Independent music lawyers are few and far between in South Africa. Correction, outside of record labels – music lawyers do not exist. It is surprising as the South African music scene is rooted in independent bands with limited access to the legal expertise contained within the likes of Universal and Warner. Thus, they are limited to getting legal advice that is not tailored made to suit the world in which they operate. However, this problem is about to come to an end with the launch of Legalese – a creative legal agency that offers legal solutions to musicians and any other young entrepreneur that would never approach a traditional law firm. We got a chance to send some questions to Eitan Stern, the founder of Legalese, and spoke about his company and how the music scene and legal system can actually work very well with one another.
Firstly, for those who don’t know, what exactly is Legalese?
Legalese is a creative legal agency. It’s actually a term I made up because we do something which didn’t exist until now. I guess it’s a redesign of a law firm.
What is the history behind the creation of Legalese, and what made you decide to start up the company?
My life has always been split between the creative industry and legal fraternity. I was working in a corporate law firm in a suit and tie during the day and hanging out at gigs and galleries at night. Firstly, I was pretty tired and secondly I started to see a niche that I could fill.
You describe yourselves as a creative law agency rather than a law firm. What is the difference between yourself and a traditional law firm, and how does this allow you to better cater to the needs of your clients?
I guess my business is all about relationships. The idea behind Legalese is to form relationships with interesting clients. We want to know who you are, what you do, what are your dreams. Once we understand you and your business, it allows us to step in and assist with the legalities which may be foreign to you. Legalese essentially becomes your in-house legal department, but without the overheads of an in-house lawyer. We mix our knowledge of your industry and the law to cater for your specific needs at prices which suit your business.
Legalese is one of the first legal entities that actually caters to the needs of musicians. Why is music law something that is so widely ignored by law firms, and rather something left to the in-house lawyers of major labels like Universal and Warner Music?
Part of the blame lies with the lawyers, but part of it is with the musicians themselves. No one is going to want to work with anyone who doesn’t take their career seriously. And there are lots of musicians that don’t. But there are lots that really do. We like the serious ones and we’re willing to go out on a risk and help you build if you’re willing to work hard and make good music.
Music is a chaotic and fluid entity that is always changing and is incredibly difficult to pin down with regulations and rules. How does the law, and specifically South African law, go about regulating the music industry in a fashion that attempts to ensure that there is a semblance of structure to it?
I guess again, I disagree with that. Major international mergers of publicly listed companies are more chaotic than the music industry. If building airplanes that fly in the sky can be regulated, then so can music. I see music law as any commercial matter – it’s all about property, rights and relationships. It’s actually pretty simple once you strip it down. Plus it’s more fun than international mergers.
Short of controlling licensing and copyright infringements – what does the law actually say about the nature of the South African music scene, or is it just left to operate without many legal regulations?
Well, I’ve heard some people smoke Marijuana in the music scene. And that’s obviously illegal. But I’ve never actually seen it myself.
In the past couple of months, there has been some discussion on social media about legislative intervention to ensure that there is a specific percentage of local music that local radio station should play. Do you think that the introduction of such legislation could play a positive role in shaping the South African music scene, or is perhaps not a feasible law due to the severe lack of local music that meets the standards of radio stations like 5FM and Tuks FM?
It’s a step in the right direction. Quotas have done great things for transformation in sport and economics. Music should be no different. One suggestion I would make however is to include music from all over Africa in the regulations. This would make it more feasible. Plus there is SO MUCH good music being made on this entire continent.
In your professional opinion, do you think that the law needs to start focusing on means to regulate music industry and ensure that there is a degree of control and structure to the industry?
I think regulation is good. But I don’t think it’s the law’s job to regulate everyone. The people in the industry should regulate themselves. Pay what you promise, produce what you agree to, arrive on time. Everyone would have a better time if everyone obeyed one rule: Don’t be an asshole.
Or, should the music industry and the legal system be kept apart from each other except in the instances when creative legal agencies like yourself manage to fuse various elements of corporate, copyright, and intellectual property law together to create the foundations for South African music law?
You can’t keep law and music apart – much like you can’t keep anything in our society and our laws apart. But music is not special – environmental law was able to progress with less legislation than we have with music. The music industry needs to up its game and act like every other business industry. Then it will start being treated like one.
There has been a lot of debate recently with regards to how bands should go about creating band agreements, and whether it is actually necessary in the current musical climate for bands to bother with such contracts – especially when traditional contracts are not always tiered to a band’s needs. What are thoughts on this particular topic? How would you advise a band to go about structuring their band agreements?
Band agreements are necessary, but there is no one size fits all solution. My view is that if you’re a serious band and want a serious crack at a career, then it’s worth coming an agreement on how the band will work, who owns what, who gets paid what, how are decisions made. But as each band is different, the agreement which they come to will differ too. What I like to do is meet the band, discuss their specific situation and come to a user friendly agreement which makes sense to those musicians. Then we just jot it down on paper, sign it and move on.
Legalese is one of first law agencies that have a specific focus on music law. What do you think the future of music law shall be in South Africa, or rather – what do you hope the future of South African music law shall be?
We don’t just focus on music. We service a host of creative businesses like photographers, tech start-ups, 3D printing companies, creative agencies, restaurants. Basically any young innovative entrepreneur who would never approach a traditional law firm. My hope for SA music law? I’m going to need to think about that one a bit.
Finally, how would someone go about contacting you if they are interested in working with you, or for you?
Just look to the stars and we’ll be there. Kidding. You can check out more about what we do on www.legalese.co.za or get straight in touch on eitan@legalese.co.za. Lawyers also use social media, so @eitanserious on Instagram or find us on Facebook. Lastly, I still hang out a lot at gigs and galleries. So come say hi.