As CDs become a thing of the past, record labels have had to find other ways to make a profit. The Multiple Rights Deal, also known as a 360 deal, is one way they are doing this. Instead of deriving all revenue from album sales, these new deals give the record label a cut of the monies from touring, merchandising, and publishing. Clearly, a deal with money coming in from multiple sources is a good thing for the record companies. But artists must now consider whether or not these deals give away too much to their label.

In June of 2007, the Belgian Court of First Instance ordered Scarlet, a Belgian Internet Service Provider, to use filtering technology to purge their network of copyright infringement content. At first the Belgian court was hesitant to enforce the ruling by penalizing the ISP without an indication that there was a practical way to prevent the infringement.

What exactly is sampling and at what point does it become illegal?

Q: Help! I want to start my own publishing company. What are the initial steps?

First, the best thing to do is write out a business plan/model. This is essential because it defines your goals, shows your strengths and weaknesses, clarifies your market and product, etc. Your business plan should answer questions such as: what the business is about, what your goals are, how much money you’re seeking, whether the targeted market can support your business concept, etc. There are many questions people have when starting their own publishing company.