Eyes on the Arts
This panel will provide a case-study of Gray v. Perry, the recent case involving pop singer Katy Perry. The panelists will discuss how that decision impacts copyright law and musicians.
Panel Moderator
Panel Moderator: Toni Morgan
Toni Morgan is the Managing Director for the Center for Law, Innovation and Creativity (CLIC) at Northeastern University School of Law. Toni’s work at the intersection of social justice, music, education and economic justice for artists at the margins has allowed her to work with a cadre of reputable artists in music and entertainment including Jay Z, Kanye West, and Drake. In addition to her work in the arts, Toni is a founding editorial member of the Journal of Law and Political Economy. Prior to joining Northeastern, Toni served as a fellow, project manager and managing editor at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.
Panelists
Jimmy Kachulis
Jimmy Kachulis is a Professor at Berklee College of Music and also an award winning Composer, Songwriter, Educator, Scholar and Performer.
As a songwriter, lyricist, producer, and conductor, he has worked with Motown artist Martha Reeves, Warner Brothers artist Stuff, Electra artist Eric Gale, and Jazz artists Jon Hendricks, John Lewis, and George Coleman. His songs and concert music have been recorded and performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, on Electra and SONY records Emmy Award winning TV shows, Disney movies, and numerous other venues nationally and internationally.
He has trained Grammy, Oscar, Tony and Emmy winning songwriters as well as countless professional songwriters through his courses and educational materials developed at the world renowned Berklee College of Music, Berklee On Line, and Berklee Press. He has also created and taught World Music courses at The Boston Conservatory, Tufts University, and Emerson College.
Ed McPherson
Ed McPherson is a founding partner of McPherson LLP, in Los Angeles. He is a trial lawyer, specializing in the talent-side representation of recording artists, songwriters, actors, and others in major disputes. His practice consists of entertainment litigation, intellectual property litigation, and crisis management. Ed is licensed to practice law in California, New York, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. He is also admitted to the United States Supreme Court and numerous other Federal Courts all over the United States. He is also an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.
Ed was honored in Billboard Magazine as one of the “50 Attorneys of Note in the Music Biz,” and was on the Los Angeles Daily Journal list of “California’s Top (50) Entertainment Lawyers.” He is rated A/V Preeminant by Martindale-Hubbell, and he has been selected as a Super Lawyer every year for over thirteen years.
Adam Neely
Adam Michael Neely is a New York City-based jazz bassist, composer, and YouTuber. His channel is a mix of musical history, theory, and popular culture videos. He also creates gig vlogs, which give insight into the life of a professional musician.
Adam Neely began his career as a YouTuber in 2006. In 2008, he began uploading semi-regular videos discussing topics such as music theory, music cognition, jazz improvisation, musical performance technique, and musicology. He graduated from Berklee College of Music's undergraduate program in 2009 and later graduated with a Masters of Music in Jazz Composition from the Manhattan School of Music in 2012. He was awarded the Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Jazz Composer award in 2012 and 2015 as well as the Jerome Fund commission prize in 2014, for his work "Exigence.”
His educational content "explores what music means, and what it means to be a musician." He has made appearances on NPR, TEDx, Vox, SiriusXM, SXSW, Ableton Loop, MAGFest, Bass Player Magazine, Electronic Musician Magazine and Ultimate Guitar.
He has worked as a bass player and educator in New York City with artists like Shubh Saran, Zac Zinger, Aberdeen, the NYChillharmonic, The 8-Bit Big Band, J-Music Ensemble and many others. Adam Neely frequently gigs with jazz/indie rock brass band Aberdeen, regularly posting 'gig vlogs' to his YouTube channel. In May of 2019, the group traveled around Central Asia on behalf of the American State Department, playing gigs and conducting educational workshops.
He is also a founding member of the electro-prog band Sungazer and regularly performs with rock band Bright and Loud, indie-soul group Sóto, his large ensemble Mass Extinction Event, and a number of up and coming singer-songwriters on the New York scene.
In December 2019, Neely earned a spot in the New Yorker's annual Christmas Poem.
Jaia Thomas
Jaia Thomas is a Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment attorney with over ten years of experience on both coasts. She represents film producers, television writers, and various industry talent, assisting them with intellectual property and transactional matters. She has negotiated deals with several networks including ABC, NBC, HBO and Bravo. She also assists professional athletes with brand protection and production company formation.
Jaia is currently an adjunct professor at UCLA, where she teaches a course titled "Copyright Law and the Entertainment Industry" and an all-day seminar titled “The Nuts and Bolts of Starting a Law Practice.” Prior to her appointment at UCLA, she was an adjunct professor at American University in Washington D.C. where she taught graduate students about the inner workings of production company formation. She has guest lectured at several colleges and universities, including Stanford Law School and Georgetown Law School.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Jaia Thomas is a graduate of Colgate University (BA) and The George Washington University Law School (JD). She also holds a Certificate in Television, Film and New Media Production from University of California, Los Angeles.