Legal advice needed re: Artist name
Andy Collier
A friend of mine is a solo singer, very talented, and looking to get signed
by a record company.
However, he shares his name with an already-established singer.
Can he still perform under his current name, or would he have to go under
another name? I know in the acting profession you can't have two people of
the same name, which is why a lot of actors use stage-names, but is it the
same for singers?
For example, if my friend was called Craig David, can he perform (live
appearances, release CDs etc) under the name Craig David, or would that be
infringing some sort of copyright that the record label of the other Craig
David would have? In this example, could my friend combine the 2 words and
be known as "craigdavid" ?
If he couldn't use his real name, as another singer already has it, could he
use a middle initial, for example "Craig J. David" ? What if he just called
himself "Craig" ?
I hope someone can help, as we want to get some publicity material together,
but we need to know where we stand on the name before we design logos etc.
Many thanks,
Andy
David Samuel Barr
I am not a lawyer, so I can't offer you formal legal advice, but I
can give you the benefit of over 30 years in the music business as
a performer and record label executive.
First, as far as the acting profession goes, the one-person-per-name
rule is not law, merely a union rule. Nothing stops an actor from
using the same name as another actor as long as they aren't both
members of one of the unions that impose that rule. If you use the
Internet Movie Database, you'll find that they often put Roman
numerals after names in order to distinguish between different people
using the same name, although sometimes this reflects people of
different generations rather than simultaneous billings.
Second, there are many instances in the music business of multiple
artists or groups with the same name. Sometimes this happens when
members of a group split up and then the various members each form
new assemblages around them all using the original group name; more
often, it's simply a question that the artists in question aren't
big enough that either one knows of the other. Using your example,
if there's a Craig David working in the Southeast, with no real
reputation outside the area, another Craig David working on the West
Coast would likely have never heard of him and they both would be
happily plying their respective trades without conflict (at least
until they both get booked for gigs in Chicago the same month).
There are a few examples of multiple-artist names which always get
hauled out whenever this question comes up, such as the Gene Simmons
of Kiss vs "Jumpin'" Gene Simmons, and the two different groups called
The Knack (one of which brought you "My Sharona"). Less often
mentioned, but more relevant, are the two famous John Williamses, one
the renowned classical guitarist, the other the award-winning
composer/conductor known for his film scores and tenure with the Boston
Pops (there's also another composer John Williams who uses his middle
initial to avoid confusion with the "Star Wars" creator). On the other
hand, the noted composer John Anthony Lennon uses his middle name, for
obvious reasons.
By the way, record companies do not have copyrights in their artist's
names (although some actually try to contractually claim the rights
to those names, a practice which I've gotten several to stop since it
makes no sense in real terms in most cases, but that's another
discussion). Some artists, though, have trademarked their names
(e.g. Chicago and Billy Joel), so as to have some legal protection
against other artists using those names.
Nevertheless, it's certainly reasonable to assume that your friend is
taking a chance by using the same name as an established singer, even
if it is also his own. The risk of public confusion over the two would
be sufficient to impede getting a record deal or other bookings, since
the companies would be concerned about being sued for misrepresentation
by the other artist (while there are no laws about the actual sharing of
names, the artist could try to raise claims under various fraud,
defamation and/or commerce laws which, even if not upheld by a court
when all was said and done, would be at least an expensive nuisance).
Most of the suggestions you made, e.g. using a middle initial or
tweaking the presentation of the name, would be viable solutions,
although I don't think simply combining the name graphically (your
"craigdavid") would be a good option, since verbally it would sound
the same.
Andy Collier
That's just the advice I was looking for.. I really appreciate the trouble
you spent replying. I think we may now just be using my friend's surname on
its own.
Cheers again,
Andy
"David Samuel Barr" <dsb...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:3E8A93...@mindspring.com...
music_fiend
> I am not a lawyer, so I can't offer you formal legal advice, but I
> can give you the benefit of over 30 years in the music business as
> a performer and record label executive.
Would you know of any sources of venture capital that would be particularly
sympathetic towards projects that would benefit the music industry as a
whole? We are looking for funding on a concept that may put some zip back
into the music business. Thanks for ideas.