Lupe Fiasco speaks at Drexel University about the trappings of being under a major label and the future of hip hop.

David Purcell from NYU gives insight into the future of the music industry as it relates to file sharing and digital distribution online.

Peter Shukat, an entertainment lawyer with Shukat, Arrow, Hafer, Weber & Herbsman in New York City,  discusses key issues in a recording contract such as the amount of product the label agrees to give and what kind of advance/royalty is going to be paid. He also covers the restrictions and limitations an artist can put on a record company and the mechanical royalty clause.

In this video, Janet Kleinbaum, Senior VP of Artist Marketing and Video Production for Jive Records, gives some sound advice for entering the music business. Some of the points she makes in this video could apply to any business you decide to enter into.

Good Stuff!

Dina LaPolt, an entertainment lawyer based in Los Angeles, CA, reveals what aspects of a record deal are worth fighting for, and how to tell when your relationship with your label is about to hit the skids.

Former Death Row aritst, DR. Dre has filed a lawsuit for reportedly not receiving royalty payments from his 1992 album, The Chronic

Dre claims he hasn’t been paid a penny since he bounced out on Death Row in 1996. Since then, Death Row filed bankruptcy and was recently bought by a company called WIDEawake.

“When it came to paying artist royalties and honoring limits on Dr. Dre recordings that could be released, the “new” Death Row Records, to quote our client, ‘forgot about Dre,’” Young’s attorney Howard King said in a statement. “This lawsuit will make sure they remember.”

Dre is suing for unspecified damages of more than $75,000.

Hmmmm …Sounds like a teachable moment. Check my past article on how music royalties work. Look forward to a more in-depth post about how artist royalties are calculated.