Music, Management, Marketing, and Law by Phil Graham

Author:Phil Graham
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030021436
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

Phil GrahamMusic, Management, Marketing, and LawMusic Business Researchhttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02143-6_7

7. Shane Simpson, Music Lawyer

Phil Graham1, 2

(1)School of Communication and Creative Industries, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia

(2)Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Abstract

This chapter is an interview with Shane Simpson (AM), Australia’s best-known copyright lawyer. He set up his practice in 1986 and has since acted from many of the leading artists in Australia and elsewhere. He began his career in more conventional areas of the law, coming to the bar in New Zealand in 1973, in New South Wales in 1978, and stepping down in 1986 to pursue his work in the arts. While he is perhaps best known for his work in the music business, Shane’s experience and influence extends far beyond. His first work in copyright, and an enduring area of personal interest, was in visual arts. He has extended that work into areas such as museum law, media law, information technology law, and of course music. His contributions to the Arts in general include the establishment of Australia’s first Arts Law Centre, a free service for artists who could not otherwise afford legal advice. The most striking aspect of Shane’s interview is the historical depth and detail of his legal and business knowledge.

Welcome Shane. You’ve clearly got a passion for the arts and the establishment of the Arts Law Centre attests to that, it’s a wonderful institution. Can you give our audience some background about your personal and professional journey into copyright law?

Yes, I’m an immigrant and I always tell people that because clearly it’s a large political issue in our community. I came here when I was 23 as a piano player from New Zealand, and then there was a series of serendipitous, happenstance things. I ended up teaching law at the University of New South Wales from when I was 23 to 30. Then I decided I’d go to the bar, and I think it’s an interesting lesson to hear people say, at this stage of my career, that one of the bravest things I did in my career was to leave the bar: I found that I was very good at being a barrister, I was making stacks of money—and I was deeply unhappy. So I decided to stop legal practice. I sold my chambers and I packed all my things up. I went back to New Zealand without a clue as to what I was going to do. For 6 months I sat on my arse and got quite depressed. One thing I would say to people who don’t know what they want to do is, “Panic not, but be prepared for the loneliness of not knowing”.

It was only because I took that time out, went through that process, that I had lunch with my parents who had invited an artist friend along. He’d just been stiffed by his gallery and I went into barrister mode and told him what he should do to fix the situation.

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