Music
The modern music industry is a far cry from its roots in the early 20th century. Innovation and disruption have led to significant transformation in recent years, driving both new opportunities and unexpected complexities. Some of the world’s most prominent and decorated artists, musicians and songwriters, record labels, industry executives, event and festival producers, rights owners, agencies and advertisers rely on Armstrong Teasdale for sound legal advice backed by decades of experience.
Our lawyers include musicians and dancers, professional film and stage actors, former licensed sports agents and in-house attorneys for iconic Fortune 500 brands. As such, our team has a deep understanding of the business and some of the world’s preeminent studios.
We counsel clients in all aspects of global music management, licensing and intellectual property, ticketing and events, brand marketing and protection, financing (including blockchain and nonfungible tokens), technology and digital media. We also advise clients seeking to license music or acquire ownership rights for distribution given the proliferation of streaming and emerging media platforms, as well as more traditional film, theater and gaming applications. Our robust, cross-disciplinary team also counsels clients in matters involving regulatory bodies and labor unions internationally, including the American Federation of Musicians, SAG-AFTRA, the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers, and The Musicians' Union (U.K.).
We work seamlessly with music and entertainment industry clients, helping them remain authentic to their voice and achieve their strategic goals by leveraging a diverse skill set:
- Acquisition and exploitation of music rights
- Advertising regulation
- Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and E-sports
- Business Entity Formation and Dissolution
- Composer agreements
- Contests, Sweepstakes and Loyalty Programs
- Employment Matters
- Endorsement Deals and Cause Marketing
- Estate Planning and Wealth Management
- Foundations and Philanthropic Pursuits
- Franchising and Distribution
- Intellectual Property (Patent, Copyright, Trademark)
- Investment Opportunities
- Licensing and Distribution
- Litigation and Disputes
- Live events
- Marketing and Advertising
- Management and agency agreements
- Non-fungible token (NFT) agreements
- Partnership agreements
- Piracy
- Production
- Publishing
- Real Estate
- Recording agreements
- Reputation management
- Royalties
- Social Media
- Sponsorship agreements
- Streaming and Digital Media
- Talent Agreements
- Websites and E-Commerce
Experience
Formation of Music Production Company
Acted for a manager and songwriters who wished to form a company that would act on behalf of various artists in the capacity of a manager, independent record label and publisher. This instruction included advice on voidability and/or unenforceability of certain structures and documents as a result of undue influence and/or restraint of trade (with particular focus on case law in the music industry). Also drafted and negotiated the documents governing the arrangements, which included articles of association and a shareholders’ agreement, an artist management agreement, a record label agreement and a music publishing agreement.
Intellectual Property Litigation Dispute for World-Renowned Music Legend
Acted for a world-renowned global recording artist who instructed AT to take action in the U.K. to protect the artist’s intellectual property rights. The case concerned a claim against an individual who was committing a number of infringements against the recording artist’s intellectual property, including infringing the artist’s copyright and trade mark rights. Dispute was successfully resolved at an early stage on confidential terms.
Exploitation of Music Rights
Acted for a video game developer in the licensing and commercial exploitation of several musical scores within a suite of popular and well-known video games.
