wants to start a band. Especially:

• Musicians: If you are making music with other people, you need to understand your rights and come to some understandings.
• Producers: If you are producing for other musicians, you should have them under contract. In this class, I'll walk you through the entire contract, and give you a template to use.
• Curious Minds: Anyone interested in how bands operate is invited to be a part of this class.

We will start by talking through what bands "have." That is more than just the PA that they bought together - it is also all their intellectual property - like songs, albums, any recordings, the band name, logos, flyers, and more. Then we will look at a typical band agreement (I'll give you a copy to use with your own band), and I'll walk you through every step of the agreement so you fully understand what is being asked.

The goal of this class is for you to understand how bands work together, and how to keep from suing each other once you start making money!

Software:

This course is NOT specific to any DAW program.

Genre:

The recording studio has no genre - so all are welcome here.

Topics Covered: 

• Band Agreements (Contracts)
• Real Property Bands Own
• Intellectual Property Bands Own
• Copyrights and Trademarks
• Operating Agreements
• Right to Use the Band Identity
• Publishing
• Email Lists, Social Media Accounts, and Contacts
• Firing a Band Member
• Adding a Band Member
• Valuation of a Band
• Financing a Band
• Taking Out Loans
• Investors and Bands
• Splitting Profits
• Splitting Losses
• Breaking Up The Band
• And much, much more!

Dr. Allen is a university music professor and is a top-rated instructor - with nearly 100 courses and over 200,000 students. 

In 2017 Star Tribune Business featured him as a "Mover and a Shaker," and he is recognized by the Grammy Foundation for his music education classes. 

Create your Band Partnership Agreement!

Start with the template I've given you in the attached files. Fill out your own information and needs based on what you learned from the class. 

• How does voting happen?
• Who owns the band name?
• Who owns the real property used by the band?
• How do you fire someone?
• How do you add someone?