Okay, y'all...remember that old TV show called "Name That Tune?"
Well, I couldn't wait a full week to get this one out because,
not only is it so important, but it is, in fact, vital and can
get you involved *very* quickly in a lawsuit, which could be
financially devastating to your career.
Plus, as I would have normally published this article on this
coming Friday, I am otherwise headed to Houston this weekend to
record my new single titled, "Vampire Love." :-)
But, getting back to the main point, if you have become a
successful independent band, and just happen to have the same
name as a band that had the name before you, you can be legally
forced to pay back all those royalties and sales profits, in
addition to an incredible amount of damages. This little
pleasant process is known as a lawsuit.
Okay, Kenny, what are you hammering about NOW?
I'm very glad you asked because there is an increasingly big
problem with successful bands being legally forced to change
their names because they were *lazy* and did not bother to
thoroughly check to see if another band had the name first. They
have become victims of the "It can't happen to us" theory. In
fact, not only can it happen to you, if you become successful,
it *will* happen to you.
That's right...if you have managed to assess a small fortune in
royalties, and have not conducted a trademark search on your
band's name, look out! Because, the chances are great that a
less than successful band is waiting on you, figuratively
speaking, just around the corner. And, all this less than
successful band has to do in order to turn your day trading into
a nightmare, is simply prove that it had the name before you.
And, if you happen to reside in the Third Ward district of one
of my beloved hometowns (Houston, Texas) and, particularly, near
McGowen or Scott streets, one of these bands could be waiting on
you, literally, and usually after dark wielding a Lone
Star-studded machete.
But, I'm not here to discuss geography...I am here, however, to
discuss topography...and, specifically, the topography of your
music career.
Several years ago, during one of my stints as a broadcast radio
host, my then business partner and I were considering starting a
record label, and were interviewing a very nice vocal group
whose music we had been playing on our station, for our label's
first signing.
However, the group's name (perhaps as hindsight) simply seemed
like a name that might already be in existence. Lo and behold,
after searching the 'Net, I discovered a similar group with the
same name, that had been in existence much longer, as well as
had a couple of releases out.
The group that we were considering signing has now folded
because they were so distraught and were so in love with the
name, and simply could not move on to another. I guess that's
why they call it the Blues.
Now, I'm betting that, as a result of reading this, a good
number of you who are in bands will find tonight's sleep a bit
of a disconcerting effort, and for that I am truly sorry. :-(
But, it is my civic and patriotic duty to be the bearer of bad
news if it helps protect your career.
Ever heard the phrase, "This is going to hurt me a lot more
than it's going to hurt you?" Well, this ain't one of them
times.
At the very least, if a trademark search is not within your
budget at the moment (around $300-$400), at least, register your
name at BandName.com (http://www.bandname.com) or
BandRegister.com (http://www.bandregister.com).
And, much success to your getting "legalized."
Note: To see how far the lack of proper registration of your
band's
name can escalate, take a look at some popular name
artists who found out the hard way, so to speak, and whom you
may recognize below.
BLACK SABBATH - they were originally a cover band called EARTH.
The band saw Boris Karloff's 1963 horror movie "Black Sabbath"
one night and were inspired to call their first original song
"Black Sabbath." They found out at a gig that there was another
band called "Earth," so they changed their name to BLACK
SABBATH.
BLINK-182 - They were originally called BLINK, but were forced
to change their name because a techno band from Ireland was
already called that. 182 doesn't actually mean anything. The
band has helped start rumors about 182 like: Al Pacino said
"f--k" 182 times in Scarface, Al Pacino said "f--k" 182 times in
"The Godfather", etc.
Testament is a North American thrash metal music group from
California. Being one of the most influential American thrash
metal bands, while recording their first album, the band was
forced to change its name to Testament because another band held
a copyright to the name, "The Legacy."
The Wrens, Charles Bissel, Kevin and Greg Whalen and Jeremy
MacDonnel, began in 1990 under the name Low. Unbeknownst to
them, there was already a band named Low, a low-fi indie group
who forced them to change their name.
Linkin Park is one of the hottest bands in the music industry
today. At the beginning of its career, the group was called
"Xero" and recorded several demo tracks which never drew the
attention from music executives. The group decided to hire a
vocalist by putting out an advertisement in the local paper -
this is how Chester Bennington joined the band.
The group renamed itself "Hybrid Theory" with the addition of
Bennington, but had trademark issues with another local band
called "Hybrid." Forced to change band names, the group decided
on "Lincoln Park," inspired by the park Bennington had to drive
past to get to band practice. However the domain,
"lincolnpark.com," cost more than the band could afford, so they
changed the spelling to Linkin Park.
The Verve (originally called Verve) were formed the town of
Wigan in 1989. The single, "Slide Away," topped indie rock
charts and made enough of a splash across the Atlantic to score
the Verve a spot in the successful 90s alternative rock
festival, Lollapalooza, in 1994.
The tour was disastrous for the group as Ashcroft was
hospitalized for dehydration while Salisbury was arrested for
destroying a hotel room in Kansas. After the tour, the Jazz
label, Verve, sued the band for copyright infringements and
forced the group to officially change their name to The Verve.
Whew! And, how was YOUR day?
About the author:
Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a multi-service music firm
providing radio promotion, media publicity, gig publicity and
business services for musicians. Get complete details at
http://www.myspace.com/kenlove