Law Commons^™

The Changing Role Of Agents In Professional Basketball, Bappa Mukherji

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article will discuss the status of agents for NBA players after the adoption of the new collective bargaining agreement (the "1999 Agreement"). First, this Article will summarize the relevant provisions of the prior collective bargaining agreement (the "1996 Agreement") and illustrate how application of these provisions led the owners to declare a lockout. Next, it will review key provisions of the 1999 Agreement. It will conclude by discussing how the new CBA and the recent consolidation in the sports representation business will affect agents.

A Journey Through Olympic Drug Testing Rules: A Practitioner's Guide To Understanding, Jill Pilgrim, Kim Betz

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

While many top U.S. Olympic-caliber athletes have been drug tested throughout their careers, few truly understand the drug testing process. The ever-changing rules and regulations, as well as the increase in the number of doping control programs have proven to be confusing and sometimes inconsistent, despite appearing to assist in the fight against doping in sport. Many organizations cannot interpret their own rules, nor do they fully understand the jurisdictional issues that arise with respect to every sample taken, until they are caught in a crisis. This Article attempts to untangle the web of rules and regulations and provide athletes, …

Don't Sell Out, Sell Bonds: The Pullman Group's Securitization Of The Music Industry, Hewson Chen

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Securitization is the selling of debt to investors. In general, securitization converts future income streams like credit card receivables or auto loan payments to present in-pocket cash. Notably, this transformation from future income to current wealth gives the issuer of the security immediate access to cash at less cost than other financing methods such as bank loans. In the 1970s, this technique was applied to the housing industry, and since then, securitization has evolved into greater varieties of income streams, including medical insurance, typhoon insurance, and unused airline tickets. The application of securitization in the entertainment industry, however, remains largely …

How The Grateful Dead Turned Alternative Business And Legal Strategies Into A Great American Success Story, Brian C. Drobnik

Vanderbilt Law Review

That the Grateful Dead were "different" undoubtedly is true on a broad social level. But it is not so easy to ascertain how they were different in the business and legal aspects of their enterprise. The ephemeral nature of their approach stems from the fact that they conducted their affairs within and alongside the world of statutes and contracts and yet provided themselves with a great degree of independence from that world. This Note will comment on the Dead's perspective on and their ultimate rejection of many of the business and legal strategies traditionally ascribed to in the industry. After …

The Hollywood Shuffle: Protecting Film Investors, Mark Litwak

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In Los Angeles, the city of a thousand stories, many tales are told by financiers who complain they have been cheated by producers or distributors. As would be expected in any industry grossing about seven billion dollars annually at the domestic box office, the movie business attracts more than its fair share of disreputable characters. The glamour of the business ensures a steady stream of star-struck investors motivated by non-financial concerns. This combination of the unsavory and inexperienced often produces hand-shake deals made without the proper investigation and due diligence. Consequently, experienced investors often refuse to even consider film-related investments. …

From The Editor, Steven Lopez - Editor

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Welcome to the second issue of The Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment Law & Practice. As always, we have blended legal scholarship, readable style, and engaging design to create a publication that we hope is as informative as it is entertaining. In the areas of Music, Internet, Film/TV, and Sports, you'll hear from scholars, practitioners, students, and even a United States Congressman on issues that are timely, compelling, and relevant, to life and practice. We'd like to thank the professional and student writers whose sleep- less nights and deadline-driven efforts made this publication possible. We also owe a great debt of …

Concerts: Rated Or Raided? First Amendment Implications Of Concert-Rating, Deborah Cazan

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note examines the constitutionality as well as practicality of two different concert-rating statutes. San Antonio ordinance 61,850, the first attempt at concert-rating, has never been challenged constitutionally. This Note asserts that if the ordinance were challenged, the Court would find it constitutionally valid on its face, despite the possibility of unconstitutional applications. However, some unconstitutional consequences remain. The second statute examined is one recently proposed by Senator Shugars in the Michigan state legislature. Like the San Antonio ordinance, this Note concludes that Senate Bill 239 would also withstand a constitutional challenge.

This Note examines the history and structure of …

Truckin' In Style Along The Avenue: How The Grateful Dead Turned Alternative Business And Legal Strategies Into A Great American Success Story, Brian C. Drobnik

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

That the Grateful Dead were "different" undoubtedly is true on a broad social level. But it is not so easy to ascertain how they were different in the business and legal aspects of their enterprise. The ephemeral nature of their approach stems from the fact that they conducted their affairs within and alongside the world of statutes and contracts and yet provided themselves with a great degree of independence from that world. This Note will comment on the Dead's perspective on and their ultimate rejection of many of the business and legal strategies traditionally ascribed to in the industry. After …