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A Canadian music law blog by Toronto music lawyer Paul Banwatt

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Can You Really Just Fire Your Drummer?
Blog Posts, Uncategorized

Can You Really Just Fire Your Drummer?

May 28, 2025May 28, 2025 Paul 2 mins read

Can a band really just go fire their drummer whenever they want? The answer, as always, is maybe……

Blog Posts

THE FREE MUSIC LAW HOTLINE

May 15, 2025May 15, 2025 Paul 1 min read

Free 30-minute calls to provide summary legal advice on any music law-related subject

Music Copyright is Irreparably Broken
Blog Posts

Music Copyright is Irreparably Broken

June 18, 2024June 18, 2024 Paul 4 mins read

A while back, I posted about how music copyright developed awkwardly out of a system of laws meant for books. I also explained how and […]

Why I Hate Options in Music Contracts
Blog Posts

Why I Hate Options in Music Contracts

March 14, 2023March 14, 2023 Paul 3 mins read

Management agreements, record deals, publishing agreements – they all share one near-ubiquitous feature: Options. By “options” I mean the ability of one (or both) parties […]

Music Copyright 101, Part One: Why is it So Confusing?
Blog Posts

Music Copyright 101, Part One: Why is it So Confusing?

February 24, 2022February 25, 2022 Paul 4 mins read

Music copyright is one of the least accessible aspects of music. I find that really frustrating, because I think music should be something everyone can […]

Grants for Music-related Businesses
Blog Posts

Grants for Music-related Businesses

October 11, 2021October 9, 2021 Paul 3 mins read

The City of Toronto Music Office has been doing a great job putting out information about grant opportunities available for musicians and music-related businesses. Here’s […]

Why Your Artist Management Agreement Says Your Manager Won’t Get You Gigs
Blog Posts

Why Your Artist Management Agreement Says Your Manager Won’t Get You Gigs

August 12, 2021August 12, 2021 Paul 2 mins read

About 15 years ago, my band signed our first management agreement. I was in law school, and we couldn’t afford a lawyer to look at […]

Bad Behaviour in Recording Agreements
Blog Posts

Bad Behaviour in Recording Agreements

May 4, 2021May 4, 2021 Paul 2 mins read

Here’s a quick rant. I’ve been working with a lot of artists lately on their record deals with small labels, and I want to talk […]

A Copyright Mystery – The “Rule of the Shorter Term” and the Public Domain in Canada
Blog Posts

A Copyright Mystery – The “Rule of the Shorter Term” and the Public Domain in Canada

March 29, 2021March 29, 2021 Paul 8 mins read

This is the kind of law blog post that I dread. I’m about to write about something I’m unsure about. And, if it wasn’t for […]

How Patents Can Make Music Sound Bad (or Good)
Blog Posts

How Patents Can Make Music Sound Bad (or Good)

February 23, 2021February 16, 2022 Paul 4 mins read

*** UPDATE FEB 16, 2022 *** I should acknowledge as of WIndows 11, the AAC codec is natively supported in Windows (hooray!). Also, for an […]

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Recent Posts

  • Can You Really Just Fire Your Drummer?
  • THE FREE MUSIC LAW HOTLINE
  • Music Copyright is Irreparably Broken
  • Why I Hate Options in Music Contracts
  • Music Copyright 101, Part One: Why is it So Confusing?

Recent Comments

  • A Copyright Mystery - The "Rule of the Shorter Term" and the Public Domain in Canada | THE MUSIC LAWYER on Public Domain Day 2021 – More Music is Soon Free of Copyright in the USA… What about Canada?
  • The Toronto Music Advisory Committee in 2021 - Come Watch, Speak and Create Change | The Music Lawyer on City of Toronto Music Office 2020 Wrap Up
  • Can You Get Sued for (allegedly) Ripping Off Your Own Music? John Fogerty did. | The Music Lawyer on Bob Dylan Sold His Copyright… What Does That Mean?
  • pbanwatt on Bob Dylan Sold His Copyright… What Does That Mean?
  • Ivan on Bob Dylan Sold His Copyright… What Does That Mean?

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