AES SGS Talk: Audio Productions – A Practical Legal Primer on What to Consider When Collaborating With Others

Attendees: Philipp Lengeling, Tobias Goldmann, Thomas Finnern, Joost Kist, Rafael Kassier, Ulli Scuda, Beat Hohmann, Mark Drews, Stu Litobarski, Sound Suresh among others.

The Audio Engineering Society South German Section Talk was a very interactive session that provided practical insights into legal considerations relevant in the context of participating in audio recordings and productions.

It was pointed out that it is important to define the terms and conditions before starting work on a production. Therefore, the content worth protecting and possible stakeholders should be identified. The goal should be to define the intentions to be covered by the agreement. It should be in written form and comply with the laws of the country.

As a guideline, the following content should be covered:

  1. “What” is the subject matter and what content can be protected, composition and/or recording?
  2. “Who” are possible stakeholders? Also, connected third parties should be considered here.
  3. “How” and where can the content be distributed, used, exploited? Who does this and makes the decisions?
  4. “Payment” – Who gets what or what amount?
  5. Further items: moral rights depending on country, contract laws

We would like to thank Philipp for the very great talk, which provided a good guide for legal considerations as a semi-professional and a good start for further discussions.