Angela D. Green is an attorney in Memphis, TN, and owner of The Green Law Firm, PLLC.  Ms. Green is also Executive Director of On Location: Memphis, Inc. (OL:M),
which is a 501(c)3 non-profit arts organization whose mission is to teach entertainment business through real-life applications.

Hi Angela! We're beyond thrilled to have you with us. As a first step, let's break the ice - why not start by introducing yourself? We are eager to know more about you!

I’m Angela D. Green, a licensed attorney in Tennessee. I'm originally from Indiana, but I've lived and worked in Memphis, Tennessee, for most of my young adult life and career. My practice areas have primarily been real estate and entertainment law.

You have an organization called On Location: MEMPHIS, and your entertainment law expertise is a big part of it. What is On Location: MEMPHIS, and how do Memphians benefit from it?

On Location: Memphis (OL:M) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was started in 1997. It started primarily as a film festival. For about 17 years, that's pretty much all that it was. It hosted one of the international film and music festivals in Memphis. I started volunteering with them in 2010. I was invited to one of their planning meetings. My entertainment law practice was focused on music. Many of my clients were interested in getting into music licensing, placement, and things of that nature. Still, they found it very difficult to break into that area. When I was invited to be a part of the planning committee for this festival, I thought it might be a good place to learn about that area and see how music can get placed.

I learned that it was difficult for independent music creators to break in because many independent filmmakers didn't understand music licensing, copyrights, and things of that nature.  Music is so important to the filmmaking process, and music could very well derail the prospects of a film project if all of your paperwork is not in order or at least manageable.

By 2014, the current president, Lisa Bobal, had been with the organization for over a decade and was ready to retire. She trusted me with the organization. By then, I felt the film festival space was getting a little crowded. When it started in '97, there were two film festivals in Memphis.  By 2014, there were several.  I started thinking, is there a space that OL:M can fit in to meet the community's film and music needs? I started really digging into that question and learning about the nonprofit space in particular.  I started evaluating the purpose of OL:M and what we have to offer the film and music community that would be significant.

With On Location Memphis being a nonprofit, you are in a position to help aspiring filmmakers. But we know that things take funds to operate, of course. How are you in a position to assist aspiring filmmakers in making their dreams come true?

When I started reimagining what was missing in the nonprofit space for film and music, I started examining what was happening. I knew that many organizations here were helping filmmakers showcase their films through festivals. They were helping them create their films through grants as well as learning script writing, production, and things of that nature. For music they were helping music creators “create” the music and learn how to “perform” the music.

I recognized that many times, people feel like they need to leave Memphis to actually have a career and make a living off of their creative content. That's where I homed in on, and that's what's needed on both sides, the music and filmmaking sides.

They need to learn how to do business. They need to learn how to turn their creative, entrepreneurial businesses into money-generating enterprises from which they can earn a living.

For aspiring movie creators that come to On Location: MEMPHIS, or you specifically, what is the process to ensure that your organization is what they're looking for in addition to what you offer? How do you marry that together?

Our mission is to teach entertainment business through real-life applications. That means we are looking for business opportunities in which the filmmakers who come to us can participate in that process and learn to do business by doing business.

Filmmakers interested in or needing music for their film projects come to us for the Memphis Music Banq (MMB). The Memphis Music Banq is a music licensing website for TV, film, and visual media. Independent filmmakers will need music for their film project, which is an integral part of the filmmaking process. They are going to learn about music sync and master use licenses by actually licensing music from us. They're going to learn the value of paying that licensing fee, and knowing that you have all of your paperwork in order for your film project, they're going to go through that whole process. That's one thing. The next thing is for filmmakers who may have gone through the production process and have entered post-production, and now they are looking for scoring for their film projects, or they're looking for help in raising additional funds.

That program is called OL:M Fiscal Sponsorship Program, and it allows independent filmmakers to use our 501(c)(3) status to help them raise money for their film projects.  This is for individuals who want to give to their film project and get a tax write-off; they can funnel that through our fiscal sponsorship program. With this program, we can offer free scoring services while funds are available.

If they're interested in distribution and learning about the digital distribution options that are out there, they can also join our Auteur Club. The Auteur Club is an online network of like-minded creatives who enjoy connecting to exchange ideas and develop their cinematic skills/works. All active members receive exclusive On Location: MEMPHIS invites and opportunities, along with helpful tools and resources for upcoming filmmakers and composers pursuing careers within the film and music industry. The Auteur Club is an invite-only platform.

Let's talk about your last movie project, “5th Step”, which was filmed and produced in Memphis. Were you the writer and director or just responsible for the music?

5th Step is the first project under our Memphis Movie Production Workforce Development Program. Our goal is to help deepen the production talent pool in Shelby County to ensure that when a major production like “Young Rock” films here, most of those production jobs can go to people from Shelby County.  These below-the-line jobs in television production are camera operators, gaffers, grips, script supervisors, lighting technicians, construction workers, painters, and many more. The Memphis Movie Production was developed to produce short films, which would give people who may have been recently trained in certain areas or have been trained but have not gotten a lot of opportunities to do the work on a real film set.

I wrote the script, and then we raised the funds through a grant that we were given from Frontline Solutions, which was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, along with the Tennessee Entertainment Commission, private sector companies such as Power Media Solutions, Pinnacle Bank, Immaculate Facility Services, and individuals as well that have put in their time and resources to help us produce this film project.  We were on the set for four days in July 2023 and shot the film. The film is complete and scheduled for release in April 2024. Most of the cast and crew were from Shelby County. All major production jobs, including director, producers, and cinematographers, were from Shelby County. Our composers are from the Memphis Music Banq.

We're putting together all the different filmmaking and music creation components into this one project. Everyone participating in this gets an opportunity to work on a film set, build their resume, and gain credits, which is very important in the entertainment industry. Then they'll have a body of work to point to once we’re done and say, yes, we were a part of this.

We set up an IMDb page for the movie: the Industry Professional Database for Film Projects and Music and TV Projects. We have everyone listed there with their credits. We're really trying to help those individuals jump-start their careers in the industry.

I know you're familiar with Bluff City Law, which was more of a scripted television series. If somebody wanted to step into that industry, doing some scripted series such as Bluff City Law, would you be able to help in that aspect as well? Or would you strictly focus on its musical aspects?

We are focused on independent filmmakers and independent television creators. We're definitely in that independent space. Although we can’t guarantee any connections on a major level, we are helping you hone your craft and make as many strategic connections as possible to build up your resume to look attractive when those opportunities come. If one of those projects comes back to the area, you can submit that resume showing that you've been trained to do the job the way they expect you to do it. We provide free workshops in conjunction with the Memphis and Shelby County Film and Television Commission.

One of your signature programs under On Location Memphis is the Memphis Music Banq. That's where you empower Tennessee music creators to license their music catalog effectively. There are so many categories where you can select a vibe that would complement your work. How does that work for someone who does not want to get into movies but they’ve composed music on their own? Would this be a good outlet for them to showcase their work?

It's definitely a site that will teach you, through the submission process, how to ensure that everything legally is buttoned up with your music. Then, once you've gone through that process, it's going to open up the music licensing game to you and give you the tools that you need to market and promote yourself in that space while we're also trying to do what we can, on our end, to help you get placements in TV and film.

MMB was the first program we launched under our new mission, and it was built to be that next step past what other nonprofits in Memphis were already teaching. When you submit your music to us, we assume you already know the basics, such as copyrights, PRO registration, ISRC and ISWC codes, collaboration agreements, publishing agreements, etc. We’re asking you to submit that information to us so that we can confirm that you've got it in order.  Once we review and verify your information, it is ready to enter the banq.  At that point, you start the whole process of learning to do business with it. The first step of any business is evaluating opportunities. You've submitted the music, and we're saying, yes, we want you to be a part of our catalog, and then we will give you our administrative agreement. At this point, you're learning to evaluate this opportunity. We will be an integral part of moving your music business or publishing company to the next level.

Hypothetically speaking, you have an aspiring artist in the garage or basement making music and creating something; for that novice creator, how would they learn those important steps to get incorporated and protected? Then submitting to the Music Banq?

Typically, we will refer them back to one of the nonprofit organizations teaching that. We may recommend the Slim House, Memphis Music Town, or Memphis Music Initiative. Several nonprofit organizations do just that. They teach basic information about copyright filing and PRO registration and all of that stuff. That's where they need to start. They may not be ready for the Memphis Music Banq. We are a companion piece to those organizations. We won't pick up their work and duplicate that effort. We want to send them back to get the foundation information they need. Then, once they've gone through that and are ready, they come back to us, and then they will submit all that information so we can verify. Now, they're ready to learn what we will teach them. Because, at this point, you're about to learn “how” to do business. You will start learning by doing business with the Memphis Music Banq.

Angela, I love that. That's amazing! I know that with Memphis having so many creators, especially in the music realm and just being creative, this information and platform need to be distributed. What's next for On Location: MEMPHIS for 2024?

In 2024, we will release “5th Step”. We will have it finished by the early part of 2024. We'll have a release party and a Red Carpet screening event scheduled for April.

We're also planning monthly public sessions for artists and filmmakers who need a platform to ask general business and legal questions about things they may be going through in the industry. Imagine a space where you can voice your legal questions freely. A platform that enlightens you with essential legal information, helping you take informed steps before you dive into formal legal procedures. We're in the middle of planning that and hoping to launch that in 2024.

Wonderful. I love it. Is there anything you think Memphis needs to know about that I didn't ask?

On Location Memphis has partnered with the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphrey School of Law, to provide an Externship for law students to work with On Location: MEMPHIS and its clients. That's helping them to hone their skills in the area of entertainment law. We launched that this past summer and hope to host a few more externs in 2024. We need to build up the talent pool in the entertainment law area.

FB: On Location: Memphis

Website: onlocationmemphis.org