Creator Spotlight with Songwriter & Musician Don Tomlinson
This week, we’re pleased to introduce songwriter and musician Don Tomlinson. He’s a Copyright Alliance Creator Member, and his company Solid Sterling Music is a BMI Publisher Member.
What was the inspiration behind becoming a creator? What do you enjoy most about the creative process?
My father was my initial inspiration. This is a quote from the dedication of my novel, “Oedipus Tex,” that was published about 25 years ago:
“[My father] had a lifelong love affair with language and creative expression and…should have been what I try to be—a writer, a photographer, a mass communicator, a singer, a songwriter, a musician. That he was prevented by circumstance from developing and professionally using his God-given talents in these areas was a tragedy of life. If there can be a measure of repair, it is that he passed these gifts to me, and I have not suffered the inability to use them, however modestly.”
What I enjoy most about the creative process is the journey—the sheer thrill of creation. Of course, I learned long ago that, in the creative expression world as with many other endeavors, the journey must be the goal as remunerative end results often are not achieved.
Can you talk through your creative process? How long does it take? Does everything you produce make money?
First, I should list what I do creatively and in the order that I first began doing them: a) I started playing guitar and singing in RnR bands while in high school, and have been performing for more than 60 years; b) I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in journalism, was a television and wire service reporter (and also began shooting moving pictures during that time) for several years before law school; c) in addition to being an entertainment lawyer, I produced/directed many television programs and commercials over the years and shot music videos while at CMT in the mid-eighties; d) I began writing songs in my mid-thirties, now have almost 700 songs (across half a dozen genres) in my BMI account, e.g., had a song on “MTV Cribs” in 2023; e) produced hundreds of demo recordings and masters in Nashville studios; f) wrote and published several other books, notably “Desiderata: The Book” and “God Rains Miracles,” the latter co-authored with country music entertainer Irlene Mandrell; f) was a law professor for 25 years (e.g., taught Entertainment Law at a major law school for 15 years), during which time I published many law review articles, including in relation to music copyright law; and g) have begun the process of writing “jukebox” musicals.
Obviously, my creative time is very different depending on the particular creative expression, but I am devoted to it, so I take whatever time I need to end with what I consider to be a professional result.
Much of my creative work has been done in the employ of others and so, of course, I made money from that. My books have earned money but not enough to write home about. My narration of “Desiderata The Book” earns me modest but steady royalties from Audible.com, and I receive modest royalties from BMI each quarter for streaming and other forms of public performance (mainly involving the more than two million streams I have as an artist on the major streaming services). I have not relied on copyright-based income to support myself and my family.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about your line of work?
That it involves fame and fortune! Just mention that you are a songwriter and the immediate questions involve the fame of your songs and the copious amounts of money you must have made. I never mention my creative expression to others so I don’t have to defend myself by explaining things like “supply over demand.” I consider myself principally a creator, but, when asked my profession, I say simply that I am a lawyer.
When did you first become aware of copyright, and why?
In journalism school in college. We were introduced to the idea of copyright and to such ideas as infringement, work-made-for-hire, and fair use. I found the largely abstract nature of copyright to be fascinating and made learning it a principal aim in law school. In addition to my first law degree, I have an LL.M. in intellectual property law (copyright emphasis) from a major law school.
Have you experienced copyright infringement and, if so, how has it affected you personally and financially?
Yes. Only in songwriting. Never shall I forget driving to work at the university one morning when I heard a song on the radio that was a 100% ripoff of the (unique) lyrics to the chorus in one of my demos. Of course, the idea of “demos” is to “demonstrate” your songs in hopes of getting them recorded by recording artists. The demo that got ripped off had been “out there” for a while. Without going into it, I quickly realized that this, indeed, was blatant copyright infringement. I had another song ripped off years later, but the infringement question would have been whether “enough” of my expression had been copied so as to constitute infringement. The song did well but not well enough to tempt me to file suit.
What do you do when you encounter someone stealing something you’ve invested your intellect, time, and money into?
Over the years, I have answered this question for innumerable clients/would-be clients in copyright infringement situations. The answer is: pick your battles well. Copyright infringement lawsuits happen in federal court, which is more expensive and more cumbersome. To find a contingent-fee attorney (you pay nothing unless you win and then the damages are somehow split), you must have a great case involving serious money because you are asking the lawyer to risk her/his upfront money. One more thing as to money damages: copyright law has a provision allowing the court to grant very substantial “statutory damages” where the value of the infringement cannot be readily determined. In any event, speak with a copyright attorney before making serious lawsuit decisions.
How has AI technology impacted your works and career?
Very significantly. I will confine my remarks here to music law and to music.
I gave a speech in 2005 to an international gathering of copyright law professors on the subject of the ownership of machine-generated songs (I hadn’t heard the term “AI” then). Because the concept involves a sea change or paradigm shift, there was then, and there is now, much confusion as to the legal status of AI databases and creations. Where there is no federal statutory law (at least as yet) to answer any such questions, we are left to handle the problem by lawsuits and/or contracting.
Finally, let me say that there are many, many chapters left to write in the AI-music story. We are at the “beginning,” but it is moving very fast!
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