Revealed: Billboard's 2022 Top Music Lawyers

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LEGAL 03/28/2022

Revealed: Billboard’s 2022 Top Music Lawyers

The savviest legal counselors in the business are called upon to advise on

familiar contracts and a surging tide of catalog sales but also IPOs, NFTs,

Web3 and new ventures in the metaverse.

BY BILLBOARD STAFF

Clockwise from left: Britney Spears, Cardi B, Neil Diamond, Dr. Dre

and the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. aIllustration by

iIsrael G. Vargas, Kevin Winter/GI, Christopher Polk/E!

Entertainment/GI, Theo Wargo/GI, Kevin C. Cox/GI, Courtesy of

Euronext

hen music meets money, industry attorneys usually serve as

matchmakers.

Bobby Shmurda Released From Epic Records Deal UMG's Music Health Alliance Partnership Is Literally Saving

Tr e n d i n g o n B i l l b o a r d

Billboard’s 2022 class of Top Music Lawyers — nominated by their

firms and peers and chosen by our editors — are cast in more complex and

challenging roles than ever.

In the past year, their behind-the-scenes work grabbed headlines with major

publishing and catalog deals, live-performance agreements, a defamation

case, a conservatorship battle and one very, very large initial public offering.

Among many other matters, attorneys on this list were involved with Neil

Diamond’s sale of his publishing and master recording catalog; Dr. Dre’s

performance with a who’s who of hip-hop during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI

halftime show; Cardi B’s successful verdict in a defamation claim; !Britney

Spears’ release from a conservatorship that !controlled her life for 13 years;

and Universal Music Group’s massive September stock offering on the

Euronext Amsterdam exchange.

For this year’s Top Music Lawyers report, Billboard asked attorneys not only

about their clients and achievements but also their top concerns for the

music business. For those steeped in the law, the issue of racial equity and

justice in the music industry, which exploded into awareness with the killing

of George Floyd in May 2020, remains no less urgent.

Several attorneys have been involved in efforts to ban the use of rap lyrics in

criminal prosecutions, and L. Londell McMillan, whose clients include

Prince’s heirs and the Westmore collective of Snoop Dogg, E-40, Too $hort

and Ice Cube, says: “There should be more senior Black executives in C-

suites and more Black-owned companies doing business with global

enterprises.”

Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of digital opportunities have become so

important to the role of these music lawyers that some may wish they had

supplemented their law degrees with studies in computer science.

But as Ken Doroshow, chief legal officer for the RIAA, says, “In a time of

constant innovation and a steady stream of ‘next big things,’ it’s more

important than ever that all platforms and services that use and profit from

music obtain the necessary licenses and pay rights holders and creators for

their work.” Doroshow’s counterparts at the National Music Publishers’

Association are on the front lines of efforts to get digital platforms to

properly license their use of music.

Richard Baskin of Simons Muirhead Burton in London adds that amid

“significant opportunity within the creative industries… comes the concern

around regulating and managing this growth on behalf of all.”

And not just for superstars.

“It’s extremely rewarding that the real value of music industry [intellectual

property], the artist and the artist’s brand, is finally being realized,” says

John Frankenheimer, chair of music industry at Loeb & Loeb, one of the

most respected senior attorneys in the music business. “But there’s a

responsibility to make sure that the midlevel, young and emerging artists are

sharing in that as well.”

Jeff Harleston

General counsel/executive vp of business and legal affairs, Universal Music

Group

Saheli Datta

Executive vp/chief compliance officer/employment counsel, Universal

Music Group

Steve Gawley

Executive vp of business and legal affairs, Universal Music Group

Nicola Levy

Executive vp of digital business affairs, Universal Music Group

Alasdair McMullan

Executive vp of business and legal affairs/head of litigation, Universal

Music Group

Michael Seltzer

Executive vp/head of commercial transactions for business and legal

affairs, Universal Music Group

Magda Vives

Executive vp of business and legal affairs, Latin America and Iberian

Peninsula, Universal Music Group

In addition to day-to-day business, like handling the contracts of the world’s

biggest music stars, Universal Music Group’s legal team helped usher the

company into a public listing on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange,

which in its first 10 minutes added billions of dollars of value to UMG — and

boosted the prospects of the entire music business. Harleston, a 25-year-plus

UMG veteran, calls the run-up to the September listing “a transformational

period,” and adds, “I couldn’t be prouder of the key role my team played.”

Next up: emerging, cautiously, from the pandemic. “I’m hopeful that we

learn from the past few years,” Harleston says, “and create an atmosphere

where fans are excited to reengage in live events.”

Paul Robinson

Executive vp/general counsel, Warner Music Group

Brad Cohen

Senior vp/head of litigation, Warner Music Group

Jon Glass

Senior vp/head of digital legal affairs, Warner Music Group

Maryrose Maness

Senior vp/deputy general counsel, Warner Music Group

Tr e n t Ta p p e

Senior vp/deputy general counsel/chief compliance officer, Warner Music

Group

In February, Warner Music Group unveiled a first-of-its-kind ESG Report,

heralding its environmental, social and governance projects, such as

donations to 20 international philanthropic groups to fight COVID-19, a new

$100 million Social Justice Fund and what Robinson calls “the launch of our

legacy unrecouped-advances program that will benefit thousands of artists

and songwriters.” Now, WMG’s attorneys turn their attention to the

metaverse. “The concern is being able to transact in crypto and tokens at

scale with our music and other intellectual property,” says Robinson.

Julie Swidler

Executive vp of business affairs/general counsel, Sony Music

Entertainment

Stu Bondell

Executive vp of business and legal affairs, international, Sony Music

Entertainment

Wade Leak

Executive vp/deputy general counsel/chief compliance, ethics and privacy

officer, Sony Music Entertainment

Susan Meisel

Senior vp of corporate/deputy general counsel, Sony Music Entertainment

Jeff Walker

Executive vp/head of business and legal affairs, global digital business,

Sony Music Entertainment

Among its other achievements, Sony’s legal team celebrated two major deals

in 2021: a partnership with the dominant Brazilian independent music

company Som Livre, which works with Marilia Mendonça, Jorge & Mateus

and others in repertoire, publishing, festival production and distribution;

and the $430 million purchase of Kobalt’s recorded-music division, AWAL

(FINNEAS, Little Simz, Deadmau5), which was approved in March by U.K.

regulators. In an evolving digital landscape, Swidler notes the importance of

laws keeping pace with innovation. “We have a responsibility, on behalf of

our artists and songwriters, to protect their creativity while embracing new

digital experiences.”

Gabe Fleet

Executive vp of business affairs/chief music licensing counsel, iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia’s return to in-person live events last year kept Fleet and his

team busy as the company navigated the complex COVID-19 regulations

around the country to put on shows safely. The broader issue that matters to

Fleet? “It’s the same concern as in society as a whole,” he says, “which is an

inability to empathize and recognize the legitimacy of someone’s problems

other than your own. We are all trying to build a vibrant, economically

powerful 21st century music business ecosystem, and we can only do that if

we truly listen to each other and make the economic models sustainable for

everyone.”

Eve Konstan

General counsel, Spotify

Kevan Choset

Associate general counsel/head of legal strategy, Spotify

Sofia Sheppard

Associate general counsel, Spotify

In 2021, Spotify underwent a massive global expansion, as the streaming

service launched in over 80 additional countries, bringing its operations to a

total of 184 territories. “This would have been a feat in any year, but doing

this in a year with limited travel made this that much more of a challenge,”

Choset says. Despite the departure of longtime chief legal officer Horacio

Gutierrez to Disney last year, the company is pushing forward, with its legal

team calling the return to live music the industry’s most pressing concern in

2022.

Antonious Porch

General counsel/chief diversity officer, SoundCloud

Ama Walton

Senior vp of business and legal affairs, music, SoundCloud

Anne-Marie Chirema

Director of business and legal affairs, SoundCloud

SoundCloud’s executive leadership team helped steer its evolution from an

independent streaming service into a full-service distributor. But that

wouldn’t have happened without the company first launching fan-powered

royalties, a user-centric model for royalty payment to its independent artists

that is based on the total number of streams rather than market share. The

change underlines SoundCloud’s belief that the industry should focus on

“deepening the connection between artists and fans and ensuring that artists

at all stages of their careers, especially emerging and independent artists, are

rewarded fairly with more equitable payouts, transparency and control over

their own careers,” says Porch.

Robert Windom

Chief counsel, content and services, Apple

Adam Blankenheimer

Senior counsel, content and internet services, Apple

Elizabeth Miles

Director, iTunes and Apple Music legal, Apple

Brahim Ait Ben Larbi

Principal legal counsel, music publishing, Apple

Apple’s legal team in the past year has supported the launch of spatial audio

on Apple Music. “We had to make the case to the labels to get their artists on

board and then remix and redeliver entire catalogs, because this is the next

step for music,” says Miles. “It’s a big project for the industry, and it was

some work to make it a win-win for everyone. But artists and their fans love

the magic of hearing their music in spatial audio, so that’s a really strong

foundation on which to build your deal terms.”

Stephen Worth

Head of legal/associate general counsel, Amazon Music

Cyrus Afshar

Nicolas Gauss

Senior corporate counselors, Amazon Music

Amazon Music improved its service for all of its Unlimited subscribers last

year, with the company making high-definition music and spatial audio

available at no additional cost. Gauss described his work on the feature as a

highlight of the past year, but notes that the industry as a whole “needs to

remain ahead of the curve in adapting new technologies, addressing evolving

customer preferences and reacting to ever-changing other entertainment

offers.”

Michael Rowles

Executive vp/general counsel/secretary, Live Nation Entertainment

Rowles, who joined Live Nation in 2006 and serves as both the company’s

general counsel and a corporate officer, helped guide the reorganization of

the company as it prepared to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. That

has meant continuing to rely on an organizational structure that includes a

small corporate mergers and acquisitions group, which oversaw major

transactions out of the Beverly Hills office (including closing the purchase of

Mexican promoter OCESA). Company lawyers also continue to report to the

heads of their individual business units. While the tragedy at Astroworld that

left 10 fans dead and scores more injured has emerged as one of Live

Nation’s most significant legal challenges, the company is working with

outside counsel in that matter as it continues to cooperate with investigators.

Shawn Trell

COO/general counsel, AEG Live

AEG’s longtime top lawyer navigated the company through the changing tide

of pandemic protocols in 2021, as the promoter executed some of the most

aggressive vaccination rules in the United States. “Certain states’ regulations

may override our mandate, or a few artists may not want to immediately get

on board with the plan, but we know that using our platform to take a strong

position on vaccinations can make an impact,” Trell says. AEG initially

announced it would require proof of vaccination for every fan attending

Coachella, Firefly and other festivals. In January, AEG dropped the

requirement for festivals after California’s Department of Health changed

state rules, but the company still requires proof of vaccination at its indoor

concerts.

Peter Brodsky

Executive vp of business and legal affairs, general counsel, Sony Music

Publishing

Michael Abitbol

Senior vp/head of U.S. digital, Sony Music Publishing

Nicole Giacco

Jonas Kant

Senior vps of business and legal affairs, Sony Music Publishing

Sony Music Publishing’s legal team has guided the world’s largest publishing

company through another banner year. Apart from catalog acquisitions —

especially the recent $500 million deal with Bruce Springsteen — and

exciting new signees, the team is most proud of its songwriter-friendly

initiatives like the Legacy Unrecouped Balance program and the Songwriter

Assistance program, as well as a provision providing signees with 24/7

counseling support, which Abitbol calls “just the beginning.” Over the next

year, the team is focused on fighting for fair royalty rates at the

Phonorecords IV trial of the Copyright Royalty Board, which will establish

rates paid by interactive streaming services for the next five years. “This is

our one opportunity to fight for fair mechanical royalty rates that reflect the

incredible contributions of songwriters,” Abitbol says.

The legal team at Warner Chappell !Music Publishing worked on the !acquisition of David Bowie’s song catalog from

Steve Butler

Senior vp of legal and business affairs, Warner Chappell Music

Chris Head

Tim Meade

Vps of legal and business affairs, Warner Chappell Music

The Warner Chappell team kept busy over the last year, acquiring a number

of massive catalogs, including its new crown jewel: the global music

publishing rights to David Bowie’s song catalog. As Butler puts it, “it was an

absolute honor” and an “amazing collaborative experience” for the Warner

Chappell legal team to be a part of the transaction, which involved “more

than 400 songs from almost 30 studio albums spanning a period of more

than 50 years.” On the horizon, the attorneys are looking at the implications

of NFTs for Warner Chappell songwriters. “While they are offering exciting

new ways to share music,” says Butler, “it is critical that we ensure that our

songwriters are protected and fairly compensated in this rapidly growing

uncharted area.”

the singer-songwriter’s estate.

Armando Gallo/GI

Kerrigan Hennings

VP of business and legal affairs, Universal Music Publishing Group

Angelica Merida

VP of business and legal affairs, international and digital development,

Universal Music Publishing Group

Don Glista

Senior director of business and legal affairs and creative affairs Nashville,

Universal Music Publishing Group

Ira Hoffman

Senior director of business and legal affairs, Universal Music Publishing

Group

Over the last year, the UMPG team has sealed new deals with heavyweights

like Sting, Louis Bell, Lionel Richie, Julia Michaels and, most recently, Neil

Diamond. The company’s acquisition of Diamond’s song and master

recording catalogs is the culmination of a decadeslong relationship between

the artist and UMG. As the fight for fair compensation at the Copyright

Royalty Board hearings continues, the lawyers have been particularly

focused on “ensuring that artists and writers are paid fairly for the use of

their music on streaming platforms,” says Glista. He sees the role of the

publisher as a protector and partner for writers so that they can “continue

doing what they love doing and continuing creating music for all of us to

enjoy.”

Christos Badavas

Executive vp/general counsel, SESAC Music Group

Last summer, Badavas helped secure SESAC’s purchase of the digital rights

collection agency Audiam from Canadian rights management group SOCAN.

The acquisition helped SESAC expand beyond its core business and,

according to Badavas, enhanced its “ability to claim, track and report

YouTube royalties, streaming mechanicals and Canadian digital mechanical

royalties for its songwriters, composers and music publishers.” Audiam,

which launched in 2013, has collected $140 million for songwriters and

publishers as of 2021, and its integration into the performance rights

organization supports the growth of its “multirights, multiterritory global

rights management business,” he adds.

Tim Dadson

General counsel, SoundExchange

“One of the most pressing concerns is the need to update our laws to reflect

the rapid change in the ways music is now consumed,” Dadson says. Last

June, he and the SoundExchange legal team, assisted by outside counsel,

won a royalty rate increase from the Copyright Royalty Board for sound

recording artists and rights owners of 17% for ad-supported digital music

services and 8% for subscription services. After nine years at the rights

management nonprofit, Dadson was promoted to general counsel in

September 2021, and he intends to advocate for even higher rates in his new

role, “making sure both emerging and existing platforms are paying creators

fairly not only in the U.S. but around the world.”

Kristen Johns

Chief legal officer, The Mechanical Licensing Collective

Johns is helping The Mechanical Licensing Collective transform and simplify

how streaming and download services obtain all the necessary rights for

musical works and accurately pay creators and rights holders. Created by the

Music Modernization Act of 2018 to administer blanket mechanical licenses

for digital service providers, The MLC distributed $280 million in

mechanical royalties, and its membership doubled to 16,000 in its first year

of operations. Perhaps as importantly, says Johns, it “provided

unprecedented levels of transparency into data related to The MLC’s work.”

Clara Kim

Executive vp/chief legal and business affairs officer, ASCAP

The ASCAP team, including attorney Clara Kim, celebrated the Grammy nominations of the performing rights

organization’s members, including Jon Batiste, who leads the field with 11 nods.

Josh Brasted/FilmMagic

Though Kim notes that “the music business is still recovering from the

pandemic,” ASCAP has deftly adapted: The PRO reported in March that its

revenue collections in 2021 reached a historic high of $1.335 billion while it

distributed $1.254 billion to songwriters and publishers — a 3.4% increase

from 2020. Its members have thrived, too, highlighted by Jon Batiste

earning an artist-leading 11 nominations at the upcoming Grammy Awards,

along with eight for Justin Bieber and seven each for Billie Eilish and Olivia

Rodrigo. Still, the company continues to push forward, says Kim, adding that

it “finalized a significant number of deals last year that will help to provide

long-term income security for ASCAP members,” specifically focusing on

agreements with major streaming, broadcast and audiovisual licensees.

Stuart Rosen

Senior vp/general counsel, BMI

BMI’s legal team helped the performing rights organization and its affiliates

navigate through “changing waters,” says Rosen, including the catalog sales

boom, an explosion of new technology platforms and calls for greater data

transparency. As businesses continue to recover from the impact of COVID-

19, the music community at large has an obligation to “recognize its

songwriters and composers have been hit just as hard, if not harder,” he

adds, “and it’s our job to preserve the means for them to continue creating

the music that fuels an entire industry.”

Danielle Aguirre

Executive vp/general counsel, National Music Publishers’ Association

Any upstart technology company that uses music to help build a user base

can expect a call from the NMPA if it’s not paying royalties along the way.

Over the last 18 months, the NMPA negotiated settlements regarding past

unlicensed royalties with the major players of a new generation of online

entertainment services: social media apps TikTok and Triller; livestream

service Twitch; and publicly traded gaming platform Roblox. “These deals

have brought not only value to the music publishing industry,” says Aguirre,

“but also helped develop new relationships and partnerships between

publishers and some of these fast-growing digital platforms.”

Ken Doroshow

Chief legal officer, RIAA

For the RIAA, Doroshow executed a pair of high-profile copyright

infringement cases on behalf of the labels that were initially filed while he

was a partner at Jenner & Block. Each of the cases affirmed protections for

stream-ripping site Kurbanov, awarded labels $83 million in damages; the

second, against mixtape site Spinrilla, granted a summary judgment on the

site’s liability. “In a time of constant innovation and a steady stream of ‘next

big things,’ ” he says, “it’s more important than ever that all platforms and

services that use and profit from music obtain the necessary licenses and pay

rights holders and creators for their work.”

Ryan McWhinnie

Senior director of business and legal affairs, Merlin

McWhinnie has been at the forefront of helping digital music licensing

service Merlin expand its membership, including to new continents with

deals in Africa with Boomplay; in India with JioSaavn, Spotify and Resso;

and in Southeast Asia with JOOX and TREBEL. The London-based lawyer

says that while the industry must continue to support the growth and

diversity of streaming services, “it is also important that we continue to

encourage innovation by making it easier for emerging verticals and business

models to access music.” That includes generating incremental revenue

through deals with social music platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Triller

and with business-to-business platforms such as Soundtrack Your Brand.

Kenneth Abdo

Equity partner, Fox Rothschild

Paul Bowles

Cynthia Katz

Tim Mandelbaum

Michael Reinert

Leron Rogers

Alex Threadgold

Heidy Vaquerano

Partners, Fox Rothschild

John Rose

Associate, Fox Rothschild

Fox Rothschild significantly expanded its music department after 2020.

Equity partner Abdo is part of a hiring team at the firm that recruited

attorneys from diverse backgrounds; Rogers, Rose and Vaquerano are among

those who arrived in the past two years. Rogers renegotiated Kanye West’s

recording agreement with Def Jam ahead of the release of Donda. Bowles

counseled client A$AP TyY of the rap collective A$AP Mob on his

distribution deal with AWAL. Katz and Mandelbaum represented Mötley

Crüe in the sale of the band’s master recording catalog to BMG. She and

Reinert advised the estate of Muddy Waters in managing his music catalog

and a new administration deal for his publishing. Katz joined Threadgold in

helping the digital music/video distributor Symphonic in closing a large

round of financing, and she collaborated with Vaquerano in advising former

Blink-182 member Tom DeLonge on the sale of his master catalogs. She and

Rogers advised Rick Ross on branding and equity deals with the wine and

spirits company Sovereign Brands. Rose won dismissal of a defamation suit

against Ross resulting from his autobiography, Hurricanes: A Memoir.

Gary P. Adelman

Managing partner, Adelman Matz

Sarah M. Matz

Partner, Adelman Matz

Lisa F. Moore

Principal, Moore Pequignot

Andrew Pequignot

Member, Moore Pequignot

When Cardi B sued a YouTuber for waging a “malicious campaign” to hurt

her reputation, the rapper turned to a team of four veteran entertainment

litigators from two different firms to represent her. Defamation lawsuits are

hard for celebrities to win, but Moore, Pequignot, Matz and Adelman pulled

it off, securing nearly $4 million in damages for Cardi B. The win shouldn’t

surprise anyone: Moore Pequignot is a well-known Atlanta entertainment

boutique that has repped Offset and The Blind Boys of Alabama, while the

New York-based Adelman Matz has repped Migos, Khalid and A$AP Rocky.

Jenny Afia

Head of legal, Schillings International

London-based Afia, whose clients include Adele, Elton John and Johnny

Depp, says the vast majority of her work has been “below the radar” —

stopping the media from publishing intrusive and false stories about her

clients. She led the team that won a landmark privacy case for Meghan

Markle against Associated Newspapers and successfully defended her victory

on appeal. She also advised on battling defamatory allegations published

about a Grammy Award-winning client in the media, resulting in an apology

and removal of the contested content. The most pressing concern she sees in

2022: “a potential World War III.”

Lisa Alter

Katie Baron

Partners, Alter Kendrick & Baron

Alter Kendrick & Baron advised Primary Wave on how to pour some sugar on

its long-standing partnership with Def Leppard with a deal in January that

gave the music publisher additional stakes in the band’s publishing and

master royalty income. Alter has guided deals in the past 12 months

collectively worth more than $2.5 billion, including the representation of

Primary Wave on its acquisition of assets from the estate of James Brown

and publishing/master recording catalogs of iconic artists and writers that

include Stevie Nicks, Luther Vandross, America, Gerry Goffin, Chris Isaak,

Patrick Leonard, Olivia Newton-John, The Four Seasons and Culture Club.

She was music counsel to HYBE on its merger with Scooter Braun’s Ithaca

Holdings and advised both Reservoir Media Management in its acquisition

of Tommy Boy Music and BMG Rights Management in purchasing the ZZ

Top music catalog. With rising interest by private equity in music assets,

Alter counsels several equity investors and financial stakeholders in the

industry.

Peter Anderson

Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine

Davis Wright Tremaine’s past and present clients include The Weeknd, Max

Martin, Gwen Stefani and Lil Nas X, as well as the three major-label groups.

In October, Anderson scored a major victory for The Weeknd and Martin

when a federal appeals court ruled that their song “A Lonely Night” did not

infringe the copyright of another tune written by two British songwriters in a

case initially filed in 2019. Looking ahead, Anderson says, “a major concern

and something being litigated now is whether Copyright Act statutory

termination rights apply to recording contracts, allowing recording artists to

claim ownership of a vast number of master sound recordings.”

Christian Barker

Equity partner, Shackelford Bowen McKinley & Norton

Lauren Kilgore

Partner, Shackelford Bowen McKinley & Norton

By 2021, just one year after joining the firm, former artist manager Barker

had signed songwriter and producer clients to nearly every Nashville

publisher, brokering deals totaling more than eight figures. His biggest wins

include landing TikTok !breakout Warren Zeiders a recording contract with

Warner Records — in what Barker says was a record-setting level in country

music history for a new artist. With veteran clients like Bryon Gallimore and

Paul Overstreet, Barker is closely watching the evolution of rights

management. “We are going to see a future that’s ripe with tokenization of

intellectual property,” he says, “where every songwriter has the ability and

know-how to be in tune with real-time ownership and valuation of their

assets.”

Andy Bart

Partner/co-chair, content, media and entertainment practice, Jenner &

Block

Previn Warren

Partner, Jenner & Block

On behalf of the major music groups and other members of the RIAA, Bart

led the team that won a summary judgment in November 2020 on liability in

a copyright infringement case against hip-hop mixtape site Spinrilla. On

behalf of SoundExchange and other music industry clients, Warren helped

lead a Jenner & Block team that last June obtained a significant rate increase

from the Copyright Royalty Board for royalties paid by ad-supported and

subscription digital music services.

Richard Baskind

Partner, Simons Muirhead Burton

London-based Baskind worked on the acquisition, led by his partner Alasdair

George, of a substantial interest in the recorded music and publishing assets

of Ace Copyrights by Cosmos Music, the oldest independent music company

in Scandinavia. The ACE catalog includes some 9,000 recordings and 3,000

songs, including titles by Etta James and B.B. King. The firm’s client list

includes Nick Cave, Alan Walker and Tion Wayne, and Baskind says he sees

a “significant opportunity within the creative industries” in the rapid

development of Web3, but notes that “comes with the concern around

regulating and managing this growth on behalf of all.”

Richard Baskind and law partner Alasdair George worked on the acquisition by Scandinavia’s Cosmos Music of Ace

Copyrights, including recordings by Etta James.

House Of Fame LLC/Michael Ochs Archive/GI

David Beame

Brian Mencher

Founding partners, Beame & Mencher

Beame and Mencher represent artists and producers Andrew Maury (Shawn

Mendes, Mika, Olivia O’Brien) and Mod Sun, who co-steered Avril Lavigne’s

seventh studio album, Love Sux, and co-wrote/directed the upcoming film

Good Mourning With a U with longtime collaborator Machine Gun Kelly.

The firm also works with Global Citizen, the international advocacy

organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty. A safe and sustainable

return to live events is a paramount issue for the industry, says Mencher,

who served as the chief legal architect — managing COVID-19 protocols,

artist/talent contracts and insurance issues — for Global Citizen’s Vax Live

concert in May 2021.

Jill H. Berliner

Ray Garcia

Partners, Rimon

While the law firm declines to cite specific clients, Garcia says Rimon

represents a number of Grammy-winning artists, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

inductees and entertainment entrepreneurs, as well as an independent

record company, providing clients “with a virtual business affairs

department.” Garcia also says the firm has recently advised clients on cases

including Soundgarden’s lawsuits with the estate of Chris Cornell and

Nirvana’s dispute with fashion designer Marc Jacobs and Spencer Elden, the

man who appeared as a baby on the cover of the band’s Nevermind album.

Joshua Binder

Jeremy Mohr

Paul Rothenberg

Partners/Co-founders, Rothenberg Mohr & Binder

A new publishing deal for songwriter Jon Bellion and a hot Super Bowl ad

with Frito-Lay for longtime client Charlie Puth were just two of the

agreements Rothenberg guided during the last year. The firm runs point for

top executives, songwriters and artists — among them Andra Day, Chloe x

Halle, Jazmine Sullivan, A$AP Ferg and Marshmello. “When I started in the

industry, it was often more lucrative to have written the hit than performed

it,” Rothenberg says. “But now, anything connected to the master [recording]

is paying higher. We must address equitable compensation for songwriters.”

He also predicts that boons in catalog sales and streaming will continue: “If

it’s a stream of music, somebody is selling it.”

Jason Boyarski

Partner, Boyarski Fritz

Boyarski Fritz celebrated its 10th !anniversary in 2021, but the boutique !-

entertainment firm has remained focused on the future. Its label work

involves steering NFT initiatives for Timbaland’s Beatclub, negotiating

catalog sales for songwriter-producers Tainy and Louis Bell, and deals for the

estates of Prince and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White. “Music catalog

valuations have reached their highest levels in modern-day history,

garnering a massive appetite from private equity and public markets

globally,” !Boyarski says, but inflation and rising !interest rates could result in

more supply than demand. The litigator encourages creators to choose their

partners and strategies wisely to ensure that their music remains top of

mind. “Music is art,” he says, “not a commodity.”

John Branca

David Lande

David Byrnes

Partners, Ziffren Brittenham

Branca has long served as the co-executor of the Michael Jackson estate and

has helped secure a number of lucrative deals for the late pop singer. The

firm steered the deal for a music biopic with Lionsgate and Bohemian

Rhapsody producer Graham King; the launch of MJ: The Musical, which

debuted on Broadway in February; and the post-pandemic return of Michael

Jackson One — the long-running Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil production set

to Jackson’s music. The firm’s focus in 2022 and beyond remains to support

“social justice and accountability and truth on social media,” says Branca.

William J. Briggs II

Partner, Venable

Venable’s clients include Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg, Migos and Gucci

Mane. Briggs notes that many artists today “have been sued or have had

claims made against them for copyright infringement arising from social

media posts. Many have found pictures of themselves [online] and have

simply reposted those photographs on their social media accounts. Those

posts have been the subject of copyright infringement claims by paparazzi,

who often claim entitlement to damages greater than a license fee they could

obtain for the photograph. We have resolved a number of these claims.”

Jo Brittain

Simon Esplen

Chris Gossage

Gavin Maude

John Reid

Steven Tregear

Partners, Russells

“How to reconcile the competing claims of record companies and artists to a

share of the digital income pot” is the most pressing issue facing the music

business, says Tregear. The firm’s notable clients include Coldplay, Roger

Waters and the estates of George Michael and Prince. The Russells music

team also helped close one of the year’s biggest deals, advising Kobalt on the

sale of its Kobalt Music Royalty Fund II — comprising over 62,000

copyrights — for $1.1 billion to investment companies KKR and Dundee

Partners in October.

Ve rno n Brow n

President/CEO, V. Brown and Company

Brown, the longtime attorney for Cash Money and its co-CEOs Bryan

“Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams, believes artists need to

find more ways to generate money. “From my view, the vast majority of

artists make no money,” he says, “and the most pressing issue for them is

figuring out how to create alternative streams of income.” Founded in 1992,

V. Brown and Company continues to help both veteran artists and younger

acts including Erykah Badu, Dodgr and ATL Jacob.

Ed Buggé

Partner, Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk

Jamie Young

Named partner, Hertz Lichtenstein Young & Polk

Young played a key role in the mediation and settlement of legal actions

involving the estate of Tom Petty, “which included creating a business

operation and establishing a management and business management team,

while continuing to respect Tom Petty and his legacy,” he says. Young also

represented Stevie Nicks in the sale of a portion of her music publishing

catalog to Primary Wave. Buggé is an adviser to Apple on key music issues

and acts as head of business affairs for the creative services company

Platoon, including key artist deals in the United States, the United Kingdom

and Africa. He has advised artist clients like Jaden Smith, Brent Faiyaz and

Joshua Bell “on equity holdings in some of the industry’s most successful

disruptive businesses and tech startups,” he says.

Richard Busch

Partner in the litigation section/head of the entertainment and intellectual

property sections, King & Ballow

Busch — whose clients include Marvin Gaye’s family (for whom he won the

“Blurred Lines” copyright infringement case in 2015) — continues to work to

ensure “that owners of intellectual property, and most notably writers of

musical and literary compositions, are not only licensed but paid properly.”

In addition to pursuing a claim against Spotify on behalf of Eight Mile Style

— co-owner, publisher and administrator of some 250 songs by Eminem —

he filed suits on behalf of comedians Robin Williams, George Carlin, Bill

Engvall, Ron White, Nick Di Paolo and Andrew “Dice” Clay against Pandora

“for alleged copyright infringement of their spoken word compositions, due

Richard Busch is representing Eight Mile Style, co-owner, publisher and administrator of some 250 songs by Eminem.

Kevin C. Cox/GI

to the failure to allegedly obtain either public performance or reproduction

licenses or pay any royalties for the use of these works.”

Joe Carlone

Leslie Frank

Marjorie Garcia

Joseph Halbardier

Scott McDowell

Peter Paterno

Michael Rexford

Jacqueline Sabec

Laurie Soriano

Partners, King Holmes Paterno & Soriano

Among the many achievements of his firm and partners, Paterno’s recent

negotiations on behalf of Dr. Dre stand out as the most high profile — if little

recognized by fans. Paterno directed a team that was involved in all business

aspects of Dre’s Super Bowl performance alongside Snoop Dogg, Eminem,

Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent. The work involved dozens of

contracts required with the NFL, Pepsi and all artists, designers,

manufacturers, suppliers, production managers, choreographers and dancers

— along with the clearance of music, trademarks and other intellectual

property involved in the event.

Rosemary Carroll

Michael Guido

Elliot Groffman

Gillian Bar

Rob Cohen

Ira Friedman

Paul Gutman

Renee Karalian

Partners, Carroll Guido Groffman Cohen Bar & Karalian

Groffman’s client Brandi Carlile wrote one of the most heartfelt music

memoirs of the past year with Broken Horses, while her latest album, In

These Silent Days, has earned her three Grammy Award nominations,

including nods for record and song of the year. He also guided the transition

of Paradigm Music to Wasserman. Carroll negotiated Patti Smith’s first

endorsement deal with Rimowa luggage and guided the sale of Steve Earle’s

publishing catalog. Guido has advised Megan Thee Stallion on her music and

branding relationships, while Friedman negotiated her acting agreement for

A24’s upcoming F–king Identical Twins. Gutman works with Groffman to

offer day-to-day counsel to clients including Carlile, Pearl Jam, Dave

Matthews, Eric Church, Hipgnosis Songs Group and ATO Records. Among

several catalog deals guided by Karalian is the sale by Julia Michaels of

publishing and recording assets to Influence Media Partners. Cohen struck

film/TV deals for the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and actress Olivia Culpo.

As live music returns, says Bar, “Goth Babe and The Backseat Lovers are two

examples of clients whose touring has exploded.”

Uwonda Carter Scott

John Seay

Donald Woodard

Founding partners, Carter + Woodard

Carter + Woodard’s leading trio of entertainment attorneys represents acts

including Summer Walker, Kelly Rowland, Lil Yachty, Big Boi and Metro

Boomin. Milestones include representing the purchasers in an eight-figure

deal for a publishing catalog that includes copyrights of the late R&B star

Aaliyah and a “multifaceted” deal between Metro Boomin and Republic

Records that included a label deal, an artist deal, a staff producer agreement

and a consultant agreement. Additionally, the firm helped score

branding/endorsement deals for their clients with companies including

Target, Gap, Intel, Chef Boyardee, Reese’s Puffs Cereal, Amazon and

FabFitFun.

The attorneys of Carter + Woodard negotiated a deal for the publishing catalog of the late R&B star Aaliyah.

Chris Walter/WireImage

Robert A. Celestin

Founding partner, The Law Offices of Robert A. Celestin

Alicia Ferriabough Taylor

Senior associate, The Law Offices of Robert A. Celestin

Representing the estates of hip-hop stars XXXTentacion and Pop Smoke,

Celestin’s firm negotiated recent major deals including a distribution

agreement for a Hulu documentary, an NFT deal and a new distribution pact

with Columbia Records for XXXTentacion. The lattermost contract will

include his earlier SoundCloud records and another posthumous album to be

released later this year. The firm played a major role in the release of Pop

Smoke’s second posthumous album, Faith, negotiating, drafting and clearing

its producer and side artist agreements. All recording acts, producers and

songwriters need to “register their work with the Copyright Office,” says

Celestin. “When I speak at various music panels, I urge the creatives to ‘CYS,’

or ‘Copyright yo’ s–t!’ ”

Ross Charap

Matt Finkelstein

Partners, ArentFox Schiff

After five years at another firm, Charap and Finkelstein returned to ArentFox

in 2021, bringing with them top industry names including Mick Jagger and

Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, together with their music publishing

company, Promopub; BMG Rights Management; and Wise Music Group.

Focused primarily on buying and selling copyrighted works and royalty

streams, the firm helped BMG with its acquisition of Mick Fleetwood’s

recording stake in the Fleetwood Mac catalog. The firm continues to focus on

new technologies for its clients. “In a world where digital music consumption

by consumers and the use of music by new business platforms continues to

grow exponentially,” says Finkelstein, “it is vital that songwriters are paid

fairly for the use of their songs.”

Jacqueline Charlesworth

Principal, Charlesworth Law

Charlesworth brought her experience as a former general counsel with the

U.S. Copyright Office and a private litigator to the 2021 launch of her own

firm, where, she says, “about half of my practice right now involves

termination issues. We recently sued in federal court to reclaim a

songwriter’s rights in the famous song ‘After the Love Is Gone’ [by Earth,

Wind & Fire] from the publisher, which has refused to honor the writer’s

notice of termination under the Copyright Act.”

Stephanie Chopurian

Senior associate, Ritholz Levy Fields

Matt Cottingham

Senior counsel, Ritholz Levy Fields

New York-based Chopurian recently renegotiated contracts for Latin music

clients such as Sech, Ovy on the Drums and Myke Towers, while Nashville-

based Cottingham did the same for country clients such as Brittney Spencer,

Lily Rose, Andrew Jannakos and Ashley Cooke. Both attorneys agree that

there’s room for greater diversity in their areas of practice. “There is a wealth

of female creative and executive talent out there which is being

underutilized,” says Chopurian. “More Latinas need to be involved in the

actual creative process and in senior executive roles.”

Jay Cohen

Partner, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison

“I have had the good fortune to represent ASCAP for more than 25 years in a

variety of matters impacting music creators’ efforts to obtain fair

compensation for their work,” says Cohen. That work has included ASCAP

rate court proceedings and efforts by ASCAP to have the Department of

Justice update the consent decrees that ASCAP and BMI have operated

under for over 80 years. (The DOJ opted not to take action on the matter last

year.) Other notable clients include the National Music Publishers’

Association, Sony Music Entertainment and communications/media

company Altice.

Jay Cooper

Jess Rosen

Bobby Rosenbloum

Mathew Rosengart

Paul Schindler

Shareholders, Greenberg Traurig

A former federal prosecutor, Rosengart became a household name in 2021

through his representation of Britney Spears. He helped the pop star secure a

win in November to end the 13-year conservatorship imposed by her father,

Jamie Spears, and has vowed to continue fighting for an investigation into

allegations of wrongdoing. Greenberg Traurig also counts as clients Katy

Perry, Kacey Musgraves, the Recording Academy, iHeartMedia and OneOf (a

leading music NFT platform). Rosenbloum, who heads the firm’s

entertainment group, says that NFTs present “enormous opportunities,” but

only if the industry can sort out royalties first. “The industry risks missing

out,” he says, “on new revenue streams presented by these innovative

technologies.”

Roger Cramer

Of counsel, Winslett Studnicky McCormick & Bomser

Cramer spent 15 years as an artist manager (Living Colour, Lisa Loeb, Wayne

Shorter) before launching his two-decade-plus career as a music attorney,

with clients including Disturbing Tha Peace, Ludacris, Nelly, Wu-Tang Clan,

Stuart Matthewman and Robin Hannibal. He also represents composer-

keyboardist-bandleader Robert Glasper and rising acts like $NOT, Yeat,

Autumn! and Lancey Foux, as well as producers, songwriters and mixers

such as SephGotTheWaves, Tom Norris and James Francies. His experience

also includes handling business and legal affairs for Songs Music Publishing,

electronic dance music label OWSLA and Round Hill Music.

Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks

Partner/chair of entertainment, copyright and media practice group,

Proskauer Rose

Anthony Oncidi

Partner/co-chair of labor and employment law department/head of West

Coast labor and employment practice, Proskauer Rose

Proskauer Rose counts among its clients Sony Music Entertainment,

BMG/Chrysalis, Live Nation, the Recording Academy, Madonna, U2 and

Daft Punk. Crawshaw-Sparks recently defended Live Nation and Madonna in

multiple class actions and arbitrations arising from delayed starts, phone-

free policies and environmental conditions at dates on Madonna’s

Madame X tour and questions over the enforceability of mandatory

arbitration clauses in online click-through contracts. Oncidi specializes in

employment law in the entertainment/media and financial services

industries. He was the lead counsel for the Recording Academy in its dispute

with former president/CEO Deborah Dugan, which resulted in a confidential

settlement in June 2021.

Sy Damle

Andrew Gass

Alli Stillman

Jonathan West

Joe Wetzel

Partners, Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins advises some of the largest firms and organizations in the

music industry, including Live Nation, the National Association of

Broadcasters, Meta, Snap, Roblox and Triller, as well as an increasing

number of investors in music assets. The firm defended online gaming

platform Roblox in a copyright infringement action brought by the National

Music Publishers’ Association — and achieved a settlement for the platform

in June that opened the door to licensing talks with music publishers.

Doug Davis

Founder/principal, The Davis Firm

Kim Youngberg

Partner, The Davis Firm

Davis — whose client list includes producers such as Swizz Beatz and Mike

WiLL Made-It, as well as artists like Wale and Barry Manilow — notes with

pride that in 2021 he oversaw deals “that reflected the elevation of minorities

into major leadership positions beyond just department heads.” That

included the promotion of Ryan Press to president of North America at

Warner Chappell Music, Carolyn Williams to executive vp of marketing at

RCA and Jeannette Perez to president/COO of Kobalt Music Publishing, as

well as the return of Rani Hancock to Columbia Records as executive

vp/head of A&R. Youngberg’s clients include Swizz Beatz, LL Cool J and Lil

Jon for whom she negotiated a deal on the new HGTV home improvement

show, Lil Jon Wants to Do What?.

Doug Davis’ clients include superstar artist-producer Swizz Beatz, co-founder with Timbaland of the webcast series

Verzuz.

Rich Fury/GI

Silvino Edward Díaz

Chair, entertainment law group, EPGD Business Law; founder, Starving

Artists

Díaz has focused on independent and rising producers and acts, including

producers Caleb Calloway (Cazzu) and Mr. NaisGais (Rauw Alejandro),

manager Angelo Torres (Álvaro Díaz) and artist Amarion. For Amarion, Díaz

defended and settled a breach of contract action brought by his former

management in Puerto Rico. Díaz also founded Starving Artists in Miami, a

legal/business counsel service for artists and entrepreneurs. Asked what the

biggest ongoing challenge is for the industry, he says, “Properly

compensating independent artists for their recording income.”

Scott Edelman

Orin Snyder

Partners, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher

Snyder, who has handled legal matters for Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen,

Elton John and others, won a ruling for Bob Dylan in August to dismiss a

lawsuit that claimed the iconic songwriter owed a portion of his massive

Universal Music Group catalog sale to the estate of a former collaborator.

Edelman, meanwhile, helped UMG beat a $100 million proposed class action

filed by Tom Petty’s ex-wife that sought a portion of the money that the label

had recovered through litigation over the 2008 warehouse fire that

destroyed a trove of master recordings. He is now representing Sony in a

different class action over copyright terminations.

Lawrence Engel

Head of music, Lee & Thompson

“Extensive work” on Harry Styles’ 42-date Love on Tour U.S. trek — which

sold 719,000 tickets and grossed $94.7 million — kept Engel busy in 2021,

his 10th year as head of music at London-based Lee & Thompson. The sale to

Primary Wave of songwriter-producer Steve Kipner’s publishing catalog —

which includes his share of hits by Olivia Newton-John, Christina Aguilera

and Chicago — was one of a number of catalog acquisitions that Engel helped

guide. Other notable clients include Craig David, Little Mix, MNEK and

Styles’ former One Direction bandmates Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson.

The firm also successfully represented Steve Jones and Paul Cook in their

London High Court trial against John Lydon over the use of the Sex Pistols’

songs in a TV drama.

Timothy Liam Epstein

Partner, Duggan Bertsch

Epstein represents over 100 venues, promoters and festivals including Riot

Fest, Pitchfork, Baja Beach Fest, Sofar Sounds and Lightning in a Bottle. He

helped Rolling Stone and PMC (the parent company of Billboard) close their

acquisition of the Las Vegas festival Life Is Beautiful. The event ranked

second on Billboard’s Top Boxscore year-end tally in 2021 after drawing over

160,000 in attendance and grossing $18.3 million in three days. The deal

took more than two years to close, following delays due to the pandemic and

the untimely loss of festival and Zappos founder Tony Hsieh in 2020.

Ilene S. Farkas

Partner/co-chair, music litigation practice, Pryor Cashman

James G. Sammataro

Partner/co-chair, media and entertainment group, Pryor Cashman

Frank P. Scibilia

Benjamin K. Semel

Partners, Pryor Cashman

Pryor Cashman’s client list spans the industry’s top talent, including Ed

Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars and Paulo Londra,

alongside major labels and publishers Universal, Sony, Warner, peermusic,

ABKCO and others. The firm represents the National Music Publishers’

Association and the Nashville Songwriters Association International in

actions before the Copyright Royalty Board, proposing rates and terms

payable by interactive streaming and limited download services such as

Amazon, Apple, Google and Spotify. Its top priority, says Sammataro, is “the

struggle to ensure proper control and compensation for creators from digital

uses, particularly as the music marketplace comes to be dominated by new

business models.”

Javier Feito

Partner, entertainment, media and technology group, SMGQ Law

Leslie José Zigel

Partner/chair, entertainment, media and technology group, SMGQ Law

With a client list of artists and music companies including Marco Antonio

Solís, Wisin and Carlos Vives, SMGQ Law cites recent negotiations such as

Pitbull’s “I Feel Good” Tour, which ranked at No. 20 on Billboard’s 2021 Top

Tours chart and HBO’s music series A Tiny Audience, which nabbed an

Emmy Award nomination. The firm negotiated Vives’ involvement, through

his hit single “Colombia, Mi Encanto,” with Disney’s blockbuster Encanto,

which has spent nine nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200

(https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/).

The attorneys of SMGQ Law negotiated Carlos Vives’ involvement in the blockbuster soundtrack album Encanto,

which includes his hit single “Colombia, Mi Encanto.”

Rich Polk/GI

Sid Fohrman

Shane Nix

Alex Weingarten

Partners, Willkie Farr & Gallagher

Since joining the firm in January as chair of music and digital media

practices, Fohrman has overseen transactions for a diverse client base that

includes TikTok, Match Group and metaverse companies AmazeVR and Roar

Studios. Weingarten represented Jamie Spears in the litigation with his pop-

star daughter Britney over her conservatorship and post-termination

proceeds. Fohrman adds that Jamie tapped Weingarten for “his expertise in

handling high-profile, high-stakes litigation such as the claims being pursued

in this instance.”

John Frankenheimer

Chair, music industry, Loeb & Loeb

Debbie White

Vice chair, music industry, Loeb & Loeb

Derek Crownover

Tiffany Dunn

Co-office administrative partners, Nashville, Loeb & Loeb

The firm that looks out for BTS, Carrie Underwood, Diana Ross, Luke

Combs, The Who, Sony Music Publishing and the Academy of Country Music

represented Warner Music Group in its acquisition of the David Bowie

estate’s music publishing assets and BTS label HYBE’s joint venture and

distribution deal with Universal Music, as well as the K-pop superstars’

McDonald’s campaign. “It’s extremely rewarding that the real value of music

industry [intellectual property], the artist and the artist’s brand is finally

being realized,” says Frankenheimer. “But there’s a responsibility to make

sure that the midlevel, young and emerging artists are sharing in that as

well.” Steering the live-music business back from its pandemic vacuum

represented another critical issue. “COVID-19-related cancellations were not

expressly covered in many agreements, so promoters and vendors suffered

tremendously and are now pushing to have the artists assume this liability,”

says White. “We need to establish the new economic models that balance the

risk allocation for all parties.”

Sasha Frid

Louis “Skip” Miller

Partners, Miller Barondess

Frid and Miller represent groups such as Five Finger Death Punch, Bad

Wolves and Backstreet Boys as well as Universal Music Group and Live

Nation. Last April, the firm resolved a dispute among members of Journey in

which client Neal Schon, as well as Jonathan Cain, settled a $10 million

trademark infringement lawsuit regarding the continued use of the band’s

name. Frid adds that he also “litigated and resolved a dispute between Bad

Wolves and its former lead singer, Tommy Vext, allowing Bad Wolves to

move on with a new singer.”

Eric German

Partner, entertainment transactions group, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp

Christine Lepera

Partner/co-chair, entertainment and IP litigation practice group, Mitchell

Silberberg & Knupp

Jeffrey Movit

Bradley Mullins

Partners, entertainment and IP litigation practice group, Mitchell

Silberberg & Knupp

The firm’s client Katy Perry prevailed in a yearslong copyright infringement

case involving her 2013 hit “Dark Horse.” Earlier in March, Lepera, as lead

counsel for the defense, obtained a decision by the district judge to toss a

$2.8 million jury verdict of infringement, which was unanimously affirmed

by the Ninth Circuit in a decision that set a precedent on music copyright

issues. The firm’s clients also have included Drake, Post Malone, Max

Martin, Universal Music Group and Ultra International Music Publishing.

Leah Godesky

David Marroso

Partners, O’Melveny & Myers

Daniel Petrocelli

Partner/trial practice chair/firm vice chair, O’Melveny & Myers

The firm helped bring client SiriusXM “an August appellate win in a

landmark music industry case regarding performance rights for recordings

created before 1972,” says Petrocelli. He and Godesky are also representing

Kesha in the defamation suit brought by producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke”

Gottwald, whom the singer has accused of sexual misconduct. They’re

gearing up for the long-awaited trial that is set for early 2023.

Damien Granderson

Colin Morrissey

Partners, Granderson Des Rochers

Guy Blake

Managing partner, Granderson Des Rochers

Elizabeth Moody

Partner/chair of new media practice, Granderson Des Rochers

While the firm represented J. Cole on behalf of his The Off-Season tour with

Live Nation, Granderson Des Rochers also supervised the joint venture

between Quality Control’s Solid Foundation Management and SoundCloud.

The joint venture’s goal is to discover new talent and provide them with

custom resources, tools and access. Given the rise of new music distribution

channels such as direct-to-digital service providers and NFTs, Granderson —

whose firm also represents H.E.R., J Balvin and songwriter Bernie Taupin —

says it’s crucial that “artists be empowered with all information possible to

maintain ownership, control and a fair share of proceeds derived from their

works.”

Navarro Gray

Founder, The Gray Law Firm

Representing a mix of legacy acts and new artists, Gray has helped secure

deals across the R&B and hip-hop sectors for Ron Isley, Taz Taylor, Nick

Mira and Internet Money, among others. Recent highlights include

negotiating a TV deal with 50 Cent and Starz on behalf of Black Mafia Family

co-founder Southwest T, a publishing deal for Chris Brown and Benji

Entertainment (the producer of Young Thug) and Capella Grey’s record deal

with Capitol Records, following the release of hit single “Gyalis,” which Gray

says “took the world by storm.”

Eric Greenspan

Jeffrey Light

Craig S. Marshall

Francois Mobasser

Aaron Rosenberg

Partners, Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light

When Justin Bieber launched his Justice world tour on Feb. 18 in San Diego,

the star used his platform to raise awareness about criminal justice reform,

climate issues and voter registration. Representing Bieber behind the scenes

is Rosenberg, who also advises Ariana Grande, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez

and LVRN. Greenspan counts among his clients Paul Tollett, Dead & Co. and

Red Hot Chili Peppers, whom he advised on the sale of their publishing

catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Mobasser advises Common, Jack Johnson

and Erykah Badu; Light represents Queens of the Stone Age, Disturbed and

Pulse Music; and Marshall works with Kevin Abstract, Elle King and Yeti

Beats.

Gary R. Greenstein

Member, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Specializing in the digital exploitation of intellectual property, the

Washington, D.C.-based Greenstein’s recent cases include representing

Google before the Copyright Royalty Board in the Phonorecords IV rate-

setting proceeding, Stingray Music USA and Rockbot before the CRB for the

Business Establishment Services IV proceeding and Roblox in its now-settled

dispute with the National Music Publishers’ Association. He is a fierce

opponent of the rampant “consolidation of rights” in today’s music industry.

Allen Grubman

Senior partner, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks

David Jacobs

Partner, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks

Kenny Meiselas

Named partner/head of the music department, Grubman Shire Meiselas &

Sacks

The firm boasts an all-star client list. Grubman represents Bruce

Springsteen, the estate of David Bowie, Paul Simon, Sting, Spotify and senior

executives such as Lucian Grainge, Michael Rapino and Jon Platt. Jacobs

advises Lil Nas X, Kali Uchis and Take a Daytrip, while Meiselas advocates

on behalf of The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Usher, Lizzo, Sean Combs, GAYLE and

the Robin Hood Charity. Among the firm’s highlights of the past year are

record-setting catalog sales for Springsteen, Bowie, Sting and Simon; The

Weeknd’s partnership with Amazon and his upcoming stadium tour; Gaga’s

role in House of Gucci and her latest duet album with Tony Bennett; and Lil

Nas X’s sponsorships and endorsement deals with Uber Eats, Logitech, Taco

Bell and Postmates.

Pierre Hachar Jr.

Managing partner, The Hachar Law Firm

Cody Pellicer

General partner, The Hachar Law Firm

Hachar’s Miami office represents clients including Gente de Zona, Anitta,

Vibras Lab, Deorro and Justin Quiles. Hachar represented Quiles in a

complex and multiparty restructuring of the artist’s global recording and

publishing deals with Warner Music Latin and Kobalt, respectively. The

litigator is passionate about educating newer artists and executives, with his

top concern being the shift into consumption of new technologies “that the

industry is not ready to execute,” he says, citing the metaverse and NFTs.

Jonas Herbsman

Managing partner, Herbsman Hafer Weber & Frisch

Michael Frisch

Dorothy Weber

Partners, Herbsman Hafer Weber & Frisch

Herbsman Hafer oversaw a number of catalog sales in 2021, most recently

Regent Music and Jewel Music to Primary Wave. The catalogs include the

songs “Pipeline” (Brian Carman, Bob Spickard), “More Today Than

Yesterday” (Pat Upton), “Lonely Teardrops” (Berry Gordy Jr., Gwen Gordy

and Roquel “Billy” Davis) and Christmas classics like “I Saw Mommy Kissing

Santa Claus” (Tommie Connor) and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” (Noël

Regney, Gloria Shayne). “Working on the sale was a journey through the

history of 20th-century American music put together by a true independent

music publisher,” says Herbsman.

Lawrence Iser

Managing partner, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley

Jonathan Steinsapir

Partner, Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley

As the touring business returns, among the most pressing issues is “the

dominance of Ticketmaster in the primary and secondary ticketing services

market,” says Iser. The firm’s clients include the estate of Michael Jackson;

such artists as Jackson Browne, David Byrne, Cardi B, Offset, Lil Wayne,

Swae Lee, French Montana, Trey Songz and Lana Del Rey; and companies

like Del Records, Roland, Saban Music Group and Third Side Music. Iser and

his team also represented producers Justin Raisen, Jeremiah Raisen and

Yves Rothman in the just-settled suit against Lizzo over the authorship of

“Truth Hurts.”

Erin M. Jacobson

Attorney/CEO, Erin M. Jacobson

Jacobson’s client list spans Grammy and Emmy winners, legacy artists and

catalogs, music publishers, independent artists and companies, and heirs

and estates. Her most recent cases involved catalog acquisitions, music

estate issues, copyright terminations, music publishing agreements and

international music licensing agreements. Jacobson has advised on the

music rights issues involved in both licensing and selling music and its

associated intellectual property in NFTs. She says the industry “is still

fighting for proper pay for its artists, and especially its songwriters.”

Russell A. Jones Jr.

Attorney, Law Offices of Russell A. Jones Jr. and Associates

Two years into the pandemic, the music industry’s artists are “now happily

spending more time on tour and personal appearance agreements,” says

Jones, who counts country artists Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw

and Trisha Yearwood among his clients. He notes that the biggest challenge

for the music industry in 2022 is “reintroducing live music to the people.”

Olawale “Wale” Kalejaiye

Associate, music group, Sheridans

London-based Kalejaiye helped clinch fashion endorsement deals with

Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy Jeans for Nigerian newcomers

Burna Boy and Tems, respectively. Additionally, he helped negotiate major-

label bidding wars for Tems at RCA/Since93 and for former model JNR Choi

at Epic Records. His goal moving forward is to help solve “the black-box

conundrum” of $2.5 billion in unallocated royalties for rights owners, he

says, noting that the “rise of smart contracts, cloud computing, data security

and collective ownership can provide a solution.”

Olawale “Wale” Kalejaiye negotiated an endorsement deal with Calvin Klein for Nigerian star Burna Boy.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Joshua A. Kamen

Founder/owner, The Law Offices of Joshua A. Kamen

Kamen’s firm represents City Girls, 6LACK and Givēon, who sold out his first

headlining tour, landed six Grammy nominations and collaborated with

artists such as Justin Bieber and Drake in the past year. Kamen stresses the

importance of artist development. “As attention spans get shorter, we need

to figure out how to get kids to meaningfully connect with new artists again

and not just listen to music as the soundtrack to viral videos,” he says. “There

will never be a one-size-fits-all solution.”

Jason Karlov

Chair, entertainment, media and sports practice group, Barnes &

Thornburg

Joel Katz

Senior counsel, Barnes & Thornburg

In addition to his continued work with clients Bob Dylan and Michael

Bolton, Karlov represented the NFL in production and guild matters and the

procurement of music rights for Super Bowl LV. Katz, who represents the

Country Music Association and senior executives like Steve Carless, Mike

Dungan, John Esposito, Randy Goodman and Monte Lipman, led a team that

helped promoter TEG execute a December benefit concert headlined by

Kanye West and Drake at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. With

expanding opportunities for music licensing, says Karlov, “a more efficient

system for synch would unleash a lot of money and uses for all.”

Han Kim

Associate, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton

Kim’s client list ranges from South Korean hip-hop trio Epik High and pop

artist Jackson Wang to Spotify for numerous podcast productions, Tinder

and Match.com (//Match.com) in various music-related transactions and

the immersive virtual reality concert producer AmazeVR. On behalf of the

lattermost company, Kim says he spearheaded negotiations with Megan Thee

Stallion’s team, as well as her label and publisher, for “a one-of-kind Enter

Thee Hottieverse VR concert that will be exhibited in movie theaters across

the United States in the coming months.”

Russell L. King

Director, King Law Firm

Since the beginning of the pandemic, King has negotiated numerous

“endorsement deals, non-fungible token drops and other alternative revenue

sources” for his clients, he says, structuring an upcoming e-commerce

venture for Juan Luis Guerra and clothing and fragrance lines for Maluma

with Macy’s, as well as deals for the latter with Anheuser-Busch, Versace,

Quay, Oppo and Hennessy. Maluma was one of the first artists to announce a

new tour at “a time of great uncertainty,” says King, but the outing ranked as

the No. 14 tour of the year. King negotiated the Latin star’s tour agreements

to “protect him through that calculated risk as well as the central

withholding agreement [on nonresident income] with the IRS,” he adds.

Christiane Kinney

Entertainment attorney/president, Kinney Law

For its artist clients, Kinney’s firm manages traditional negotiations

involving label and publishing deals, terminating transfer rights, catalog

sales and partnerships such as future royalty streams. But the work that sets

it apart in the music space, she says, is expertise in the burgeoning

technology sector, from interactive and virtual reality media experiences and

the metaverse to helping on intellectual property due diligence on assets that

clients want to mint for NFTs, “which is far more complex in the music space

than other areas of intellectual property. There has been so much exciting

new ground broken in recent years, largely in response to the pandemic, and

we love to help our clients stay on the cutting edge and benefit from these

opportunities.”

Mark Krais

Partner, Bray & Krais Solicitors

Over 5.5 million viewers tuned in to Ed Sheeran’s TikTok livestream last

June and its two replays, making it the biggest-ever live-music performance

on the platform, according to TikTok. For Krais, whose London-based firm

represents Sheeran, the show was one of several high points in another

challenging 12 months for the live sector, boosted by the return of touring in

the second half of the year. That included the rescheduled No Filter Tour by

Bray & Krais client The Rolling Stones. Originally slated for 2020, the outing

ranked as the No. 1 tour of the past year with a gross of $72.3 million,

according to Billboard Boxscore. Krais’ other clients include Mumford &

Sons, Elton John and British rappers Skepta and KSI.

Mark Krais represents The Rolling Stones, whose No Filter Tour ranked No. 1 on Billboard’s year-end Top Tours chart.

Kevin Mazur/GI

Simon Rust Lamb

Law offices of Simon Rust Lamb; COO/general counsel, Bulldog Digital

Media

As the pandemic continued to affect live events, Lamb advised major

independent festival promoters, including the dance fest producer Disco

Donnie Presents. He helped navigate challenges associated with

cancellations and COVID-19-responsive festival operations amid rapidly

shifting protocols and co-authored strategic communications in the face of

litigation and crisis. “The work of independent promoters is critical to local

culture [and] artist development and as an alternative to conglomerates,” he

says.

Greg Lapidus

Managing partner (retired), Lapidus Root & Sacharow

In the past year, Lapidus announced his retirement after nearly two decades

of leading his Santa Monica, Calif.-based firm, representing superstar artists,

producers, major record companies and film studios. He takes special pride

in his longtime representation of Disney Music Group and Special Olympics,

including his involvement with A Very Special Christmas, the compilation

series benefiting the annual competition for differently abled athletes.

Dina LaPolt

Founder/owner, LaPolt Law

Sarah Scott

Managing partner, LaPolt Law

Cardi B’s role as Playboy’s inaugural creative director-in-residence and

founding member of a new creator-led online platform, Centerfold, is just

one of the recent trailblazing deals sealed by the firm’s LaPolt and Scott, who

also mind the legal business of Offset, 21 Savage, The Kid LAROI, deadmau5

and Steven Tyler. The industry issues that top LaPolt’s list? “Dwindling

royalties paid to songwriters due to government regulations and Copyright

Royalty Board proceedings, tours still getting canceled due to COVID-19 and

issues concerning systemic racism,” she says.

To d d L a r s o n

Partner, intellectual property and media practice, Weil Gotshal & Manges

Benjamin Marks

Head of intellectual property and media practice, Weil Gotshal & Manges

Marks and Larson are on the front lines of the battle over royalty rates. In

July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated

the rate determination of the Copyright Royalty Board for 2018-2022, which

sets the mechanical royalties that client Pandora, as well as other interactive

streaming services, pay to music publishers. In December, the CRB adjusted

the royalty rate for noninteractive webcasters, including the firm’s clients

Pandora and SiriusXM, under the Web V rate proceeding. They expect

podcasting to be the next frontier in the battleground for the ears and dollars

of music fans.

Shay M. Lawson

Intellectual property and entertainment attorney, Lawson McKinley

Lawson represents some of hip-hop’s !biggest names, from artists Offset and

Pimp C to producers Sheldon Ferguson (Moneybagg Yo, Travis Scott),

Groove (EarthGang) and Chaz Mishan (Ramengvrl, Sofía Reyes, Jason

Derulo). She has remained a committed advocate for the Black community,

working to combat inequities across the industry as a member of Songwriters

of North America, a private working group within the Recording Academy

and the Black Music Action Coalition. She also has advocated for federal

legislation to curtail the use of rap lyrics as proof of guilt in criminal

proceedings.

William R. Leibowitz

Founder, William R. Leibowitz Law Group

In an industry where deal-making is already happening fast and furiously —

and accelerating — Leibowitz is at the center of the whirlwind, representing

Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis Songs Fund as it tries to close acquisitions for

the music assets in its billion-dollar pipeline. In 2021, he negotiated and

closed many Hipgnosis acquisitions including deals for rights and/or royalty

streams by artists, songwriters and producers like Christine McVie, Andrew

Watt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Carole Bayer Sager, Stefan and Jordan

Johnson, Rhett Akins and Andy Wallace.

Jason Lueddeke

Associate, DLA Piper

Lueddeke’s most recent achievement comes by way of his work representing

songwriter-entrepreneur Philip Lawrence (Bruno Mars) in multiple

litigations related to his music publishing catalog and ownership of the

iconic Record Plant recording studio in Hollywood and its related

trademarks. “For a music fanatic like me, having the opportunity to work on

matters involving such a legendary studio where some of the greatest albums

ever made were recorded has been a dream come true,” says Lueddeke. “I

feel very fortunate to represent Philip, who, in addition to being a world-

class musician and entertainer, is a great person.”

Kent Marcus

Owner/senior partner, Marcus & Colvin

Clients Jason Aldean, Kings of Leon and Joy Oladokun have long counted on

Marcus for straightforward guidance, particularly now as digital video and

streaming platforms evolve at a mind-bending pace. “Web3,

blockchain/node technology, NFTs and gaming models will disrupt the

music industry,” says Marcus. “When executed with real value, NFTs and

node networks will provide artists and fans with next-level relationships and

profitability.” Marcus weathered a personal crisis as well after partner Jeff

Colvin sustained life-threatening injuries during a series of intense

thunderstorms in Nashville in May 2020. “Jeff and his son have just about

fully recovered,” he says. “We came together as a law firm to support them as

best we could — that was the easy part.”

Doug Mark

David Ferreria

Partners, Mark Music & Media Law

Working with acts such as Billie Eilish, FINNEAS and Guns N’ Roses,

Ferreria and Mark have used their combined 14 years at Mark Music &

Media Law to create success, guiding breakout singer-songwriter Lauren

Spencer-Smith’s new label deal with Island/Republic and negotiating Eilish’s

headlining slot at Coachella. Their greatest concern? “For the past few years,

it has been the same issue: the calculation and collection of royalties received

from digital service providers,” says Ferreria. “Our industry needs to ensure

that an appropriate share of the revenue makes its way back to the creators

in every instance.”

Angela “Angie” N. Martinez

Attorney at law, Angela N. Martinez

Martinez’s roster of clients includes Latin chart-toppers Ozuna, Camilo,

CNCO, Ricardo Montaner, Mau y Ricky and Luis Fonsi, whom she most

recently represented in the sale of his publishing catalog to HarborView

Equity Partners. “With acquisition agreements becoming more prominent in

the Latin music industry,” she says, “it is fundamental that artists and their

teams have copies of all of their agreements, have access to all of the royalty

platforms for the corresponding royalty statements and have realistic

expectations of what their catalog is worth.”

Angela Martinez represented Luis Fonsi in the sale of his publishing catalog to HarborView Equity Partners.

Mariano Regidor/Redferns

James E. McMillan

Founder, James E. McMillan

Because he’s also busy running his own record label, ART@WAR, McMillan

is “selective” about the legal clients he takes on. One artist who fits the bill is

Bobby Shmurda, whose team reached out to McMillan last year to help

renegotiate the rapper’s deal with Epic Records following his release from

prison after six years. “I’m personally committed to working with people who

are looking to transition from difficult circumstances into leadership roles,”

says McMillan, who helped Shmurda set up his business infrastructure and

“get his show back on the road.”

L. Londell McMillan

Chairman/CEO, The McMillan Firm

McMillan has an ownership stake in and manages half of the business and

financial interests on behalf of Prince Legacy LLC once it closes probate this

year. Prince Legacy includes the artist’s remaining siblings who didn’t sell to

Primary Wave as well as McMillan and Charles Spicer. With a client list

including the Mt. Westmore collective (Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Too $hort, E-

40), the veteran music attorney’s other recent achievements include

successfully opposing Primary Wave’s efforts to create a single joint holding

company to manage the Prince estate’s assets. In today’s challenge-filled

economy, cultural and economic equity remain important, says McMillan:

“There should be more senior Black executives in C-suites and more Black-

owned companies doing business with global enterprises.”

Ed McPherson

Entertainment trial lawyer, McPherson

As artists return to live performances, McPherson has remained vigilant

about ensuring crowd safety at his clients’ concerts and festivals. He has

represented Travis Scott for two years and continues as his attorney

following the tragedy in November at the Astroworld festival, where 10

people died and hundreds were injured during a crowd surge at the 50,000-

capacity show. (He has said producers would have stopped the concert if

requested by the police, as they did with the 2019 Astroworld when it went

past curfew.) Looking ahead, his firm’s top priority is “how to get back on

track with touring and festivals after the pandemic — and how to do it

safely.”

Matthew Middleton

Founder/principal, Middleton Law

Last August, the late singer Aaliyah’s multiplatinum album One in a Million

hit streaming platforms for the first time. It was soon followed by other

classic but long-unavailable albums by Timbaland & Magoo, Tank, Toni

Braxton, JoJo and others from the illustrious Blackground Records catalog.

After negotiating a distribution deal between the legendary ’90s label

Blackground Records and distribution company EMPIRE, Middleton says

he’s especially proud of having helped revitalize a catalog that “hasn’t been

available to fans for over 10 years.” The Harlem native’s client list includes

rappers Yung Bleu, Fabolous and Cam’ron.

Michael Milom

David Crow

Partners, Milom Horsnell Crow Kelley Beckett Shehan

In 2021, the firm negotiated artist deals for major TV musical competition

series and represented clients in agreements for Las Vegas residencies, while

also representing buyers and/or sellers in a dozen catalog sales with an

aggregate purchase price of over $28 million. Luke Bryan, Mickey Guyton,

Carly Pearce and Keith Urban are among its clients. According to Crow and

Milom, one of the music industry’s most pressing concerns this year is how

to develop new artists in light of changes forced upon the industry by

COVID-19 and the shifting sands at terrestrial radio and digital service

providers. How can the industry collectively build and sustain arena-level

hard-ticket acts, they ask, if the focus is on social media metrics?

Carron Joan Mitchell

Partner, Nixon Peabody

Mitchell recently joined Nixon Peabody from Hertz Lichtenstein Young &

Polk. She brings her experience in representing artists including Ari Lennox,

Brent Faiyaz, Cuco, Freddie Gibbs, Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples and

EarthGang and in negotiating branding deals for clients with Coca-Cola,

Calvin Klein, Facebook and others. On the firm’s website, she notes: “Clients

are asking to be paid in cryptocurrency, and while in the past companies

pushed back on this method of payment, there are companies now open to

this new way of accounting. I’m also excited to see how Web3 and the

metaverse impact the sports and entertainment industry as more and more

clients are starting to explore ways to monetize in the virtual worlds.”

Zia F. Modabber

Managing partner, California/chair, entertainment and media litigation,

Katten Muchin Rosenman

Modabber is defending the Michael Jackson estate in a class action lawsuit

regarding the artist’s first posthumous album. (The plaintiffs claim that

Jackson wasn’t the vocalist on three tracks.) The California Supreme Court

has granted a review of a ruling by the trial court, with Modabber to lead

“oral arguments that will address previously undecided First Amendment

issues on the boundary between protected artistic speech and expression, on

the one hand, and pure commercial speech that may be easily regulated, on

the other,” he says. The firm’s other top clients include Trent Reznor, Red

Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Wonder, Usher, Lil Nas X, Céline Dion and the

Recording Academy.

Matt Oppenheim

Managing partner, Oppenheim + Zebrak

Scott Zebrak

Co-founding partner, Oppenheim + Zebrak

While representing the three major labels, the firm’s partners “won an

important case against two of the most popular stream-ripping services in

the world, websites FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com,” says Oppenheim. A U.S.

magistrate recommended — and a district judge then ordered — the owner of

the sites to pay the labels nearly $83 million in damages for copyright

infringement. Oppenheim and Zebrak (along with Covington & Burling) also

continue to represent the major labels and their publishers in ongoing

Charter Communications and Bright House. “Both ISPs,” says Oppenheim,

“have repeatedly turned a blind eye to [their] subscribers’ repeated

infringement of music copyrights.”

Don Passman

Ethan Schiffres

Partners, Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman

Gene Salomon

Managing partner, Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman

With clients that include Adele, Taylor Swift, Neil Diamond and P!nk, the

firm was busy with Swift’s two 2021 releases, as well Green Day’s Hella Mega

Tour (with Fall Out Boy and Weezer), which was the first stadium tour to

return to the road in 2021. Salomon was the lead lawyer for the sale of

Diamond’s masters and publishing to Universal Music Group and Universal

Music Publishing Group that was announced in February. “The teams at

UMG and UMPG are first rate,” Salomon says, “and their experience working

with Neil’s catalog, and his comfort level with them, were critical to the

process.”

Michael Perlstein

Robert Lieberman

Partners, Fischbach Perlstein Lieberman & Almond

In the past year, Lieberman and Perlstein have been involved in the trading

of music assets on both the buy and sell sides. On the buy side, they helped

client GoDigital Media Group navigate some complicated acquisitions,

including a few music catalogs. The firm also handled GoDigital’s acquisition

of Sound Royalties, a company that provides financing solutions to music

creators. From the sell side, the firm’s representation included working with

music creators in selling income streams derived from music used in

animated film and TV programs to Cutting Edge Music Holdings. Among

other capabilities, Cutting Edge provides a range of music services to films,

TV shows and video games, and has put together a $125 million fund with

Blantyre Capital to buy TV and film music rights, according to press reports.

Lee Phillips

Senior partner, Manatt Phelps & Phillips

Jordan Bromley

Leader of entertainment, Manatt Phelps & Phillips

Monika Tashman

Eric Custer

Gary Gilbert

Partners, Manatt Phelps & Phillips

Robert Jacobs

Partner, entertainment litigation, Manatt Phelps & Phillips

Manatt Phelps & Phillips boasts a diverse range of music clients that spans

veterans the Eagles, Paul Anka and Neil Young to contemporary acts Migos,

ODESZA and Sturgill Simpson. The firm’s 2021 docket included representing

sports and entertainment agency Wasserman’s acquisition of Paradigm

Talent Agency’s North American live-music business, Dundee Partners’

$1.1 billion deal for Kobalt Capital’s music rights portfolio and Marshmello

and Bastille’s win in a copyright suit over the hit “Happier.” “Music

consumption and integration is at an all-time high, generating billions in

wealth,” says Bromley. “Unfortunately, very little is going to the bottom line

for those who create the music. It is more critical than ever for all

participants in the value chain to work together to drive value to those who

create the music.”

Vince Phillips

Founding partner, Arrington & Phillips

Aurielle Brooks

Associate attorney, Arrington & Phillips; general counsel, Collective Gallery

Representing buzzworthy R&B/hip-hop clients like YoungBoy Never Broke

Again, Wolfpack Global Music/Lil Baby, Bow Wow, SpotemGottem and

Muni Long, Phillips says the biggest concern facing the music industry is

how artists leverage their star power to monetize their brands. “They need to

be smart in a way to not oversaturate themselves by making calculated

moves,” he says. Over the last year, the firm negotiated a global label deal for

YoungBoy Never Broke Again with Motown for his imprint, Never Broke

Again Entertainment, and also a separate deal with Atlantic to release his

independent album From the Bayou, alongside Birdman, which has reached

No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums

(https://www.billboard.com/charts/rap-albums/) chart.

The attorneys of Arrington & Phillips negotiated separate deals with Motown Records and Atlantic Records for

YoungBoy Never Broke Again.

Jimmy Fontaine*

Ta be th a Plu mmer

Entertainment lawyer and attorney, Plummer Law Group

Plummer, who represents artists including Anthony Hamilton, Jhené Aiko,

BJ the Chicago Kid, India.Arie and How Sweet the Sound, both successfully

negotiated a multimillion-dollar publishing deal for Chopsquad DJ and

acquired a music beat for a TikTok client after they had gained millions of

views. Her goal now? “Staying ahead of how music is used in connection with

technology and ensuring that all of the creatives involved in the creation of

the music are fairly compensated, from streaming platforms to use of music

in NFTs.”

Michael Poster

Partner, Michelman & Robinson

Last year, Poster was named head of Michelman & Robinson’s corporate and

securities department. He earned the promotion after advising longtime

client Massarsky Consulting, a boutique investment firm with music assets

valued at over $6.5 billion, in its acquisition by Citrin Cooperman. Poster,

who counts principals Barry Massarsky and Nari Matsuura as personal

friends, says the acquisition will “enable both companies to grow and

prosper for years to come.”

Gregor Pryor

Stephen Sessa

Partners/co-chairs, global entertainment and media industry group, Reed

Smith

Joshua Love

Edward Shapiro

Partners, global entertainment and media industry group, Reed Smith

During the pandemic, the London-based Pryor led an initiative for his firm

to author two white papers, a guide to livestreaming and a guide to the

metaverse, that were offered for free on the Reed Smith website to support

the industry during the COVID-19 shutdown. Sessa, who is co-chair with

Pryor of the firm’s entertainment and media industry group, serves as

outside counsel to Concord Music and has advised on all of the company’s

numerous recent acquisitions. In addition to negotiating a wide range of

deals for artists and companies, Love advises on the sale and acquisition of

recorded music and music publishing assets, as well as rights issues related

to digital distribution and new technologies. Among Shapiro’s achievements,

he handles all business and legal affairs for Avex USA. His clients include

Rihanna, Kaskade, Jon Bon Jovi (with Sessa), Bella Poarch, Saweetie, Anitta,

Ali Tamposi, Lord Huron, Josie Maran, Grimes and Angelina Jordan.

Rollin A. Ransom

Partner/co-leader of global commercial litigation and disputes practice,

Sidley Austin

Ransom is representing clients including Universal Music Group in a

putative class action suit in which the plaintiffs are seeking to reclaim the

rights to their recordings under the 1976 Copyright Revision Act. “This major

litigation is ongoing and currently proceeding through discovery,” says

Ransom. The case potentially affects “legions of recording artists from the

late 1970s and early 1980s who are looking to take advantage of this

statutory provision to attempt to reclaim ownership rights,” with later

generations of artists to follow. “Commentators have described the matter as

a ‘ticking time bomb.’ ”

Berkeley Reinhold

Founder/owner, Reinhold Global

Reinhold Global’s client list includes artists Marc Anthony, Thievery

Corporation and Spencer X (who has “55 million TikTok followers,” she

says); companies such as Live Nation, C3 Presents, Magnus Talent Agency

and Sound Talent Group; and festivals including Austin City Limits,

Bonnaroo, BeachLife, Lollapalooza and Global Citizen. For the 24-hour

Global Citizen Live broadcast last September, Reinhold served as chief

outside counsel with responsibility for artist contracts, as well as TV

production and event production agreements. The concert, which featured

performances by over 50 acts including Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Jennifer

Lopez and BTS, raised over $1.1 billion in commitments and pledges to fight

poverty and climate change through the planting of 157 million trees

worldwide. In Reinhold’s view, “climate change” is the most pressing

concern facing the music industry in 2022.

Elliot A. Resnik

Partner/chair of entertainment, Masur Griffitts Avidor

Resnik’s clients include hip-hop duo Run the Jewels and music agencies All

Things Go Music, Convicts Agency and Heard Entertainment. He also

represents the National Independent Venue Association in its efforts to help

revive the live-entertainment industry. He assisted the tourism agency

NYC & Co. to secure the rights to music including Chic’s “Good Times” to

promote the post-pandemic reopening of New York. “I’ve never been happier

to be able to see both the city and our live business back in full swing.”

Jaimie Roberts

Founding partner, Roberts & Hafitz

Harry Roberts

Attorney, Roberts & Hafitz

Roberts & Hafitz’s clients include hitmakers such as The Chainsmokers and

Robin Thicke, as well as Arthouse Records & Publishing, whose signee

GAYLE topped the Billboard Global 200

(https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-global-200/) in early

2022 with breakout hit “abcdefu.” With major labels turning their attention

to TikTok in an age of viral-made hits, the father-and-son team helped guide

numerous rising talents through label bidding wars such as BoyWithUke,

Ricky Montgomery, Chloe George and Lilyisthatyou. Harry, son of founding

partner Jaimie, says he is concerned with issues including “the low

compensation paid to songwriters, particularly by digital streaming

services.”

Carlos Rodriguez-Feliz

Founder/managing attorney, RodFel Law

For client Rapetón Networks, led by Angel “El Guru” Vera, Rodriguez-Feliz

says his RodFel firm negotiated a joint artist development venture with

Yandel’s label, Y Entertainment Records. The deal created Rapetón

Approved in 2020, a platform “for increasing exposure for Latin artists from

the start of their careers,” he says. Rodriguez-Feliz — whose notable clients

also include Lenny Tavárez, Cerebro (a producer for Sech) and Álvaro Díaz —

handles all legal matters for Rapetón Approved, and was co-counsel for its

deal with Warner Music Latina to “support the venture in reaching our goals

with the artists that participate in the project.”

Angela Rogers

Owner, Rogers Law Group

For Rogers, who represents rappers Nardo Wick, Coi Leray, G Herbo, EST

Gee and Tink, the most pressing issue facing the industry is streaming

services’ royalty rates for songwriters. As the Copyright Royalty Board works

to set fair rates for mechanical streaming royalties, Rogers notes that “having

more artists and songwriters advocate and be aware of what’s happening will

only help get the rates up.” Music, though, isn’t Rogers’ sole focus: For visual

artist Shantell Martin, the attorney negotiated an exclusive collaboration

with Adidas/MakerLab and a deal with the Boston Ballet for Martin’s first

choreographic work, ChoreograpHER.

Oswaldo Rossi advised Karol G in the renewal of her Kobalt publishing deal and tour sponsorship with AT&T.

Omar Vega/GI

Oswaldo Rossi

Founder/managing partner, Rossi

John Baldivia

Senior associate attorney, Rossi

Rossi, the former vp of business affairs at EMI Latin/Capitol Latin,

represents a trove of Latin artists, including Karol G (for the renewal of her

publishing agreement with Kobalt and tour sponsorship with AT&T) and

Nicky Jam (for his partnership with La Industria Bakery and his European

tour). Rossi also advised Noah Assad on his publishing administration

agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group and Rich Music on its

renewal of Sech’s deal. His clients also include Paloma Mami, Manuel Turizo,

Danny Ocean and the estate of Jenni Rivera.

Neema Sahni

Partner/co-chair, music industry group/vice chair, sports industry group,

Covington & Burling

Jonathan Sperling

Partner/chair, music industry group, Covington & Burling

Adrian Perry

Partner/co-chair, music industry group, Covington & Burling

Covington & Burlington (along with co-counsel from Oppenheim + Zebrak)

represent both the record labels and the publishing companies of the three

major music groups in copyright infringement actions against Charter

Communications and Bright House based on their failure to take action

against subscribers who they knew were pirating music. In another area of

focus, Perry looks forward to the “exciting and novel opportunities for

platforms, creators and rights holders” presented by NFTs and the

metaverse, but is also wary of how they “present great challenges if not

managed thoughtfully.”

Diana A. Sanders

Co-chair, music practice group, Russ August & Kabat

Stanton “Larry” Stein

Chair, media and entertainment practice group, Russ August & Kabat

Ashley R. Yeargan

Co-chair, film and TV practice group, Russ August & Kabat

Stein and Yeargan are “currently representing Drake in a number of

litigation matters, including prosecution of a right of publicity claim and

defense of numerous cases filed in connection with the Astroworld festival,”

says Stein, adding that Sanders’ work with offerings of security tokens and

NFTs allows “for investments in companies that entitle investors to potential

returns from music royalties.” The firm’s clients also include Post Malone

and Roddy Ricch.

Michael Selverne

Managing partner, Selverne Kelley Bradford

Selverne has been involved in some high-profile music asset transactions

over the last few years, including helping Round Hill Music prepare the

company to go public prior to its launch as a song catalog royalty fund on the

London Stock Exchange. While his firm has been involved in both sides of

transactions, the majority of Selverne’s work is representing institutions in

acquisitions, financing, due diligence and business affairs, he says. The main

event at the firm in the past year was adding two name partners, Palisa

Kelley and Scott Bradford.

Nyanza Shaw

Owner/managing partner, Shaw Esquire

After watching the success of The Eastie Boyz-produced “Chosen” — by Blxst

with features from Tyga and Ty Dolla $ign, and got a boost last year thanks

to TikTok — Shaw is now eager to see her clients Tha Eastie Boyz enjoy a

similar lift thanks to a “major” publishing deal that she negotiated with

Warner Chappell. With a client roster that includes recent Atlantic Records

signee Jayson Cash and R&B artist Sainvil, Shaw’s negotiations remain more

important than ever: “Artists and musicians have to be a jack-of-all-trades

and be much more entrepreneurial — but are making way less money in

return,” she says.

Jodie Shihadeh

Founder/owner, Shihadeh Law

Marquis “Quest” Malloy

Associate attorney, Shihadeh Law

With a client list packed with artists, songwriters and producers ranging

from El Guincho to producer Roy Lenzo (Lil Nas X), Shihadeh and Malloy

are well acquainted with both their clients’ specific interests and larger

industry trends. Shihadeh recently helped Grammy Award-winning producer

J White Did It (Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, 21 Savage) form More Hits

Publishing in partnership with Milk & Honey and negotiated a publishing

venture for it with Downtown Music Publishing. “Transparency in

accountings for streaming revenue is an issue that doesn’t get a lot of

attention,” says Shihadeh, “but has an enormous impact on gauging the

fairness and accuracy of a creator’s royalty income.”

Daniel Shulman

Owen Sloane

Andrew Tavel

Partners, Eisner

Over the past year, Eisner’s music team has negotiated numerous deals to

generate alternative sources of revenue for recording artists, including those

in the NFT and branding spaces, while also striking residency agreements for

clients in Las Vegas and at Carnegie Hall in New York. The firm represents

acts such as Matchbox Twenty, Suzanne Vega, G-Eazy, Sophie B. Hawkins,

Andreas Vollenweider and Jon Batiste; songwriters and producers including

Jasper Lee Harris, Boi-1da and Barry Eastmond; and, perhaps most notably,

the estate of late R&B star Aaliyah.

Simran A. Singh

Managing partner, Singh Singh & Trauben

Christopher R. Navarro

Partner, Singh Singh & Trauben

The firm represented Daddy Yankee in his sponsorship and ambassadorship

deals with Airbnb, Sprite and Samsung. For Natti Natasha, the firm helped

close a partnership with Amazon for her reality show, Everybody Loves

Natti, and deals with global brands like MAC, GrubHub and Sugar Bear.

Singh and Navarro also assisted Duars Entertainment and Rauw Alexandro

with the renewal and extension of their partnership with Sony Music Latin.

Alex Spiro

Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

Spiro defended Jay-Z from accusations that he violated an endorsement

contract for a Gold Jay-Z cologne brand, eventually winning a trial verdict in

November that cleared the rapper of wrongdoing and avoided paying

$67 million in requested damages. A former Manhattan prosecutor who later

worked for legendary celebrity defense attorney Benjamin Brafman, Spiro

declined to disclose his other industry clients, but he defended rapper Bobby

Shmurda on drug and gun charges and has represented Megan Thee Stallion

in connection with her shooting by Tory Lanez. He also penned a letter to

New York lawmakers on behalf of Meek Mill and many other artists, calling

on legislators to ban the use of rap lyrics in criminal prosecutions.

Rachel Stilwell

Founder/CEO, Stilwell Law

Stilwell Law represents country veteran LeAnn Rimes and Argentine singer-

songwriter Noel Schajris, as well as the MusicFIRST Coalition, Future of

Music Coalition and Lyte, the live-event ticketing platform. The attorney sees

fair compensation for musicians as the most pressing concern facing the

industry in 2022. “Professional musicians are still woefully

undercompensated for the use of their work across all platforms,” she says,

noting that “this is true with respect to both recording artists and

songwriters. Continued challenges to touring make economics brutal for

performers and those who support them.”

Michael Sukin

President, Sukin Law Group

Sukin Law Group’s estate business has kept the firm busy, including

initiating the planning for celebrations for what would have been Aretha

Franklin’s 80th birthday on March 25, as well as this year’s 50th anniversary

of her landmark Amazing Grace album. Working with George Gershwin’s

heirs, Sukin was able to recover ownership of Gershwin’s masterpiece

“Rhapsody in Blue.” Going forward, Sukin, who also represents the writers of

the musical Les Misérables and the Johnny Marks estate’s St. Nicholas

Music, says the most pressing issue facing the music industry is “the

continuing efforts to restrict the income and rights of recording artists and

songwriters.”

Ron Sweeney

Founder, Ron Sweeney & Co.

A leading attorney in the business for over four decades who has represented

artists ranging from James Brown to Lil Wayne, Sweeney perhaps made his

biggest impact of this decade outside of his official work with his own firm.

In 2020, he wrote an open letter called “Elephant in the Room” to instruct

the industry on “how to address the inequities [in the business] as it relates

to Black people.” The letter’s impact was widely felt: “The majors responded,

among other things, by eliminating the unrecouped artist royalty accounts

for artists signed before 2000, as I suggested in the letter,” Sweeney says. “A

lot of artists, Black and white, are now getting paid.”

Adam Van Straten

Principal, Van Straten Solicitors

Van Straten represented The O’Jays when Round Hill Music Royalty Fund

acquired the masters to 532 of the group’s original recordings, including

classics such as “Love Train” and “Now That We Found Love.” His

overarching mission? To secure “equitable remuneration in an increasingly

tech-centric industry” for clients Craig David, KT Tunstall, Bad Boy Chiller

Crew and Koffee, he says. “It is crucial that the music industry adopts

technologies in a way that treats artists and songwriters fairly, allowing them

to appropriately maximize any potential alternative income streams.”

James L. Walker Jr.

President, Walker & Associates

Over the past three decades, Walker’s Atlanta-based firm has represented

high-profile music clients including Aretha Franklin and Bobbi Humphrey,

as well as distinguished civil rights leaders, such as the families of Dr. Martin

Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Dick Gregory, among others. Walker is

managing cases in 15 jurisdictions, with two recent copyright infringement

cases involving client Andre Sims, whose lawsuit against producer Darhyl

“DJ” Camper over the H.E.R. track “Focus” was settled in 2021.

Douglas Wigdor

Founding partner, Wigdor

Michael Willemin

Partner, Wigdor

Wigdor and Willemin represented Deborah Dugan, the former Recording

Academy president/CEO, in her claims of gender discrimination, sexual

harassment and retaliation that resulted in a confidential settlement in June

2021. Willemin calls that “a case study in leveraging the legal system to

effectuate industrywide change,” noting that after Dugan came forward with

her allegations, the academy implemented or announced numerous large-

scale changes. The firm’s other clients include former Miami Dolphins head

coach Brian Flores and former Fox News producer Jennifer Eckhart, in

employment discrimination and sexual harassment disputes, respectively.

Jeff Worob

Craig Averill

Joseph Serling

Partners, Serling Rooks Hunter mcKoy Worob & Averill

Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy Worob & Averill’s clients span Maroon 5, Hall

& Oates, Leon Bridges and 50 Cent, whose surprise performance at the Pepsi

Super Bowl LVI halftime show was negotiated by the firm. In addition, the

firm has represented both buyers and sellers in multimillion-dollar asset

purchases and sales agreements, including Kobalt Music and Iconoclast.

Says Serling: “Always in the music business, one of the most pressing

concerns is ascertaining and commercializing the next major area of music

exploitation after streaming.”

The firm of Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy Worob & Averill negotiated 50 Cent’s performance at the Pepsi Super Bowl

LV I h al ft i me sh ow.

Kevin C. Cox/GI

Andrea Yankovsky

Founder, Yankovsky Law

Defining her mission as getting power and profits into the hands of

individuals and small businesses “who actually make the music,” Yankovsky

in 2020 created the OutHouse Counsel program to offer legal and business

guidance to independent artists and their allies, “helping them to get their

music out into the world, manage their rights — and make damn good money

doing it,” she says. Her clients have included ArtistShare, home to Maria

Schneider and others, which launched its partner label, Sam First Records,

last year.

Helen Yu

Principal attorney, Yu Leseberg

Yu represented Argentine trap star Paulo Londra in a two-year legal battle

with Cristian Salazar and producer Daniel Oviedo (aka Ovy on the Drums),

with whom he co-founded Big Ligas in 2018. In August, Yu reached a

settlement under which Londra has no further obligations to Big Ligas,

clearing the way for Londra to sign a new deal with Warner Music Latina in

March. Yu’s clients also include Ty Dolla $ign, individual members of the

Black Eyed Peas (as well as songwriters and producers for the group), Diane

Warren, Jeff Gitelman, Gerardo Ortiz, and Jess Jackson, who co-produced

four tracks on Pop Smoke’s posthumous album, Shoot for the Stars Aim for

the Moon (Deluxe).

Adam Zia

Owner/partner, The Zia Firm

Nate Kuo

Partner, The Zia Firm

The Zia Firm’s client list includes Machine Gun Kelly, Bia, Tierra Whack,

Bandsintown and artist-songwriter Starrah (Rihanna, Maroon 5), who

secured a new joint venture with Pulse Music Group in March. Founder Zia

describes working with Starrah as a journey that “brought her from a young

songwriter to a superstar songwriter to now a publishing executive and

owner of her own company, 3:02 Publishing,” he says. The firm ventured

into new territory as well, representing the virtual music group Kingship in

its precedent-setting record deal with Universal Music Group’s Web3 label,

10:22PM.

Contributors

: Darlene Aderoju, Rania Aniftos, Cathy Applefeld Olson, Katie

Bain, Steve Baltin, Alexei Barrionuevo, Starr Bowenbank, Dave Brooks,

Dean Budnick, Anna Chan, Ed Christman, Leila Cobo, Mariel Concepcion,

Stephen Daw, Bill Donahue, Thom Duffy, Chris Eggertsen, Griselda Flores,

Josh Glicksman, Paul Grein, Lyndsey Havens, Steve Knopper, Juliana

Koranteng, Carl Lamarre, Cydney Lee, Joe Levy, Joe Lynch, Heran Mamo,

Geoff Mayfield, Taylor Mims, Gail Mitchell, Melinda Newman, Jessica

Nicholson, Glenn Peoples, Bryan Reesman, Kristin Robinson, Jessica Roiz,

Neena Rouhani, Dan Rys, Micah Singleton, Richard Smirke, Eric

Spitznagel, Jaelani Turner-Williams, Andrew Unterberger, Christine

Werthman, Jewel Wicker, Deborah Wilker, Nick Williams, Todd “Stereo”

Williams

Leading Law Schools of the Top Music Lawyers

Methodology

Nominations for Billboard’s executive lists open no less than

120 days in advance of publication. (For a contact for our editorial

calendar, please email [email protected].) The online nomination

link is sent to press representatives who send a request for notification

before the nomination period to [email protected]. Billboard’s Top

Music Lawyers for 2022 were chosen by editors based on factors including,

but not limited to, nominations by peers, colleagues and superiors. In-house

counsels were limited to the companies shown. Otherwise, Top Music

Lawyers focused on outside counsels. In addition to information requested

with nominations, editors consider attorneys’ representation of clients with

notable music industry impact. That impact is measured by metrics

including, but not limited to, chart, sales and streaming performance as

measured by Luminate (formerly MRC Data) and social media impressions

using data available as of Feb. 13.

The most frequently cited alma maters of the 2022 class of honorees.

The Bullocks Wilshire Building at Southwestern Law School.

Richard Manirath/Southwestern Law School

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University (New York)

Enrollment: 909

Brooklyn Law School (Brooklyn)

Enrollment: 1,037

Columbia Law School, Columbia University (New York)

Enrollment: 1,263

Fordham University School of Law (New York)

Enrollment: 1,100

Harvard Law School, Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.)

Enrollment: 1,715

New York University School of Law (New York)

Enrollment: 1,370

Southwestern Law School (Los Angeles)

Enrollment: 670

University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Berkeley, Calif.)

Enrollment: 1,045

University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law (Los Angeles)

Enrollment: 1,022

University of Southern California Gould School of Law (Los Angeles)

Enrollment: 599

*Enrollments source: U.S. News & World Report

This story originally appeared in the March 26, 2022, issue

of Billboard. (https://shop.billboard.com/products/march-26-

2022-issue-4)

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