List Includes 15 Attorneys Named The Best Lawyers in America© 2016

Nashville, Tenn.—(August 17, 2015) Nashville-based law firm Bone McAllester Norton PLLC announced today that it is celebrating honors from the 22^nd Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Fifteen of its attorneys have been named to the 2016 list, and attorney Anne C. Martin has been chosen as “Lawyer of the Year” in Nashville for Employment Law – Management.

“We are so pleased that our peers recognized the work our attorneys do every day and the expertise they provide to their clients,” said Sam J. McAllester, vice chairman and member of Bone McAllester Norton. “Our entire firm is proud of each of the attorneys selected for the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America.”

The Bonelaw attorneys listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2016 list are:

• Trace Blankenship for the areas of Banking and Finance Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; and Non-Profit/Charities Law


• Charles W. Bone for the area of Administrative/Regulatory Law


• Charles Robert Bone for the areas of Administrative/Regulatory Law; Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); and Personal Injury Litigation—Plaintiffs


• John P. Branham for the area of Personal Injury Litigation—Plaintiffs


• William T. Cheek III for the areas of Food and Beverage Law and Non-Profit/Charities Law. Will is the only listed lawyer for Food and Beverage Law in Tennessee.


• William J. Haynes III for the area of Employment Law—Individuals


• Sharon O. Jacobs for the area of Environmental Law


• Paul W. Kruse for the areas of Copyright Law and Trademark Law


• Anne C. Martin for the areas of Employment Law—Individuals; Employment Law—Management; and Litigation—Labor and Employment


• Sam J. McAllester III for the areas of Banking and Finance Law; Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law


• Richard J. Nickels for Corporate Law


• Jack F. Stringham II for the areas of Banking and Finance Law and Real Estate Law


• Stephanie R. Taylor for Entertainment Law—Music


• Edward M. Yarbrough for the areas of Criminal Defense: Non-White Collar; Criminal Defense: White-Collar; and DUI/DWI Defense


• and Stephen J. Zralek for the area of Copyright Law.

The Best Lawyers in America list for 2016 includes attorneys covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and inclusion in this year’s publication is based on more than 4.3 million detailed, confidential evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

For more information on Bone McAllester Norton and its attorneys, visit http://bonelaw.com.

ABOUT BONE MCALLESTER NORTON PLLC

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 38 attorneys and offices in Nashville, Sumner and Williamson counties, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 18 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

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Congratulations to several Bone McAllester Norton Entertainment Law clients, who took home awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association last night. Bluegrass Underground won Event of the Year; Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen won Instrumental Group of the Year; Claire Lynch and Louisa Branscomb won Recorded Event of the Year; and Music City Roots’ own Ashlee-Jean Trott was the recipient of a Momentum Award.

Read more about the awards here.

 

 

 

 

 

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 38 attorneys and offices in Nashville and Sumner County, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 17 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

Congratulations to country singer-songwriter Josh Mirenda, who was signed to Warner/Chappell Music and Cornman Music this week. The Nashville native now has a worldwide co-publishing deal.

Bone McAllester Norton entertainment attorney Stephanie R. Taylor represents Mirenda.

 

 

 

 

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 38 attorneys and offices in Nashville and Sumner County, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 17 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

Nashville entertainment attorney Stephanie R. Taylor, head of Bone McAllester Norton’s entertainment law practice, served as a panelist at last week’s Americana Music Festival’s conference. The American Bar Association’s Entertainment Law Division presented “Independent Means” for the conference, where Taylor and other panelists discussed the ins and outs of record labels for non-signed artists in genres like Americana, Roots, Alt-Country and Bluegrass. Taylor specifically highlighted common pitfalls found in record deals, shedding light on  how attorneys can help these artists avoid them.

The event was approved for CLE credit.

 

 

 

 

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 38 attorneys and offices in Nashville and Sumner County, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 17 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

By Stephanie R. Taylor, Esq. with the assistance of Katie Garro McCain, Esq.

*This article first ran in the August 2014 Nashville Bar Journal

I grew up on a small, picturesque farm in rural South Dakota.  I loved all types of music, and as an aspiring fiddle player and violinist, I was always looking for musical inspiration.  Needless to say, large music tours didn’t typically route through my hometown.  As a result, radio was my only means of musical discovery.

In recent years, technology has opened doors to musical discovery in a variety of ways.  One significant change is that music fans are able to stream live audiovisual performances of concerts from their home computer or mobile device and view those concerts from nearly anywhere in the world.  Streaming technology has made it possible for artists and venues to access and connect with music fans throughout the world in an authentic way.  This technology is used locally by Music City Roots and has been embraced by brands as prominent as the Metropolitan Opera.  These venues are now able to connect with fans at an international level while building their brands. While this technology will never replace the live concert experience, it will undoubtedly connect music fans to artists and venues in a way that was previously not possible.  Of course, with the advent of technology comes the challenge of complying with copyright law.  This article analyzes the copyright law issues that impact the various individuals and companies whose rights are impacted by streaming technology.

Copyright Basics

In order to understand the rights impacted by live video streaming of concerts, it is important to begin with an overview of copyright law as it relates to the applicable rightsholders.

1. The Musical Work Copyright

In every recording of music, there are two separate and distinct copyrights involved.  The first is the “musical work” copyright.  While the U.S. Copyright Act (the “Act”) does not define “musical work,” a musical work is understood to be the musical composition or song, including the words and instrumental components of that song.[i]  The authors of musical works are the songwriters or composers.  In many instances, a musical work author transfers or assigns ownership of the musical work copyright to a third party music publisher.  In other instances, songwriters retain ownership of their musical work copyrights and become their own music publisher.

2. The Sound Recording Copyright

The second type of copyright is the “sound recording” copyright.  Sound recordings are defined in section 101 of The Act as the “work(s) that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds.”[2]  Put more simply, a sound recording is the audio recording of the underlying musical work. The authors of a sound recording are the performers whose performance is recorded.[3]  However, if the recording artist is signed to a recording agreement, the record label will own the sound recording copyright.  In some instances, recording artists may act as their own record label, retaining ownership of their sound recording copyright.

3. The Motion Picture Copyright

A third copyright exists when a concert is recorded in video format because the video producers are creating a “motion picture” which is defined in section 101 of The Act as an audiovisual work, “consisting of a series of related images…together with accompanying sounds, if any.”[4]  As a result, the video producers are the authors and owners of the motion picture copyright.[5]  If any person or entity other than the video producer wishes to own copyright in the audiovisual content (i.e. the venue, artist, or record label), then that person or entity should enter into a written work for hire agreement with the video producer prior to the live stream.[6]  The party who desires to own the motion picture copyright may also acquire those rights through a written assignment of copyright, but a work for hire agreement is typically the preferred method of ownership.

The existence of these three distinct copyrights means that there may be multiple rightsholders whenever a concert is streamed live online.  As a result, securing the necessary rights and clearances may be a challenge.

The Right to Stream a Musical Work

One of the exclusive rights held by a music publisher is the right to publicly perform the musical work. A live stream of a concert is an example of a public performance because it is a transmission of a performance to members of the public capable of receiving that communication.[7]

Most music publishers have granted the licensing rights for public performances of musical works to ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, entities known as Performance Rights Organizations or PROs.  As a result, the online streaming service must obtain a “new media” license from each of the three PROs in order to secure rights to stream live performances of the musical works online.[8]  The new media license is in addition to any licenses the venue has already obtained from the PROs for public performances of music at the venue.

Typically, when a musical work is used in timed synchronization with video images, the user must obtain an additional license from music publishers; this license is referred to as a synchronization (“synch”) license.[9]  Synch licenses can be expensive and time consuming to obtain.  This is because synch license fees are not set by statute.  Rather, synch fees are negotiated based on a variety of factors making the fees very unpredictable.  Additionally, it is possible for a single song to have multiple songwriters and multiple music publishers, resulting in many hours of negotiations.  Fortunately, as long as the video of the concert performance is streamed live, no synch licenses will be required.  However, content creators and distributors need to be aware that synch licenses will be required if they desire to make videos of the musical performances available to the public after the live stream, whether in archived form, on their website, or for sale or distribution.[10]

The Right to the Artist’s Musical Performance

In addition to clearing the musical work, rights in the musical performance and resulting sound recording must also be cleared.  If a recording artist is signed to an exclusive recording agreement, the record label will typically own the exclusive rights to any recording of the artist’s musical performances during the term of such agreement.  As a result, any person or entity that wishes to capture the live performance of the artist and stream that performance online must secure permission from the record label.  The difficulty in clearing these rights depends on the promotional value the label sees in the live stream as well as the label’s comfort with the quality of such recorded performance.  Furthermore, even if a label grants permission for the live video stream, the label may nonetheless insist on ownership of the audiovisual content captured at the concert.  This clearance process may be significantly simplified when the artist is not signed to a label because the artist can grant all rights without label approval.

If the musicians performing with the artist are independent contractors as opposed to employees or members of the artist’s group, it will be necessary to obtain a “sideman/side musician” release.  Additionally, if the sideman is signed to an exclusive recording agreement, it will be necessary to obtain a release from sideman’s record label.

Additional Rights and Clearances

In addition to the rights and clearances discussed above, there are several other rights and clearances that one must obtain.

1. Location Release

Whenever filming at a venue, one must obtain a venue/location release from the owners and lessors of the applicable venue.  This release grants the right to record at that location and distribute the images captured at that location.  While filming at the venue, it is also important to be aware that if any copyrighted materials (i.e. posters) or trademarks (i.e. logos) appear in the background, a release from the owners of those copyrights or trademarks may also be required.

2. Name and Likeness Release

Recording artists are likely able to claim a right of publicity related to the use of his or her name, photograph, and likeness for commercial purposes.  As a result, it is important to include in any artist release the right to use the artist’s name, photograph, likeness, and biographical materials for marketing, promoting and other exploitations related to the concert/live stream.

3. Audience Release

Finally, if the audience members will be shown on camera, it is important to make the audience aware that they may be filmed.  In most instances it is not possible to obtain a written release from the audience members.  Nonetheless, best practices should include providing audience members notice at the time of ticket purchase, printing that notice on the ticket, and repeating that notice verbally to the audience prior to the taping.

Industry Response to Live Streaming

As mentioned above, live streaming will never replace the live concert experience.  Furthermore, it remains a fairly expensive technology requiring a skilled and experienced audio and audiovisual team to capture and distribute the content.  Additionally, some artists and labels remain apprehensive about a live stream of their performances because of concerns that these performances might not highlight the artist in the best possible light.  Nonetheless, live streaming of concerts creates an opportunity that might not otherwise be available, including: participation of overflow audiences to sold-out shows, interested fans exploring festivals and concerts in order to decide whether to attend in the future, and, as discussed above, a new and invaluable point of music discovery.

If I were still living in South Dakota today, my opportunities to engage in music would be vastly different.  I would have access to live video footage of concerts from around the world.  My point of musical discovery could be the weekly live stream of Music City Roots, or the price of admission to watch the Metropolitan Opera at a movie theatre.  This unprecedented access to live performances will enable artists and venues to connect with fans while building their brand in an authentic way while empowering fans to experience live music with fewer economic and geographic barriers.

 

[1] Marshall Leaffer, Understanding Copyright Law §3.18 (4th ed. 2005).

[2] 17 U.S.C.A. § 101 (West 2010).

[3] Authorship rights may also extend to the producer who is involved creatively in capturing those performances.

[4] 17 U.S.C.A § 101 (West 2010).

[5] A fourth copyright exists in that there will likely be software licenses and web server licenses that must grant the rights necessary for the live stream.  This article will not undertake that analysis, but those licenses will require careful analysis prior to streaming live concerts.  That analysis should consider the rights and obligations of those distributing the content as well as the rights of the rightsholders and the individual music fans consuming the content.

[6] Section 101 of the Act sets forth the formalities of creating a copyright that will be categorized as a work made for hire.

[7] 17 U.S.C.A. § 101 (West 2010).

[8] BMI issues a license through its Digital Licensing Department, and no longer refers to it as a new media license.

[9] Donald Passman, All You Need to Know About the Music Business 241 (7th ed. 2009).

[10] Increasingly, services like YouTube are negotiating blanket synchronization licenses with music publishers, which make the licensing process simpler and more cost effective.  However, those licenses are not within the scope of this article.

 

Bone McAllester Norton intellectual property attorney Stephanie R. Taylor was the presenter to an internal meeting yesterday at KraftCPAs. Her discussion, “Understanding Copyrights and Trademarks: What is Fair Use?,” covered the basics of the law, how to acquire rights to use them and the fair use doctrine. KraftCPAs asked Stephanie to speak to their staff, who often works with those that own copyrights, including: music publishers, record labels, book publishers, authors, songwriters and visual artists. Attendees received one hour of continuing professional education credit.

Stephanie is an entertainment and music industry lawyer providing a broad range of legal services to clients involved in the creation, production and management of creative works.

Since its inception in 1958, KraftCPAs PLLC has become one of the largest, independent certified public accounting firms in Middle Tennessee. Founded by the late Joe Kraft, the firm presently has 16 members and a total staff of more than 175. With offices in Nashville, Columbia and Lebanon, the firm provides not only audit, tax and accounting but also a broad range of consulting services to meet their clients’ growing needs.

 

 

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 39 attorneys and offices in Nashville and Sumner County, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 17 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

Bone McAllester Norton has important updates and announcements to share with you, our valued clients and friends, in our latest newsletter. Click here to read about the impact a recent lawsuit could have on common severance agreement language, how our Alcoholic Beverage Law group opened two high-end restaurants in Memphis, awards and accolades our attorneys have been given and our involvement with Habitat for Humanity.

Bone McAllester Norton attorney Stephanie R. Taylor has been appointed to serve on the Nashville Education, Community and Arts Television (NECAT) council through the Metro Commission. NECAT’s mission is to serve as a communications broadcast center that works to improve the quantity and quality of non-commercial programming. It was officially formed in 2010 and has a history of providing community access TV for more than 30 years.

Stephanie is an entertainment and music industry lawyer with Bonelaw, providing a broad range of legal services to clients involved in the creation, production and management of creative works.

Stephanie Taylor with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean 


 

 

 

 

 

 

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 37 attorneys and offices in Nashville and Sumner County, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 17 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

Bone McAllester Norton attorneys Stephanie R. Taylor and Stephen J. Zralek will speak on media law to students of Lipscomb University’s new Master of Arts in Film and Creative Media program. Their presentation, scheduled for September 26, will cover ownership of content, including work for hire agreements; explanation of licensing versus ownership of music; and recordings and copyright infringement. Both attorneys practice in Bonelaw’s Entertainment Law, Intellectual Property Law and Entrepreneurial and Emerging Business Law practices.

 

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 36 attorneys and offices in Nashville and Sumner County, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 17 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

Bone McAllester Norton’s Stephanie Taylor will serve as a panelist at the Music Startup Academy’s Entertainment & Technology Law Conference at Belmont University in Nashville. The panelists will give an update on copyright termination. Serving alongside Stephanie will be Charlie Sanders from Songwriters Guild of America and Christian Horsnell from Milom Horsnell Crowe Rose Kelley PLC, moderated by Duff Berschbeck from Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

This conference is in conjunction with Belmont University, The Copyright Forum, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) and digitalmusic.org.

Friday, April 5, 2013

1:30 – 6 p.m.

Belmont University

1900 Belmont Blvd.

Nashville, TN 27212

Click here to register

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 33 attorneys and offices in Nashville and Sumner County, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 16 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters.   Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

Bone McAllester Norton congratulates Music City Roots for its expansion to syndicated radio. The weekly concert and radio show is recorded live at the Loveless Barn in Nashville and will now be heard on stations from coast to coast.

For more on this, click here.

Bone McAllester Norton congratulates Music City Roots for its expansion to syndicated radio. The weekly concert and radio show is recorded live at the Loveless Barn in Nashville and will now be heard on stations from coast to coast.

For more on this, click here.

Bone McAllester Norton congratulates singer, songwriter, musician and author Janis Ian on her GRAMMY nomination. Her ninth nomination in eight different categories, Janis’ Audible.com autobiography Society’s Child is up for Best Spoken Word. Other nominees in that category include First Lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Rachel Maddow and Ellen Degeneres. The awards will be broadcast live this Sunday, February 10.

Bone McAllester Norton congratulates singer, songwriter, musician and author Janis Ian on her GRAMMY nomination. Her ninth nomination in eight different categories, Janis’ Audible.com autobiography Society’s Child is up for Best Spoken Word. Other nominees in that category include First Lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Rachel Maddow and Ellen Degeneres. The awards will be broadcast live this Sunday, February 10.

Bone McAllester Norton congratulates the acclaimed PBS music concert event series Bluegrass Underground for winning an EMMY at the 27^th Annual Mid South EMMY Awards, held January 26^th at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. The series won for excellence in lighting design and execution, one of five categories for which Bluegrass Underground was nominated. “The Bluegrass Underground EMMY recognizes the commitment to quality and excellence that this series strives to achieve," said Todd Jarrell, one of the executive producers of the series. "We are deeply honored for this recognition and very satisfied to see the work of Allen, Han, Wally and the entire team recognized."

 

Bone McAllester Norton congratulates the acclaimed PBS music concert event series Bluegrass Underground for winning an EMMY at the 27^th Annual Mid South EMMY Awards, held January 26^th at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. The series won for excellence in lighting design and execution, one of five categories for which Bluegrass Underground was nominated. “The Bluegrass Underground EMMY recognizes the commitment to quality and excellence that this series strives to achieve," said Todd Jarrell, one of the executive producers of the series. "We are deeply honored for this recognition and very satisfied to see the work of Allen, Han, Wally and the entire team recognized."

 

Entertainment Attorney, Stephanie Taylor, will perform a fiddle demonstration in downtown Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday, October 14.

Stephanie Taylor is a fiddle player who has performed with Joey + Rory, Billy Yates, and Chris Young, as well as with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra in Lincoln, Nebraska. A member of the South Dakota Old Time Fiddlers Hall of Fame, Stephanie is a former music business professor for Middle Tennessee State University, and has been with Bone McAllester Norton for almost two years.

Entertainment Attorney Stephanie Taylor represents Bluegrass Underground.

NASHVILLE, TN. – July 17th, 2012 – Producers of the acclaimed PBS music concert event series BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND today announced that the show is the recent recipient of two international awards—the coveted CINE Golden Eagle and the Telly Silver award. These prestigious prizes are awarded in recognition of the highest production values of the television/film industry.

A 12-part concert series taped 333-feet deep inside the wondrous Volcano Room of Cumberland Caverns near McMinnville, TN, BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND is a unique, “musical adventure.” Executive producer Todd Mayo and Emmy Award-winning producer Todd Jarrell (Todd Squared, LLC) teamed up with the legendary talents of Director James Burton Yockey, Lighting Designer Allen Branton, and Audio Engineer Hugh Johnson to create this singular series for American audiences on PBS.

The CINE competition functions as an academic peer review with over 400 jurors screening hundreds of productions in search of, “overall excellence that separates it from productions similar in content, genre or style,” in “upholding an unparalleled reputation of excellence.” Past Golden Eagle honorees include Martin Scorsese, Sydney Pollack, Billy Crystal, Robert DeNiro, Robert Altman, Spike Lee, Ken Burns, Ron Howard, Jim Henson, Pixar, and Steven Spielberg.

Founded in 1978, the Telly Awards also honor the finest film and video productions with the mission of strengthening the visual arts community by inspiring, and promoting creativity. Judges evaluate entries “to recognize distinction in creative work against a high standard of merit.” The 2012 Telly Awards received over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents. This year’s honorees include HISTORY, NBC Universal, SPEED, Disney, ESPN Int’l, National Geographic, NASA, and WGBH.

“A little bit Bluegrass; a little bit Underground,” the series found wide acclaim in its first season and is now airing on PBS in over 300 U.S. markets. The unique mix of HD video, a near-perfect acoustical cavern, and top musical talent brings viewers “an eye-popping presentation of one of the most visually amazing venues there is,” says Jarrell. BLUEGRASS UNDERGROUND Season II premieres on PBS in September, 2012.

Underwriters of the television series will include the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Nissan of North America, Griffin Technology, Southgate Brand Foods and The City of McMinnville.  “Our partners believe in the series, and for their support we are truly grateful,” says producer Todd Mayo adding, “Receiving recognition like these awards just ices a very special cake.”

Stephanie Taylor joins the firm, Charles Bone is honored and we talk about twitter and the legal industry. Click here to download newsletter.

June 2011

Attorney Stephanie Taylor represents Todd Squared Production

By CHRIS TALBOTT, The Associated Press

CUMBERLAND CAVERNS, Tenn. — In decades of ceaseless touring, bluegrass icon Ralph Stanley thought he'd played in every venue imaginable.

Then he got an invite to play a "Bluegrass Underground" show earlier this year.

Read the entire article here.