Florida Probate Attorney and Florida Inheritance Lawyer Florida Probate Attorney Blog

10 Musicians whose stock rose after their death.

CNBC.com has a slideshow which mentions ten musicians who in most cases were at one time huge stars but at the time of their death had faded and were again very popular. 

Among the musicians include Michael Jackson whose record sales and general interest was huge following his death when his prior album had not been successful and he both led the dead celebrity list as well as made more money than he ever had while alive. 

John Lennon obviously he was one of the biggest stars ever with the Beatles but following the breakup of the group was not as popular as he had been until he was shot and his star again rose as everyone bought his records and remembered him. He continues to be one of the biggest stars ever. Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Ray Charles were also on the list as having faded then huge again after their passing and Kurt Cobain and Nirvana were still popular when he killed himself but became even more successful afterwards. 

See CNBC  

Estate Litigation Rick James estate dispute regarding Digital Royalties v Universal Music.

The Estate of funk and R&B singer Rick James who died in 2004 and was popular in the 70s and 80s best known for the song Super Freak is suing Universal Music Group (UMG) for half of all the digital royalties. 

By Back in 2009, Eminem and his FTB Productions launched a successful $1.3 million lawsuit argument was when his music was sold on iTunes, this fell under the umbrella of licensing and not a regular sale. This meant that all digital profits should be split 50/50, rather than the artist being given a standard sales royalty (around 12 to 15 percent). Eminem lost at the trial court but won on appeal.

The estate litigation is citing the FTB case as precedent for why it should treat digital music sales as a licensing agreement. Further the James estate filed the estate litigation as a class action lawsuit, so that other artists with similar claims could join in the case. 

Universal has claimed that the previous FTB case has no bearing on its digital sales agreements with other artists. James's estate disagrees saying that the FTB case means that Universal now owes money based on that previous lawsuit's outcome. The Estate Litigation says "[UMG] has systematically violated its contractual obligations to plaintiff and other members of the class."

Most modern music contracts clearly state how digital sales will be split Billboard reports. Musicians who agreed on contracts before the rise of iTunes, though will very likely be paying close attention to this estate litigation on behalf of the Rick James estate and others with similar claims. 

Source: Exclaim.ca - Alex Hudson

Britney Spears sued by company who got her perfume licensing deal for $10m+ in breach of contract.

Branding of celebrities and their profitable perfume contracts with companies like Elizabeth Arden has been in the news a lot with the passing of Elizabeth Taylor who was one of the first to do so. 

The issue came back in the news today as Britney Spears and her father who remains her guardian for financial matters following her erratic behavior in 2008.  

Apparently back in 2003 Britney agreed with a marketing company Brand sense that they would help her get licensing deals and would receive a 35% commission. In 2004 there was a profitable deal they agreed to with Elizabeth Arden to produce perform associated with the pop star. The agreement called for Brand Sense to receive the checks then forward them to her after taking out their share. 

Over the years the specific phrasing of what licensing agreements were included and exactly how the amount would be paid had changed but it remained at 35% commission for the perfume. 

Then it is aleged that Britney and her dad made a new deal with Elizabeth Arden to effectively cut them out of a right to 35% of millions of dollars and have sued for $10 million plus punitive damages arguing breach of contract, fraud and deceit, compensatory and punitive damages etc. 

An interesting side note as well is that while Britney continues making millions of dollars on tours, having just put out a new record and the perfume selling well and she appears to be living a normal successful life she has a sort of legal protection as a result of the guardianship. So far although she has been sued for sexual harrasment and has various legal troubles but her guardianship judge has so far not required that she testify or give depositions.

As the result of the guardianship she has the best of all worlds she has an unusual type of immunity at the moment but at the same time living an active life and her estate has skyrocketed while under the guardianship. More frequently a guardianship is in the context of the elderly parent with dementia or at times a child having a legal guardianship if they are going to be inheriting a lot of money and no trust had been setup.

The lawsuit can be reach by clicking  here. Based on the very tough and angry language right from the start in point one this sounds like it will be an aggressive fight against her. Apparently she had a separate company named Britney Brands that they sued as well. One other thing I noticed is that they sued her individually, the corporation and her father individually although they did not sue him specifically as her guardian for whatever the reason. 

Sources: Miami Herald and TMZ.com 

Band sells naming rights for $251,000

Yesterday Probate Attorney Blog.com reported of the man trying to fund his retirement and pay for his elderly mom's care by selling a 212 area code for a lot of money others also had creative thinking for how to grow their estate and successsfully sold the naming rights to their band which has not even been signed to a label yet. A Seattle group will be known as BuyStock.net Band the website liked the marketing opportunity for their company website and while the name is not catching it will help fund the launch of their group.

Source Spinner.com

Rapper plead guilty to tax evasion of more than $3 million tax evasion.

Rapper and actor Ja Rule admitted Tuesday that he failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million in income, and he faces up to three years in prison.

The platinum-selling rapper, whose given name is Jeffrey Atkins, earned the money between 2004 and 2006 while he lived in Saddle River, an upscale community in northern New Jersey.

If the plea conditions are met, the government will dismiss two counts against him for unpaid taxes on about $1 million he earned in 2007 and 2008.

Atkins is scheduled to be sentenced June 13 on the three tax evasion charges. He faces up to one year in prison and $100,000 in fines on each count.

According to a court filing by the U.S. Attorney's office, Atkins earned the money from music royalties paid to ASJA Inc. and live performance-related income paid to Rule Tours Inc. Atkins was the sole shareholder of both companies, the government alleged.

His attorney noted that her client surrendered voluntarily and will pay the delinquent taxes.

Source: Miami Herald David Porter Associated Press

 

Owsley Stanley financier to Grateful Dead and co creator of their logo died this week.

Owsley Stanley also known by some as Bear played a big role in the hippie movement being the first to produce mass quantities of LSD in the 1960s. He also inspired the Grateful Dead being the first to finance their starting their musical careers and serving at times as the sound engineer and as part of their management. He was also a co creator of the Grateful Dead logo. He was the son of a governmental attorney and the grandson of a Kentucky governor and senator but rebelled and reportedly produced massive quantites of LSD and was an icon within the counter culture scene.

He died in Austraillia from a car crash survived by a wife and four children who will likely benefit from royalties for his co creation of the grateful dead logo and other issues related to his likeness or intellectual property. 

 The New York Times also wrote an article about his influence related to the music scene and pop culture which can be seen by clicking here.

Jerry Garcia's $4 million dollar 7,000 square foot last home for sale.

As Housingwatch.com reports that the home that Jerry Garcia last lived in with 7,000 square feet on 11 acres with a solar heated pool and an organic garden. Now that he is dead someone will be grateful to buy the home which also has a 1500 square foot artist studio. He performed at 2314 shows for the Grateful Dead in the 3 decades prior to his death so he was typically on the road but this was his last home and in Marin County where most homes go for nearly $800,000. To see pictures of the home click here

 

Sotheby's sold handwritten lyrics for 1 Bob Dylan song and got $422,500

As the Wall Street Journal reported December 10 Bob Dylan's hand written lyrics for the song "The Times Are a Changing" were sold for well over $400,000 after expectations that they would go for $200-300k. With the art and alternative investment markets getting hot along with the stock market Sotheby's stock has gone up from under $8 a share to around $45 in the past two years. 

Personal Representatives of Michael Jackson Probate sign $250 Million record deal.

The Probate estate of Michael Jackson has been an interesting case with numerous instances of probate litigation, creditor claims some legitimate and some mere strange but with his longtime attorney and now a Personal Representative of his estate and Trustee of his trust setup a record $250 million dollar deal with Sony. Some of the highlights include

10 records over 7 years from songs that he had not released and some songs repackaged.

Rights extended for his songs. Sony was set to lose rights to some songs in 2015 but will now have the rights until at least 2017.

The $250 million that they are expecting to receive is especially impressive given that US album sales have falen 52% in the past decade as the Wall Street Journal reports.

Even during the prime CD sale years deals in the tens of millions and higher were rare.

The estate is making a fortune now though with 31 million albums sold since his death.

This agreement and the money the estate is generating will allow the estate to pay off $125 million in debt by the end of the year including $35 million to AEG concert promoter who was going to handle the This is it concert and finance another $325 million in debt. As the article points out as tragic as his death was from an emotional standpoint and on a personal level it was a helpful thing for his family on a financial level. He had been spending more than he was making and headed towards problems but now the estate has a surge of income without his absurdly expensive lifestyle.

As this $250 Million dollar deal shows he will likely be similar to the Elvis Presley estate in generating tens of millions or more for a very long time.

Anna Nicole Smith Opera to start next year

 Her most recent role that had her in the news both prior to her death and her estate since it was for her involvement in the undue influence claims and trust and estate litigation she has pursued against her husbands estate claiming to be owed millions of dollars. As this article linked below points out she had been a high school dropout then a stripper then a playboy centerfold and actress and for the last 14 months of his life had been married to a 90 year old billionaire who she married when she was 26. Her life is going to be the subject of an opera starting next year.

Anna Nicole Smith Opera