Action Potential Entertainment will be hosting a free workshop for musicians that will be covering the basics of copyright laws, contracts commonly entered in the music business, and a list of other topics such as licensing, publishing, and ASCAP/ BMI.

The copyright and contract workshop class is an effort to further educate local musicians about the business side of music with respects to copyright issues and common contracts including work-for-hire agreements, licensing deals, and record deals. The class will also touch on basic business information such as establishing LLCs, organizing band agreements, and publishing rights such as ASCAP and BMI.

Since not everyone who is a musician has a business degree, this class is a great opportunity to get a better grasp on legal mumbo-jumbo as well as a good way to know what you’re signing up for when signing any kind of contract. “I believe it is a crucial component of building a true music industry in this town – for everyone to be fluent in the basic legal and business issues that make up the backbone of the national music industry,” stated Max Hass, who will be teaching the class alongside Bri Whetstone and David Bode. Bri and Max are both licensed attorneys and music industry professionals while David is a local musician himself in addition to being the director of the New Orleans Bioinnovation Center.

The class is the latest in a series that is sure to benefit fledgling and experienced musicians alike during their ongoing careers. It will be held at the Hi-Ho Lounge on Monday, September 25, at 3 pm. You can RSVP on the Facebook event page and if you can’t make this one, no worries, the exact same class will be held multiple times in the upcoming months. The Hi-Ho Lounge is located at 2239 St Claude Ave.