Rock Poster Art, Artists and the Law: One Lawyer's Journey into her Brother's Comic Book Life

By: J. Bernstein

Being the little sister of a comic book geek (I mean artist) constantly brings me to the most interesting places to meet people that I would never normally have the chance to know. Most recently, I had the pleasure of attending the Royal Flush art, film and rock & roll festival in NYC where my brother launched the newest installment of Royal Flush Magazine. At the festival I had the pleasure of viewing a fascinating screening of American Artifact, a documentary about rock poster artists, directed by Merle Becker. During this documentary I learned about the history and emergence of rock poster art the influence of this art on American society (and society's influence on the art) and the contemporary metamorphosis of the art. Rock poster art is becoming somewhat of a viable business now and older creations have become collectors pieces. So what does that bring with it? You guessed it, a host of legal issues. Shockingly, these legal issues are where I automatically focused my attention.

That's right, law school and layering have brainwashed me to see the legal issues surrounding every situation. So, I guess this post is more of a caution to my beloved illustrators and artists of all types...watch your butts (and CYA). Your talents have brought you to a place where you are now on the radar of main stream media, mainstream bands and more notably mainstream record labels. AND YOU ARE ON THE RADAR OF THEIR ATTORNEYS.

Your artwork began in its purest form. You took the music you loved and created visual masterpieces out of the songs you heard. You made these posters to promote the bands you admired and to encourage others to appreciate the music you adored. You created them by hand, in your bedroom, in your garage, in a library, or apparently, even at kinkos. At first you had no monetary interest in creating this artwork, but admit it, somewhere down the line that little thought popped into your head...maybe I can make a little bit of money doing this? Hey, it's a win win situation right? I get to keep creating AND I get to eat. It's the American dream right? Well...we all wish that were the case don't we?

Unfortunately, with mainstream recognition the bands, their managers, their labels and their big bad lawyers are going to want a piece. I know a select few poster artists have already received cease and desist orders from record labels and as the popularity of the art form grows, so will the legal backlash. Why else may you need a lawyer? CONTRACTS!!!!! Yes people, you may be able to keep these bands and their labels as PAYING CLIENTS and a properly drafted contract is the key to saving you time and headaches in the future.

So artists, don't forget that there may be consequences to your actions but more importantly BE PROACTIVE AND DON'T SELL YOURSELF SHORT!