About the Book
Music and the Law
is a book that examines the relationship between the law and the music industry in Australia. The book is specifically aimed at assisting and educating law and music students, as well as individuals involved in the music industry including musicians, managers, agents and music enthusiasts.
The book's introductory chapter considers the importance of music from a social, cultural and political perspective and provides an introduction to the Australian legal system. The book then looks specifically at various aspects of the music industry and, in particular, provides a summary of the following key aspects:
Contracts
Recording and distribution
Copyright
Musical works, literary works and sound recordings
Live performance and the live music industry in Australia
Alternative dispute resolution
The final chapter of the book provides commentary from various members of the Australian music industry including lawyers, managers, distributors and musicians.
Music and the Law
is an indispensable tool to anyone attempting to navigate the world of music today, covering the wide spectrum of legal issues that those in the music industry may encounter.
About the Author:
Associate Professor Peter MacFarlane joined the University of South Australia School of Law in 2011. Before this he was Professor and Head of the School of Law at the University of the South Pacific, Director of the University Community Legal Centre and Director of the Vanuatu campus of the University of the South Pacific. He has also held appointments as Associate Professor in the School of Law at Queensland University of Technology and as full time Law Reform Commissioner with the Qld Law Reform Commission.
Peter has held visiting appointments at the Curtin University (WA), the University of Western Ontario (Canada) and the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service (Washington DC). He has worked as a legal practitioner in Vanuatu and in New South Wales and has served on a number of government and non-government Boards and Commissions including as legal counsel for a Vanuatu Government Commission of Inquiry.
In 2011, Peter was appointed Associate Head (Teaching and Learning) in the School of Law. At the end of 2012 he was appointed Acting Dean of the School of Law. He held this position until April 2014. In July 2016, he was appointed Director: Academic (Undergraduate) in the School of Law.
Peter's teaching in the areas of Legal Ethics, Civil Procedure, Sports Law, Music and the Law, and Health, Law and Ethics places emphasis on the application of legal principles to professional practice. His research informs his teaching and he has been published in each of his teaching areas. His most significant research contributions have been in the areas of Legal Ethics, Health Law and Ethics, and Music and the Law.
Paraskevi Kontoleon joined the University of South Australia School of Law on a full time basis in 2014. Before this she worked as a practitioner in a number of private law firms in South Australia while teaching and researching on a part time basis. In conjunction with her legal career, Paraskevi has been an active musician performing all across Australia in her bands Dirt Playground and Lipsmack and performing Greek singing. She also performs regularly as a back-up vocalist for solo artist Jesse Francis. Her passion for music and the arts is what inspired her to write a book on how the law impacts musicians in Australia.
Paraskevi teaches in the areas of Legal Ethics, Civil Procedure, Music and the Law, and Health, Law and Ethics. She has played a key role in expanding the University of South Australiaâ (TM)s Legal Advice Clinic (which is a free student-run service) to provide legal advice and guidance to all types of artists in South Australia.
Similar to her colleaugue, Peter MacFarlane, her teaching places emphasis on the application of legal principles to professional practice. Paraskevi has a keen interest in student-focused learning and in implementing contemporary learning methods into her teaching.
