TALENT & LITIGATION
Kenneth J. Abdo Paul N. Bowles III Cynthia L. Katz Tim Mandelbaum Michael L. Reinert Leron E. Rogers Alex Threadgold Heidy Vaquerano
PARTNERS, FOX ROTHSCHILD
Among the firm’s deep roster of clients are 10K Projects, Berry Gordy, Cash Money Records, Coco Jones, the estates of Bill Withers and Muddy Waters, HarbourView Equity Partners, Mötley Crüe, Primary Wave, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, Trace Adkins and Kool & The Gang. Abdo negotiated the 2021 release of Perfect Union, the last Kool & The Gang album to involve, at that time, the surviving four of the original five members. Abdo also represented Mick Mars of Mötley Crüe on the sale of his publishing catalog to BMG and closed the deal for his first solo album, The Other Side of Mars (Megaforce Records). He led the closing team for BMG Rights on 12 catalog acquisitions.
Gary Adelman Sarah M. Matz
PARTNERS, ADELMAN MATZ
Adelman Matz specializes in the fashion and beauty brands for some of pop’s biggest names, including Justin Bieber’s Drew House line and Ariana Grande’s R.E.M. Beauty. In the past year, the company helped facilitate Drew House’s collaboration with the NHL on the jerseys for the 2024 All-Star Game held in Toronto and represented R.E.M. Beauty in its global intellectual property (IP) ownership and protection strategy. In 2022, alongside the law firm of Moore Pequignot, Adelman and Matz represented Cardi B in her successful defamation action against a gossip blogger. As a firm, Matz advises clients to “lean in” when it comes to AI, counseling that “the people and companies who do their best to embrace the technology in a manner that helps them ... will be in the best position in the long run.”
Lisa Alter Katie Baron
PARTNERS, ALTER KENDRICK & BARON
Alter and Baron — whose clients include Primary Wave Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Iconic Artists Group and Reservoir Media Management — worked on multiple major transactions in recent months. The firm represented Primary Wave in acquiring a stake in recording, publishing and other rights for The Doors, BMG in the acquisition of The Hollies’ sound-recording rights and Influence Media Partners in its acquisition of the catalog of Enrique Iglesias in a reported nine-figure deal. Regarding AI, Alter says the firm is “pushing clients to explore the ways in which you can enhance the exploitation of your music assets in partnership with ethical AI ventures — including the creation of new or rerecorded material and the development of branding opportunities including holograms and other audiovisual productions or otherwise.” They’re also watching the declining share of English-language music worldwide, highlighting the need for international strategies for music publishers and rights holders.
Jonathan Altschul
MANAGING ATTORNEY, THE ALTSCHUL FIRM
In an increasingly global industry, Altschul has negotiated a partnership between Korea’s SM Entertainment and RCA Records tied to K-pop group RIIZE, announced in September, after doing the same for SM Entertainment with Warner Records for aespa in 2022. The latter was Warner Music Group’s first collaboration with a K-pop act, with the girl group earning three No. 1s on Billboard’s World Albums chart. He also worked on deals for the creators of as1one, the first boy band comprising Israeli and Palestinian musicians.
Advice on AI “Fighting against the implementation of new technology that consumers want has always been a losing battle for the entertainment industry. The better approach is figuring out the best ways to monetize the new technology and provide fans with connections and experiences that AI cannot easily replace.”
Ken Anderson Jill Berliner Ray Garcia Celeste Moy
PARTNERS, RIMON
“With a practice that represents some of the music industry’s most iconic recording artists and songwriters” — including Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl, Beck, The Chicks and Soundgarden — “as well as certain leading independent record companies and publishers, we have been able to empower established artists with the reversion of their sound recording and publishing copyrights and propelled new, talented artists on their career paths,” Garcia says. Last year, the firm represented Nirvana when an appeals court affirmed the dismissal of a copyright lawsuit regarding the band’s use of the 1949 illustration Upper Hell. The court deemed the lawsuit, brought by the heir of illustrator C.W. Scott-Giles, must be resolved in the United Kingdom.
If I quit law, I would “Return to my former life as a rock journalist,” Garcia says.
Peter Anderson
PARTNER, DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE
Anderson, whose clients include Mariah Carey, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Normani and Sam Smith, scored a major victory for Smith and Normani and their co-writers in September when they prevailed in a copyright lawsuit against their 2019 hit, “Dancing With a Stranger”; the California judge dismissed the case. Three songwriters had alleged that the tune, which reached No. 7 on the
Hot 100, copied their 2015 song of the same name. Anderson, who has over four decades of experience in copyright and entertainment litigation, also represents major labels Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group.
Most pressing issue “The continued filing of copyright infringement cases based on the mere presence of commonplace musical building blocks, such as a few pitches, chords and commonplace lyrics.”
Marvin Arrington Jr.
Vincent Phillips
FOUNDING PARTNERS, ARRINGTON & PHILLIPS
Aurielle Brooks
JUNIOR PARTNER, ARRINGTON & PHILLIPS
Whether it’s newcomers such as Sexyy Red and Rob49 (one of Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Artists To Watch in 2024) or seasoned artists like Keri Hilson and Bow Wow, Arrington & Phillips has advised them. Securing a major global touring deal for YoungBoy Never Broke Again with Live Nation for eight figures was no small feat. “This is monumental because this will be his first tour,” Phillips says. Other notable clients include Stevie J, Kevin Gates,
That Chick Angel and Wolf Pack Global Music, home to Lil Baby.
Advice on AI “Protect your IP,” Phillips says. “Make sure all of your label agreements, side-artist agreements, appearance waivers, etc., have language in them to protect yourself. Also, be diligent by further expanding your protections for your brand, name, image and likeness.”
Craig Averill Jeff Worob PARTNERS, SERLING ROOKS HUNTER McKOY WOROB & AVERILL
The firm, which represents Maroon 5, LCD Soundsystem, Interpol, Leon Bridges and Maggie Rogers, among others, recently navigated a corporate restructuring for Rostrum Records that included the acquisition of Fat Beats Distribution. Its work also resulted in the separation of Rostrum’s catalog business from its front-line business, as well as the creation of a new division working with other stand-alone legacy catalogs. Maroon 5’s Las Vegas residency continues at the Dolby Live, and Bridges further expanded his acting career as the lead in The Young Wife, an independent film that premiered at South by Southwest.
Advice on AI “It will be hard to develop and retain a loyal fan base without the ‘humanity’ of a real-life recording artist,” Averill says. “Think Taylor Swift fans standing outside of a sold-out stadium to listen to her music from a parking lot. I don’t see that happening around an AI artist.”
Ed Baden Powell Nick Eziefula Paddy Gardiner Ben Gisbey
Tom Iverson Euan Lawson Ed Weidman
PARTNERS, SIMKINS
London-based Simkins represents clients ranging from Universal Music Group and rights organization PRS for Music to acts such as Iron Maiden, Becky Hill, Eliza Rose and the estate of David Bowie. The firm is also representing Experience Hendrix and Sony Music against posthumous royalty claims by the estates of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. Lawson says the firm, which has been operating since 1962, also tries to help clients navigate shifting marketplace dynamics to develop “a sustainable and long-term career.” “The industry needs to continue to find ways to grow, but in a sustainable manner,” Lawson says, “ensuring that new talent is not overlooked in favor of catalog artists.”
If I quit law, I would “Become a musician, of course,” Lawson says. “Although my talents — or lack of them — mean that giving up the day job is unlikely.”
Hector Baldonado
FOUNDER, THE BALDONADO GROUP
Baldonado reports closing the sales of catalogs for eight-figure prices, renegotiating recording contracts for established artists and signing several new acts to major recording deals over the past year. His clients include the estate of Juice WRLD, which has had two posthumously released albums, Legends Never Die in 2020 and Fighting Demons in 2021, reach No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on the Billboard 200. He also represents Lil Durk, Rod Wave, Coi Leray, Trippie Redd and Moneybagg Yo, among others. One year ago, before AI became a hot topic, Baldonado flagged his “serious concern because of deepfakes and the possibility of copyright infringements.”
Most pressing issue “Greater diversity at the high executive level. I would also like more financial literacy for recording artists.”
Andrew “Andy” Bart CO-CHAIR OF CONTENT MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT PRACTICE, JENNER & BLOCK
In late 2022, Bart led a team that secured a $46.7 million verdict on behalf of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. At issue was the failure of defendant Grande Communications Network, a Texas-based internet service provider, to address the massive pirating of copyrighted recordings by its users. The jury found in favor of the plaintiffs and ruled that Grande willfully contributed to the copyright violations by failing to act against subscribers who were repeat infringers. Bart calls the trial result “a resounding win for the music industry.” Advice on AI “I don’t believe that anyone knows where AI is going to take the industry five years from now. Having said that, the battle over whether content owners should be compensated for the use of their assets to train AI models is an existential one.”
Richard Baskind Alasdair George
PARTNERS, SIMONS MUIRHEAD BURTON
Working on a wide array of issues that concern artists, labels, publishers and more, London-based Simons Muirhead Burton provides its clients with a global perspective. Among the greatest challenges now, according to Baskind, is “the proliferation of channels and the sheer volume of new releases daily: How do you get your music to rise above the noise and be noticed? To answer this question, direct fan engagement is critical. Social media and the use of available and emerging technology are key to achieving and sustaining that base of support.” Among the firm’s major transactions during the past year have been the acquisition of Lil Peep’s recordings catalog for the late rapper’s estate and the sale of Arctic Rights Management — one of the largest independent publishers in Scandinavia — to peermusic.
David Beame Brian Mencher
FOUNDING PARTNERS, BEAME & MENCHER
Beame & Mencher are legal advisers to the music-driven international advocacy nonprofit Global Citizen, where Mencher is general counsel and Beame holds the position of vp of global events and experiences. In November, in partnership with Kendrick Lamar’s creative imprint, pgLang, Global Citizen announced Move Afrika, an international music touring circuit in Africa. The first music event, Move Afrika: Rwanda, was headlined by the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist in December. Mencher oversaw the legal and business affairs of launching Move Afrika, whose aim is to create jobs and other business opportunities on the continent. As part of his efforts, Mencher says he is also “building the broader blueprint for establishing a continentwide tour throughout Africa while helping upskill the local communities to host first-rate international touring artists for years to come.”
Jeffrey Becker CHAIR OF ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA LAW PRACTICE GROUP, SWANSONS MARTIN & BELL
“We are honored to work with a diverse array of talent,” says Becker, whose firm’s clients include Toosii, Natalie Jane, Shaquille O’Neal for his music projects as DJ Diesel, late rapper King Von and the estate of Frankie Knuckles. The firm also represents producers such as Dru DeCaro, whose production credits include “Money on the Dash” by Whethan and Elley Duhé, as well as Nick Henriques, who produced Crash Adams’ hit “Give Me a Kiss” and “If Only I” by Bebe Rexha, Loud Luxury and Two Friends. High points of the past year for the firm, Becker says, included signing deals for WesGhost with Columbia Records, Natalie Jane with Warner Chappell Music and C3 Presents, CIL with Warner Records and Ax and the Hatchetmen with Arista Records.
Audrey Benoualid
Eric Greenspan
Josh Karp
Jeffrey Light
Craig Marshall
Tamara Milagros-Butler Robert Minzner Francois Mobasser Aaron Rosenberg PARTNERS, MYMAN GREENSPAN FOX ROSENBERG MOBASSER YOUNGER & LIGHT
The firm boasts an all-star roster of clients including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Disturbed, Common, Yeti Beats, RuPaul, Tate McRae, Deftones, Erykah Badu, Reach Records, Silversun Pickups, Brett McLaughlin, Jennifer Lopez — and
Ariana Grande, whose first album since 2020, Eternal Sunshine, debuted at
No. 1 on the Billboard 200. “In addition to some interesting catalog sales over the last 18 months,” Milagros-Butler says, “we’ve also had the pleasure of handling the agreement for Dead & Company to appear at the Sphere in
Las Vegas, as well as [Jennifer Lopez’s] new recording and publishing deals with BMG. Handling the heavy legal lifting to get ready for the muchanticipated 2024 Khruangbin tour has also been a ball.”
Advice on AI “Keep calm and create on,” Milagros-Butler says. “Don’t be afraid to explore AI as a tool, but maintain human connection. And stay vigilant about protecting your IP and original work.”
David Bercuson
FOUNDER/PRESIDENT, DAVID BERCUSON
Bercuson worked on the inclusion of music for the recently released biopic Bob Marley: One Love and defended composers and producers who had worked with the artist Canserbero from litigation and “specious claims,” he says. The underground Venezuelan rapper has been in the spotlight after his death was reinvestigated last year and found to be a homicide instead of suicide. In addition, Bercuson, who also works with Farruko and InnerCat Music Group, among other notable clients, defended longtime client Harry Wayne Casey of KC & The Sunshine Band from protracted copyright claims.
Most pressing issue “With respect to new and independent artists, the need to understand, exploit and utilize the digital ecosystem to promote, market and distribute their music and videos.”
“I don’t believe that anyone knows where AI is going to take the industry five years from now. Having said that, the battle over whether content owners should be compensated for the use of their assets to train AI models is an existential one.”
—Andrew “Andy” Bart, Jenner & Block
Josh Binder Jeremy Mohr Paul Rothenberg
FOUNDING PARTNERS, ROTHENBERG MOHR & BINDER
The Beverly Hills, Calif., firm that represents such stars as Charlie Puth, Gunna, Logic and Chloe x Halle has also worked with client Top Dawg Entertainment’s TDE label to release SZA’s RCA blockbuster SOS and launch her accompanying tour. Binder says “free-flowing, unchecked misinformation” and the coming AI onslaught are concerning: “Artists are bombarded with misinformation” all the time, he says, “and are often left wondering what’s actually true, making it nearly impossible to determine the best direction. And watch out: AI is going to make things much more complicated.” Most pressing issue “The biggest dilemma facing recording artists is deciding which record partner to work with when faced with so many options,” Binder says. “Between self-releasing, pure distribution, label services and indie and major record labels, the value proposition of each partner is hard to determine.”
Jason Boyarski David Fritz
PARTNERS, BOYARSKI FRITZ
Boyarski’s clients include the estates of Donny Hathaway and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White, established superstars such as Marc Anthony and rising talents like JVKE and Maddie Zahm. For White’s estate, Boyarski negotiated a new administration deal with Sony Music Publishing and an agreement for a documentary about Earth, Wind & Fire and White’s life. He also guided Tainy’s signing to Republic Records and counseled JVKE on deals with AWAL and Kobalt, as well as brand partnerships with Bose, Walmart and Microsoft. For the producer duo Stargate, he cut a new joint-venture partnership with Pulse Music. And for NEON16, the company run by Tommy Mottola and Lex Borrero, he negotiated new publishing and distribution deals with Sony and a financing agreement with Firebird.
Most pressing issue “Assuring that music creators are fairly compensated for music and that the tech platforms do not undervalue the power of the song,” Boyarski says.
Benjamin Brafman
PRESIDENT, BRAFMAN & ASSOCIATES
Brafman has been the go-to defense attorney for the rich and famous for about three decades, and while many of his peers have hung their jerseys in the rafters, the New York native shows no signs of slowing down, boasting a client roster that features hip-hop icons — Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Sean “Diddy”
Combs — and nightlife royalty (Peter Gatien). The 75-year-old legal legend is making sure to stay on top of all the new threats that could possibly ensnare some of his clients — with the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal cases heading his list. (Legislation to prohibit the practice, the Restoring Artistic Protection Act, was reintroduced to Congress in April 2023.) If I quit law, I would “Be a writer or an entertainer — an actor or a comedian.”
John Branca David Lande David Byrnes
PARTNERS, ZIFFREN BRITTENHAM
Ziffren Brittenham handles all business transactions for a formidable array of superstars, from Beyoncé — for whom the firm negotiates business transactions including her Super Bowl ad for Verizon in which she teased the release of her upcoming album, Cowboy
Carter — to Justin Timberlake, who just released a new album and announced a tour. In addition, the firm works with the Michael Jackson estate, which is developing a biopic of the legendary singer, and the Bee Gees, who also have a biopic in the works — Ridley Scott is reportedly in talks to direct. Other superstars for whom the firm handles all business arrangements include SZA, Olivia Rodrigo and Rosalía. Branca says, “Ziffren Brittenham has been at the forefront of the most important entertainment deals that have shaped pop culture today.”
William Briggs Joshua M. Rosenberg
PARTNERS, VENABLE
With a roster of clients that includes Ariana Grande, The-Dream and Love Renaissance, Rosenberg points to Venable’s work defending pop singer Jason Derulo in a copyright dispute over his 2020 Jawsh 685 collaboration, “Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat),” as an example of the firm’s commitment to clients. As for the future of music law, Rosenberg says, “New social media platforms that tacitly permit hackers to unlawfully obtain an artist’s music prior to release” present a new challenge. Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedowns “are necessary,” he says, “but you need to investigate the source of the leak to finally stop it.”
Advice on AI “You can be proactive and take the fight to them,” Rosenberg says. “Or you can protect your rights as best as you can while the law develops and sheds light on your available remedies.”
Jordan Bromley PARTNER/LEADER OF MANATT ENTERTAINMENT, MANATT PHELPS & PHILLIPS
Robert Jacobs PARTNER/LEADER OF ENTERTAINMENT LITIGATION, MANATT PHELPS & PHILLIPS Gary Gilbert
L. Lee Phillips
SENIOR PARTNERS, MANATT PHELPS & PHILLIPS W. Joseph Anderson Eric Custer
Beau Stapleton Monika Tashman
PARTNERS, MANATT PHELPS & PHILLIPS
“Manatt Entertainment is dedicated to helping creators make the most of their brand value, so we launched our own unique U.S. Streaming Royalty Calculator in October of 2023,” says Bromley, whose firm represents the Eagles, ODESZA, Alicia Keys, Tracy Chapman, Neil Young, BMG Rights Management and Downtown Music Holdings. “Our aim for this calculator was to pull back the curtain so artists can have a reliable way to understand how much they get paid from streams on Spotify and Apple Music.” In addition, Bromley says the firm closed over $1 billion in asset purchases and sales, “including some of the most iconic catalogs sold in 2023. One such deal was representing The Zombies in acquiring their rights to their 1960s recording catalog, which is a rare achievement for creators in the music industry.”
Vernon Brown
FOUNDER/CEO, V. BROWN & COMPANY
A lot has changed since Brown launched his eponymous business and financial management company in 1992.
Rap was a relatively new phenomenon, social media didn’t exist, and the only handheld computer Apple made was something called the Newton. Now, after having worked with a wide range of stars from Erykah Badu to Public Enemy, Brown is focused on ensuring that all artists, not just the ones he represents, receive their fair share in the digital economy. One big focus is getting platforms like TikTok and Instagram to properly pay rights holders for the use of their music. “My job is to guide and navigate people through a lot of decisions,” Brown has said. And this past year, he has done just that, helping negotiate deals for up-and-coming R&B sensation October London and rising multiplatinum producer Hendrix Smoke.
Scott Burroughs
PARTNER, DONIGER/BURROUGHS
“I am most proud of the work we are doing on behalf of trailblazing Jamaican musicians Cleveland Browne and Wycliffe Johnson, through his estate,” Burroughs says. His firm brought the 2021 lawsuit on behalf of the musicians, who performed as Steely & Clevie, that claimed all musicians using the dembow rhythm at the roots of reggaetón are violating their copyright on the 1989 song “Fish Market.” The firm is also working to recapture 2 Live Crew’s copyrights from a label that acquired them. “As we have seen, labels will fight tooth and nail to deny an artist this right, so litigation will build in this area,” Burroughs adds, noting the firm’s work on the “copyright reversion right” allowing artists to “recover ownership of their work for their own projects or enter into new, more equitable deals.”
Richard S. Busch PARTNER IN THE LITIGATION SECTION/HEAD OF THE ENTERTAINMENT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECTIONS, KING & BALLOW
With the rise of AI on everyone’s mind, Busch says there are “many avenues where the law is unclear and developing. There may be viable claims where name and likeness are used separate and apart from claims for copyright infringement.” Busch specializes in copyright claims, having represented Marvin Gaye’s family in the “Blurred Lines” case and, in 2019, challenging the constitutionality of the Music Modernization Act by representing one of Eminem’s publishers in a lawsuit against Spotify. Busch says these are the “Wild West” days, and the rules “are really yet to be written.”
If I quit law, I would “Be involved in a business involving new technology, providing whatever assistance I could. Between things like bitcoin and AI, we are indeed living in interesting times.”
Matthew Buser
FOUNDING PARTNER, BUSER LEGAL
One of Buser’s clients, country singer Dylan Gossett, was hotly pursued by major labels in 2023 before signing a joint deal with Mercury Records and Big Loud. In addition to working with artists, Buser has a number of producers on his roster. He is determined that the music industry develops “more efficient clearance processes” for producers so they can get paid for their work in a more timely fashion.
Advice on AI “Be cautious how much you use AI in creating your work because of the Copyright Office’s position on protectability. Also, don’t sleep on AI, because it’s not going anywhere.”
Joe Carlone
Peter Paterno Michael Rexford Jacqueline Sabec Laurie Soriano
PARTNERS, KING HOLMES PATERNO & SORIANO
King Holmes Paterno & Soriano worked with clients Ava Max, Kim Petras and Dominic Fike, who released new albums in 2023, landed movie music and brand deals and resumed regular touring. “It’s a relief that artists are able to promote their music again now, as in pre-pandemic days,” says Soriano, whose firm also represents Dr. Dre, Metallica,
Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, Skrillex, Sia, Victoria Monét, Snow Tha Product, Xavi and Poo Bear, among others. While the return to touring normalcy is welcomed, Soriano is concerned about the “loss of boundaries to artists’ privacy and personhood” primarily caused by social media. “It was alarming to see artists, including my client Ava Max, assaulted onstage by members of the public,” she says, referencing a June incident where a man attending Ava Max’s Los Angeles show appeared to slap her while she performed onstage.
Rosemary Carroll Michael Guido Elliot Groffman Rob Cohen
Gillian Bar
Renee Karalian Ira Friedman PARTNERS, CARROLL GUIDO GROFFMAN COHEN BAR & KARALIAN
Carroll, Groffman and Friedman (assisted by firm associate Jared Leon) are the attorneys for Grammy-winning trio boygenius, with Carroll serving as counsel for Phoebe Bridgers (who also won a 2024 Grammy as a solo act) and Groffman the adviser for Lucy Dacus since her original 2016 deal with Matador. Along with Christiane Kinney, the attorney for Julien Baker, the firm helped negotiate the group’s deal with Interscope Records, its tour with AEG and various merchandising and media deals in support of the record, which won the Grammy for best alternative music album. Guido’s clients include Mark Ronson, the executive soundtrack producer for Barbie. Cohen negotiated the Jonas Brothers’ residence on Broadway. Bar represented PinkPantheress for her 2023 debut album, Heaven Knows. Karalian guided deals including Baby Keem’s extension of his recording contract with Columbia Records.
Uwonda S. Carter Donald Woodard
FOUNDING PARTNERS, CARTER + WOODARD
Several clients of Carter’s soared in the last 12 months — none higher than burgeoning rap superstar Metro Boomin. She represented him for his work as the creator/executive producer of the critically acclaimed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack, for which he co-produced 11 of the 13 tracks. Woodard advised Summer Walker on her contract renegotiation with Warner Chappell Music and negotiated her U.S. and international tour deal with Live Nation. Other notable clients for the firm include Muni Long, Lil Yatchy, Big Boi and Dion “No ID” Wilson.
Advice on AI Do not “automatically agree to any term that would give the label unfettered control over ‘future media,’ ” Carter says, “and be very careful about licensing [your] images without having controls and approval.”
Chris Castle
FOUNDER, CHRISTIAN L. CASTLE ATTORNEYS
Castle is known as an industry renegade who questions practices that are embraced by mainstream music industry legacy players. While the U.S. labels and publishers were willing to accept a five-year extension of the
9.1 cents-per-song statutory rate for sale formats (as opposed to streaming), Castle represented Helienne Lindvall, David Lowery and Blake Morgan in public comments before the Copyright Royalty Board proceeding for the Phonorecords IV term that covered 2023-27. “We stood with many other independents in opposing the proposed ‘frozen mechanical’ settlement,” he says. “The joint opposition opened the door to a new industrywide settlement with the labels that substantially increased the applicable rate [beginning at 12 cents per song]. And I’m proud that we made that new settlement without litigation.”
Robert “Bob” A. Celestin FOUNDING PARTNER, THE LAW OFFICES OF ROBERT A. CELESTIN
Alicia Ferriabough Taylor JUNIOR PARTNER, THE LAW OFFICES OF ROBERT A. CELESTIN
Along with representing the high-profile estates for hip-hop stars like XXXTentacion and Pop Smoke — and clients like 6ix9ine, Desiigner and others — Celestin spent much of 2023 securing a film score and soundtrack deal for composer Desmond Murray with Netflix, leading to the release of the official score of Juel Taylor’s sci-fi comedy film, They Cloned Tyrone. For his work, Murray received a 2023 Black Reel Awards nomination for outstanding score. Regarding the rise of AI in music, Celestin says he tells his clients to embrace the new tech instead of fighting it: “It’s not all bad news,” he says. “There is software now to help a producer record and mix music or even create new and unique sounds. It might even help a lyricist with writer’s block.”
Ross Charap Matt Finkelstein
PARTNERS, ARENTFOX SCHIFF
Finkelstein and Charap led a team in defending Mick Jagger and Keith Richards together with The Rolling Stones’ company Promopub in a copyright infringement suit over “Living in a Ghost Town.” The case was filed in Louisiana federal court by songwriter Sergio Garcia Fernandez, who claimed the two artists copied “recognizable and key protected elements” from two of his songs. A judge ruled in October that the state’s court lacked jurisdiction in the matter and dismissed the case; Fernandez has the option to refile in a different venue. The attorneys also represented The Pointer Sisters in the sale of their catalog rights to some of their biggest releases, including “I’m So Excited,” to BMG.
Most pressing issue “Delivering a bigger piece of music earnings from all types of music users to songwriters and music publishers,” Charap says, “because it all begins with a song.”
Jacqueline Charlesworth
PRINCIPAL, CHARLESWORTH LAW
Charlesworth lists Disney, A+E, peermusic, Satisfaction Fulfilled (Malcolm McLaren) and William Champlin among her clients; for the latter two, the firm litigated two federal cases involving rights. Public case records show that peermusic and Satisfaction Fulfilled sued Sony Music Publishing over the usage of The World’s Famous Supreme Team’s 1984 R&B hit “Hey DJ,” co-written by McLaren, in Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” while in an unrelated case, songwriter-performer Champlin sued Music Sales Corp. and Wise Music Group over infringement for a song he co-authored for Earth, Wind & Fire in 1978, “After the Love Has Gone.” The cases reached settlement agreements, providing “happy endings for our clients,” Charlesworth says.
If I quit law, I would “Finish my novel.”
Jay Cohen LITIGATION PARTNER, PAUL WEISS RIFKIND WHARTON & GARRISON
Cohen has represented ASCAP for more than 25 years and is currently engaged in rate court litigation with the terrestrial radio industry to, he says, “try to obtain fair market compensation for creators whose music drives the economics of the radio industry.” In addition to other matters, he is advising ASCAP and other clients including the National Music Publishers’ Association, Sony Music Entertainment, Grupo Salinas Charter Communications and Altice on AI-related matters, helping to ensure these organizations “are paid fairly when their work is used in any way by AI,” he says, “including specifically when their work is used to train AI models.”
Most pressing issue “The continuing effort to obtain fair market compensation for music creators who, in a variety of contexts, are required to license their work on a compulsory or functionally compulsory basis rather than in a free market.”
Jay Cooper SHAREHOLDER/FOUNDER, LOS ANGELES ENTERTAINMENT, GREENBERG TRAURIG Jeff Biederman Steve Plinio SHAREHOLDERS, ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA PRACTICE, GREENBERG TRAURIG
Jess Rosen SHAREHOLDER/CO-CHAIR OF ATLANTA ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA PRACTICE, GREENBERG TRAURIG
Bobby Rosenbloum CHAIRMAN, GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA PRACTICE, GREENBERG TRAURIG
Mathew Rosengart SHAREHOLDER, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT LITIGATION PRACTICE, GREENBERG TRAURIG
Paul Schindler SHAREHOLDER/SENIOR CHAIR, NEW YORK ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA PRACTICE, GREENBERG TRAURIG
Charmaine Smith SHAREHOLDER, ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA PRACTICE, GREENBERG TRAURIG
For Greenberg Traurig — which advises performers including Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Kenny Chesney, composer John Williams and organizations like Epic Games, Meta and the Recording Academy — a major focus has been working with emerging companies in AI. According to Rosenbloum, the firm has been “navigating all of the unknowns in this new and exciting area” by providing companies strategic guidance for establishing platforms and services that legally use generative AI technologies, including thinking through business and legal issues, developing business models and licensing frameworks. “When it comes to developing products, platforms and services that use AI technology to generate new musical sound recordings,” Rosenbloum says, “the safer course of action while the law is being developed in this area is to refrain from using copyright-protected works to train the AI technology.”
Roger Cramer OF COUNSEL, WINSLETT STUDNICKY McCORMICK & BOMSER
Cramer, who for 16 years managed acts such as Living Colour, Wayne Shorter and Lisa Loeb before turning to law full time in 2000, has a varied client list at the New York firm. He handles legal transactions for Yeat, Robert Glasper, Eem Triplin, $NOT, Lancey Foux, Guin Records, Summrs, Autumn, OWSLA, Tolou, Whyceg and Joeyy. “Over the last year, I had the pleasure of assisting Yeat with his worldwide tour, negotiating a label deal for Cegular Records with Santa Anna, signing Lancey Foux to Pulse and continuing to help guide the multifaceted and endlessly exciting career of five-time Grammy winner Robert Glasper,” Cramer says. The challenge facing the industry, he says, is “helping artists navigate the rapidly changing landscape of distribution, independent and major labels.”
If I quit law, I would “Teach history to high school students.”
Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks CHAIR OF ENTERTAINMENT, COPYRIGHT AND MEDIA PRACTICE GROUP, PROSKAUER ROSE
Anthony Oncidi CO-CHAIR OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW DEPARTMENT, PROSKAUER ROSE
Highlights in the past year for Oncidi have included “advising and defending the Grammys in several employment litigation matters [and] assisting clients throughout the industry in dealing with their [diversity, equity and inclusion] initiatives in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding college admissions.” For Crawshaw-Sparks, “one of our highlights this past year includes defending Live Nation and Madonna in a class action lawsuit alleging breach of contract, false advertising and related claims in connection with alleged late starts for the first three shows of the North America leg for Madonna’s Celebration Tour.” Proskauer Rose clients also include Viacom, NBCUniversal, CAA, Sony Music, RCA, Columbia Records — and U2. “How [do you] fill a concert venue ever again after fans have experienced U2 at Sphere in Las Vegas?” Oncidi says. Advice on AI “Somewhere in the multiverse, humans win!” Oncidi says.