Ellis had a recent gig at Saint Rocke’s this past week and I stopped by to say hi and catch his performance. Somehow I only took photos of him playing guitar, but most of the set actually featured Ellis on piano.

D*J*E and Ellis

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I passed the California Bar Exam and have been officially sworn in as an attorney. Thank you all for supporting me during this process, and for remaining loyal listeners to Electric Effect.

I am thrilled to now be able to represent artists as their attorney, help them protect their rights and further their careers.

Best,

D*J*E, Esq.

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I am thrilled to let you know that Your Industry Insider, a great entertainment industry website, has written a profile on me! Please visit them and subscribe at www.YourIndustryInsider.com. You can view the profile on me here, or read the text below. Many thanks to Jenny at YII!

Rock on!

~D*J*E

from YourIndustryInsider.com:

Making It Happen: DJ & JD Erin Jacobson

When YII met DJ Erin (Jacobson), we were impressed not only be her passion for music, but how she’d found ways to incorporate that passion into her daily life in college and then into her post-collegiate plans. She was very clear about what she wanted and we think other readers could learn a lot from her focus and commitment to turning music into a long and satisfying career for herself.

Current Situation: Waiting for Bar results.

College: USC- Major in Psychology, minor in Music Industry

Internships: During college, I interned at Capitol Records in catalogue publicity, and with Rick Dees doing the Weekly Top 40. I also DJ’d at USC’s radio station, KSCR. During law school, I interned for a music publishing company and a couple music law firms.

Early Love Of Music: I was the kid in the 3rd grade that was Elvis Presley’s biggest fan. I got into all different kinds of music because I loved exploring the influences of the artists I already liked. Until I was in college, I didn’t know about the different areas of the music industry and ways to be involved professionally.

Awakening: USC’s Intro to Music Industry class opened my eyes to the roles of agents and managers, lawyers, all the people who make the careers happen for the people onstage. I loved the contracts and copyrights, the legal side of it, and I started DJing, too. I felt I’d found my niche.

Making it into a career: I took all the entertainment law and music law classes in college, eventually with an eye toward going to law school. I took a year off and developed my podcast, Electric Effect, which focuses on unsigned and independent artists, mainly in LA. I love finding and then promoting new artists. (A few new, great, and local bands are Kiss the Girl, Run Through the Desert, featuring an artist named Yogi, and The Reigning Monarchs, Greg Behrendt’s band.) I went to law school at Southwestern Law School in downtown LA and really dove into entertainment law. I took as many entertainment electives as I could, was president of my school’s Entertainment and Sports Law Society and was the student liaison to the American Bar Association’s Forum on Entertainment and Sports Law. I also recently took the Bar exam and am awaiting the results.

Dream job: As long as my career has to do with music, I’m happy. My dream job would probably be at a law firm repping and working with artists, negotiating their deals and counseling them on their careers. I also really like and understand music publishing.

Now: I’m doing consulting for bands, writing reviews and working on my next podcast for Electric Effect. By the way, I’m always looking for new bands to play and good new interns to help me.

Erin can be reached through her website and her podcast can be found through her website or at iTunes.

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This is yet another example of why all artists need entertainment lawyers that are well versed in the music industry and can prevent these situations from happening.

Read the full story here.

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The parties have now settled their suit, so we won’t get to see how it plays out at trial. Click here if you want a bit more information and a link to some of the filed court papers.

Some of you “non-legal” folks have requested I explain what the settlement means:

The details of this particular settlement have not been released, so only the involved parties know the terms of the actual settlement agreement. However, I have provided an explanation below of typical settlements in these types of cases and what details we do know about the Satriani v. Coldplay case.

When someone owns a copyright in an original work, he alone owns the right to use and profit from that work, unless he has given or sold those rights to someone else. No one else may use or profit from that work without obtaining permission from the copyright owner. In a situation where Artist-A (assuming he is also the writer of the song) sues Artist-B for copying his song, it means that Artist-B has either intentionally or unintentionally copied part of Artist-A’s song and used the copied portion without permission from Artist-A. This also means that after the alleged copying has occurred and Artist-B’s song released, Artist-B is profiting from using Artist-A’s song without permission. Remember, because only the copyright owner is allowed to use and profit from his work, no one else is allowed to use that work or a portion of it without the owner’s permission.

When a lawsuit is filed, the case can go all the way to trial, or the parties can settle before a trial occurs. Settling is often faster and cheaper than going to trial. It allows the parties to work out their differences and come to an agreement that they both are happy with, rather than having a winner and a loser at trial. Settlements in these types of infringement cases often involve a monetary payment, and sometimes a transfer of all or a portion of the copyright in the alleged infringer’s composition. Here is an example which assumes the artists involved also write their own compositions. (Note: This is an example and not necessarily what happened in the Satriani v. Coldplay dispute.)

Artist-B writes Song-B, which supposedly infringes on Song-A by Artist-A. A settlement might include Artist-B paying a sum of money to Artist-A as a penalty for infringing and/or to make the dispute go away. Artist-A may then also get to own all or a part of the copyright to Song-B, which allows him to share in Song-B’s profits. This is often a fair solution to Artist-A because it allows him to still own the portion of his work used in the new composition. For very easy math, let’s say that Artist B took all of Artist-A’s lyrics from Song-A and just set them to new music. Normally, lyrics are 50% of the composition and the music is 50% of the composition. Artist B would get to retain ownership of his new music, which is 50% of the composition. But because the lyrics belong to Artist-A, Artist-B will agree to let Artist-A own the other 50% of the copyright to the composition. These percentages will vary based on how much of the original composition is used in the new composition. Sometimes, Artist-A will get to own the entire copyright of Artist-B’s composition if enough of Song-A was used in Song-B. Transfer of copyright in these cases is often a negotiated point and assisted with the help of musicologists.

In the Satriani v. Coldplay case, Coldplay still has not admitted to any wrongdoing. Based on the terms of the settlement that were disclosed, Coldplay does not and will not have to admit to any wrongdoing or copying. The case was dismissed with prejudice, which means Satriani cannot bring this case against Coldplay again.

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Here is an iPhone shot of Chris Cornell from the party:

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In addition to band shots and shots of me, I have decided to include some photos from my personal collection. Most of these photos include classic cars, but sometimes they are just photos I would like to share with you.

I hope you enjoy them.

Best,

~D*J*E

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A few things:

1. I am working on some new shows and will get to them as soon as I can.

2. My wonderful intern Dani has graduated and therefore I am looking for a new intern. If you or someone you know would like to be my intern for school credit, please email me with your resume and a cover letter. If you have a writing sample, please also include that.

3. There is a new interview with me! The wonderful Quo Vadis Blog has interviewed me, not only about music, but about my love of fountain pens. Quo Vadis makes great planners and is affiliated with some other great journals (like Clairefontaine!) and inks (like J. Herbin!) I bet you didn’t know I love fountain pens, did you? Read the interview HERE!

What has been happening with you?

Talk soon,

~D*J*E

Here is the interview from the Quo Vadis Blog (thanks to Leah for letting me repost!)

Erin “D*J*E” Jacobson is a J.D., DJ, and fountain pen aficionado/blogger. We caught up with her recently to talk about these various interests and hobbies.

QVB: When and how did you first get into fountain pens?

Erin: I have always liked pens, but my fascination with fountain pens started several years ago when my dad gave me his Parker 45 from the 1960s, complete with a box of Parker Super Quink “Washable Royal Blue” Tap-Tank cartridges. I tried it and liked it, but then put it aside. One day I picked it up again and the spark hit. I started using it all the time. I also began looking online for more information on fountain pens. I discovered many beautiful pens and the unique community of fountain pen users.

As I have bought, used and researched more fountain pens, I am amazed at their beauty, style and quality of craftsmanship. Furthermore, I like unique items and think that fountain pens are special. They are not just cheap plastic pens from the store. Fountain pens have an elegance to them that is easy to possess in everyday life.

Italic, flex and stub nibs give writing an artistic dimension and the range of ink colors available far surpasses that for ballpoints or rollerballs. Writing with fountain pens also motivated me to improve my handwriting, which led me to a greater interest in calligraphy and dip pens.

I liked it all so much that I wanted to share my thoughts with others and started La Plume Etoile for my reviews.

What are your favorite pens?

My favorite pens are my vintage pens. My top choice will vary depending on my mood, but my absolute favorite pen is probably my vintage Parker Vacumatic. My vintage Esterbrook is one of my most comfortable pens. My vintage Sheaffer Balance is probably my most beautiful pen and is a fantastic writer. However, there something about my Vac – it writes like an absolute dream.

I understand you own a lot of vintage pens. Where do you buy them? What criteria do you look for?

I do have some vintage pens – see my favorites. I have bought some online and some at pen shows. One has to be careful when buying online because the pen one receives often is not as described or pictured online. After deciding whether the pen is visually appealing to me, I look for overall quality of the pen. After checking the body, I check the nib to make sure that is also in good condition and not damaged or worn. Thirdly, the vintage pens I buy need to be restored. If the pen has a sac, I like it to have a brand new sac. I make sure the lever or other filling mechanism works without issue. I do not do pen repairs and I want to make sure it is in great working condition.

Aside from that, I personally look for smaller size pens like juniors or debutantes because they are the perfect size when posted. I also favor extremely lightweight pens to reduce strain on my tendonitis.

Which pens have surprised you most over the years, either positively or negatively?

I have had some disappointments with buying pens online that did not live up to their descriptions Luckily, no pens have really have negatively surprised me. I have been positively surprised with the vintage pens because of the quality of craftsmanship and the level of detail in their design. It amazes me that some of these pens that are so old can look almost new. Vintage pens were also built to last, as evidenced by people who still use them regularly today.

I analogize fountain pens to vintage telephones. The cordless phones you can pick up in any store today usually need to be replaced after a year, but some people are still using vintage bakelite desk phones. I feel these items accompany a sense of pride in one’s work. The companies and people that made these items took care to make them properly and to last; they are not cheap manufactured products churned out without thought to their longevity of use.

What are your favorite notebooks and inks?

I am still deciding on my favorite notebook, but I love notebooks with Clairefontaine paper. I started my ink book in one of my Clairefontaine mini-notebooks because not only is the paper incredibly smooth, but it makes the ink colors come alive! I am also currently using a Joshua Davis spiral notebook from MiquelRuis that I love.

My favorite ink brand is J. Herbin! I am not just saying that because Exaclair distributes it and Karen, my wonderful fairy ink-mother, sends me samples for review. I truly enjoy the range of colors and how some of the colors look vintage. I also appreciate Herbin inks’ gentle nature because I know they are safe for my pens and will not clog them. Herbin ink usually does not stain my sink after a pen flush and it quickly washes off my fingers. I once spilled Poussiere de Lune on my favorite jeans to my initial horror, but miraculously, I was able to quickly wash it out with no residual stain! If J. Herbin needs a spokesperson, I’m available. Seriously.

Honestly though, my ink choice often depends on the pen I am using. I have a (possibly weird) habit of matching my ink color to the pen color. My ink choice is often J. Herbin, but I also use other inks. I love the color of Private Reserve’s DC Supershow Blue and use that in my Vacumatic.

Do you have any writing routines? A certain place, time of day, etc.?

I wish I could say that I did! I try to regularly keep a personal journal, but I usually become too occupied with other activities and forget to set aside the time to write. However, I am big on handwritten cards.

Since I know you’re a DJ and music lover, I feel compelled to ask: what bands are you listening to these days?

First, I would like to clarify “DJ” because many people assume I’m spinning in clubs and hired for parties, which I’m not. I am a podcast DJ and have a podcast called Electric Effect where I feature the best unsigned and indie bands. The list of what I listen to is quite long and available at the show’s website. As far as indie bands, Kiss the Girl just came out with a very cool new EP, Lynhurst and The Reigning Monarchs just released their new albums. There are too many to name, so you will have to listen to the podcast to hear the other bands I find worthwhile.

The bottom line is that there are a lot of bands trying to make it. Some are good and some are not. I filter the good from the bad and pick the bands that are worth listening to and that have the potential to make it big. I pick all the bands and songs from each band played, provide information on the bands and sometimes interview them. I try to make it a unique experience more like DJs from years past who were the tastemakers, rather than today’s computer-generated playlists.

How you got interested in music and law and music law in the first place?

I have always been interested in music. In third grade, I was Elvis Presley’s number one fan and knew all sorts of trivia. The other kids would find out facts about him and try to trip me up, but they never did. In high school, I was the resident expert on The Beatles. Over the years, my tastes in music have greatly and rapidly expanded to where I like almost all types of music. A list of many bands I like are at the Electric Effect website.

Music is great because it has this amazing ability to bring people together and erase the differences between them. Music is also a great companion, no matter what mood one is experiencing, and can help people through tough times.

Is there anything else you’re this passionate about, besides music?

Music and fountain pens/inks/paper are definitely two of my biggest passions. Law is also a big part of my life and I am lucky in that I have found a way to associate it with my passion for music.

I am very interested in vintage style and design, both in fashion and interior décor. I love old films, especially film noir and Technicolor musicals. It is also fun to spot the fountain pens used in some of these old films! Aside from that, I love classic cars, monograms, genealogy, family, friends and enjoying life!

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