Eric Priest, a professor in the University of Oregon School of Law, will find himself in a sea of music label executives and celebrities when he attends the nation’s leading conference for songwriters and composers as a panel participant April 18 through 20.
Priest will serve on the panel, "West Meets East: Growing Opportunities in the Asian Pop Market," at the upcoming ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo in Los Angeles. The panel will address the growing market for music in Asian countries.
ASCAP – the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers – hosts the annual conference for members of the music community, providing an environment for songwriters and composers to hone their craft, network with others in the industry and learn from experts.
Notable speakers and guests at this year’s event include artists Akon, Judy Collins, Lionel Richie, Ne-Yo and Steven Tyler.
Priest, who teaches courses in intellectual property law and the global entertainment industry, was an international pop and R&B producer and songwriter for almost 20 years, developing top ten hits for artists such as Clubland and Jan Werner, popular artists in Europe. In 1999, Priest became an A&R consultant in Beijing to Rock Records, which at the time was the largest pop-rock label in China.
Most recently, he composed and produced the theme song for the Chinese television drama series "Emotional Barcelona."
Priest will bring his intersectional knowledge of music, business and legal matters to the ASCAP panel. He’ll respond to moderator- and audience-generated questions about opportunities in Asian markets – a hot topic at a time when the music industry has become increasingly globalized. The panel begins at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 18.
Priest is encouraging students with an interest in practicing music or entertainment law to register for the event. He sees the conference as an opportunity to introduce other members of the music community to an area he’s been researching for several years and to learn from other panelists and experts studying or working in international copyright law.
He also hopes the UO law school can gain further recognition for its contributions to the legal field.
“Speaking at these kinds of events shows that Oregon Law is an institution with global reach, where faculty members are working on exciting things that are important to the law and business worlds,” Priest says.
- from the UO School of Law