17 April 2008
IMM studio A 2.24
Stephan Benn On Copyright And Being Right.
Stephan Benn circles his lecture around two main subjects. First being: German royalties distribution unions GEMA, GVL and co - who is looking after licences, licensing; how and why? And second: Copyright contract law's practical use, contracts with publishers, manufacturers and record companies, creative partners of the artist.
Stephan Benn was born in Bergisch Gladbach, raised in Hamburg, studied in Osnabrück and Paris and is living in Cologne. Since January 2000, he is a practising music and media-, copyright, brand and competition attorney in his Cologne-based firm Benn-Urban-Wolff. GEMA, GVL and KSK- related issues are also part of his field.
Mr. Benn, a musicologist, worked as a booker, promotion-, label- and publishing manager, as well as artist-relation manager since 1995. Currently, Mr. Benn is an active music publisher, thus a delegate of the associated and singular publishers in the GEMA union. Furthermore, Mr. Benn looks after singers Sonja Kraushofer (L'Ame Immortelle, Persephone) and Brigitte Oelke (currently starring as Killer Queen in "We Will Rock You" in Zurich) as their manager. From 1999 until 2004, Stephan Benn was a board member of the Union of Independent Record Companies, Music Publishing Companies and Music Producers (VUT) in Berlin and from 2003 until 2005 of IMPALA (Independent Music Publisher and Label Association) in Brussels. 2004 until 2006, Mr. Benn served as a legal advisor Union of Independent Record Companies, Music Publishing Companies and Music Producers (VUT) in Berlin.
Stephan Benn supports clients from all wide range of creative professionals: Artists, producers, recording artists, music publishers, press- and book publishers, media companies, event companies, advertising agencies, artist-relation managers, catering companies, eCommerce- and downloading agencies, web 2.0 agencies, exhibition organisers. When not completely busy working in one of his multiple fields of entertainment law, Mr. Benn also works regularly as a music- and entertainment industry consultant.