Section 181 Renewal On Hold (Temporarily)

27 12 2009

Thanks to my readers and an exhaustive search of government web sites, it appears that the time frame for passing the Tax Extender Act of 2009 has been…extended.  The United States Senate Committee on Finance issued this statement on December 22, 2009:  CLICK HERE.

Thanks in large part to the extensive health care reform debate, this important piece of legislation, which contains a one year extension of Section 181, will have to wait until 2010 for a Senate vote.  The statement indicates that the Senate hopes to have a “seamless extension” for important tax benefits.  So, while we cannot quite exhale yet, it is a bit of a relief to know that the Senate is still planning on picking up where the House of Representatives left off.  It is not clear if there will be any gap in coverage for qualified films, but the indication from this statement is that there will not be any issues for films which have not or will not begin production in 2009.

As always, stay tuned…

Special thanks to Joe Gold for the heads up.  http://www.goldcapfilms.com/


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Extension of Section 181 Passes House!

10 12 2009

The Tax Extender Act of 2009 passed a vote of the House of Representatives yesterday.  Buried in the tax extension legislation is the renewal for one year of Section 181.  The official text is as follows:

Section 117 SPECIAL EXPENSING RULES FOR CERTAIN FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS.

(a) In General – Subsection (f) of section 181 is amended by strking ‘December 31, 2009′ and inserting ‘December 31, 2010′.

(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by this section shall apply to productions commencing after December 31, 2009.

Representative Diane E. Watson is taking credit for introducing the bill under her proposed H.R. 3931.  Read her press release here. Regardless of who is responsible, the noose just got considerably looser for those film makers trying to attract investors to put money in their films which were not ready for production in 2009.  Similar to last year, this 11th hour extension looks like the much needed amnesty for many film makers.

Please continue to check in to see the progress of the Extender Act through the Senate and the White House.  While it is not law yet, we are definitely getting there.


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A New Type of 360 Deal or Old School Meets New School.

5 12 2009

Old School Meets New School (sort of)

Recently I was asked to write an article about anything currently happening in the new music industry.  Not really an exciting proposition for most, but for me, my heart went a flutter.  Should I write about fair use, the death of the CD (again), the exploitation of copyrights (again) or current trends in the indie scene?  I decided to write about something that is current and personal to me and my clients.  A new model (which is not so new) for a band/label contract.

Using a combination of the current 360 deals and traditional investments into start-up companies, a fair, equitable and potentially lucrative partnership can be formed.  Realizing that the industry is not what it used to be and that the old model is “old” for a reason, there is a potential to do something new that will benefit the artist as much as the investor or label.

The playing field has leveled to a certain degree.  If a band has done much of the hard work to start out and has a competent management team and lawyer on its side, the need for the old school label is not as necessary as it once was.  Using the same model that many start-up companies use, a band can attract investors and forge a partnership that will allow the band to reach new heights and the investor to realize attractive financial returns.

Please check out my article by clicking here.  Also, please support my friends at the new NYU School of Law IP and Entertainment Ledger by adding their publication to your bookmarks or favorites.

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION(S) OF THE WEEK

Check out my favorite jewelry designer at her exclusive Steven Alan Trunk Show by clicking here.

After you are done shopping for jewels, check out the latest offerings from one of Chicago’s top indie bands:  Empires by checking out their latest plans by clicking here: Bang PR


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Categories : 360 Deals, Music and Business, Music and Business Law, musicians


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