I’m helping two authors with a manuscript about their experiences researching their ancestors who were slaves. I am unclear about the legal rights associated with certain material including: 1) publication of information found in public records, 2) publication of information from church records, historical society records, family bibles, etc.

Congratulations on being viewed by more people than the combined population of South Dakota, Delaware and Montana. Although your numbers pale when compared to Grumpy Cat or OMG Cat, you do have something in common with those feline YouTube stars: You’re not likely to see a paycheck. Here’s why.

You can study music theory until your right brain bleeds but that still does not mean you can write a song, or that the song will be “good.” To start writing, you need to keep playing.

The most important detail for you to be clear about is who is in the audience. How much did they pay to get into the event? Say, for an art competition, who are the participants: adults from a local correctional facility or high school students? You’ll want to cater your talk to their perspective.

It sounds as if you and the composer—like Felice and Boudleaux Bryant—intended to combine words and music into “inseparable or interdependent parts.” That makes you and the composer joint copyright owners of the song.

Now, because of one man, there is hope for me and others like me throughout the country yearning to work jobs they have previously found themselves barred from simply because they have no experience. Who is this Chuck Yeager; this Jackie Robinson; this Harvey Milk of the inexperienced?

I get very upset thinking about our president and how he mistreats people. This whole disgusting administration makes me angry. I’ve been told that I should have compassion for him, but how is it possible to have compassion for this fascist?

Being surrounded by different indigenous people lit a spark, filled me with pride, and confirmed to me that yes, it is our time as the youth of the Native nations of America to rise up and be the generation that takes back not only our identity but our voice.

I have signed and dated permissions forms that explicitly inform the participant that their recorded interview could end up in a published journal or book. Is there an expiration date on the permission they granted?

Guest Blogger Maggie Vail: “Musicians are leaders. Music has been at the forefront of every massive cultural movement from civil rights to feminism to anti war movements.”

Over time, our choices start to form a theme, an overarching message to the world about us and what we stand for. I think about it like a motto on a coat of arms, or the mission of an artistic ministry. What does our work stand for?

People breed puppies in their backyards and then sell them to pet shops for a couple of hundred dollars so that the pet shop can turn around and sell them for twice that much to fools like your boyfriend.

Our advice for aspiring musicians and artists: 1) Trust your instincts and find a project where you can put some of that trust in the people you play with. It’s like magic. 2) Hold yourself and your collaborators to the “Don’t be a Dick” Golden Rule. 3) Surround yourself with kind people who inspire you.

My husband’s photo was chosen by a huge non-profit for a postcard. He signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement for the use with payment of $250. They have never paid us and continue selling the postcard into the millions of copies. Can’t we sue?

My life turned upside-down, as I learned to cope with the sudden onset of these new physical ailments related to my work. Aside from the emotions of fearing I may never paint again, I became physically sick when I walked down the detergent isle at a grocery store, entered a mechanic shop or inadvertently set foot in a room where someone was painting their nails.

Mainly what I’d say to my friend is this: Imagine a world where there is a free beer tap on every corner. If you want to make a living selling beer, how can you succeed? One inescapable part of the answer, it seems to me, is that you end up giving away a LOT of beer.