Practice Areas

Entertainment and Media -- Music Industry

From day-to-day transactional matters — such as recording agreements, publishing agreements, producer and mixer agreements, and music and content licensing — to joint venture agreements and imprint deals, the purchase and sale of music catalogs and music companies, debt and equity financing for music and technology companies, and the use of artificial intelligence, the firm’s music industry practice regularly advises public and private companies, global entertainment and media conglomerates, asset managers, family offices, talent, public figures and entrepreneurs to help them navigate the dynamic and ever-evolving music industry.

Our attorneys achieve the business needs of our clients across the music industry so they can focus on what they do best — driving forward their creative endeavors and launching the technological and commercial innovations that shape the future of music and entertainment. Our interdisciplinary team of leading lawyers is uniquely qualified to advise clients on the interplay of music media and technology and provide strategic guidance on new media business models.

Unparalleled Multidisciplinary Music, Entertainment and Media Practice

The music practice is led by one of the industry’s most sought-after dealmakers and advisers who is perennially ranked at the top of the market. Repeatedly recognized by Billboard as a “Top Music Lawyer” and Variety as a “Top Entertainment Dealmaker,” he is well known for successfully guiding several of the entertainment industry’s most notable transactions. Together, our music team offers deep industry expertise to address sector-specific challenges and deliver innovative, tactical and effective guidance. Our integrated, full-service approach ensures we design custom strategies that meet the distinct needs of each client.

The breadth and depth of the music industry practice is augmented by the broader, premier Entertainment and Media practice and the resources of the firm’s other preeminent practices, including corporate, private equity, finance and private credit, tax and other disciplines that play a key role in achieving our client’s strategic goals. We seamlessly collaborate to provide our clients with coordinated, multidisciplinary support to navigate high-stakes transactions, including domestic and cross-border M&A, take-privates, corporate carve-outs, joint ventures, strategic alliances and takeover defense.

We also boast a market-leading entertainment and media litigation practice that represents a broad array of clients, from motion picture studios, television networks and independent production companies to private equity and other entertainment investment entities, music companies, electronic game companies and leading individuals such as directors, writers, producers and songwriters. Our team continues to chart new territory as we remain at the forefront of litigation, dispute resolution and client counselling in novel areas such as NFTs, deepfake technologies, streaming production and distribution rights, and highly sensitive internal investigations that reflect rapidly-evolving technological and cultural changes. Clients rely on our industry acumen and legal expertise to address their most significant matters and navigate new paths to growth in this increasingly global and dynamic environment.

Our Areas of Expertise

Recording and music publishing agreements, joint ventures and label imprints.
Purchase and sale of music catalogs and music companies.
Music company and asset debt and equity financings, including asset-backed finance transactions and fund formation.
New media business models involving recorded or live music.
Complex content and licensing arrangements at the intersection of new media and technology.
Music-driven endorsement and sponsorship arrangements.
Live touring, location-based entertainment, event production, labor, trade and venue matters.

Representative Matters

Numerous buyers and sellers on the purchase and sale of various music publishing and sound recording catalogs and income streams, as well as related joint venture label and publishing partnerships, including transactions involving Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, KISS, Deadmau5, Joe Cocker, Brad Paisley, Heart, Dennis DeYoung and many more.
Primary Wave on some of its largest and most complex acquisitions and financing transactions, including with Village People and several Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame and Grammy Award-winning producers and recording artists.
Primary Wave in connection with the sponsorship and management of multiple music intellectual property investment funds and separate accounts, upper-tier strategic transactions and related matters.
Primary Wave in its strategic partnership with Brookfield Asset Management valued in excess of $2 billion.
Create Music Group in connection with a $165 million investment by Flexpoint Ford at a $1 billion valuation.
Create Music Group as outside music counsel on M&A matters, including a music catalog acquisition and joint venture with deadmau5, one of the world’s most respected and influential electronic music producers of all-time; the cross-border acquisition of Fruits Music, the Danish music and technology company, founded by former DJ, Stef Van Vugt; and numerous other music catalog and company acquisitions and joint venture partnerships.
Create Music Group’s 10+ music catalog and music company acquisitions, both domestic and international.
Peloton Interactive on all aspects of music licensing and economic modeling and negotiating blanket music licenses with Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and dozens of record labels and publishers, and the handling of various artist partnerships, including with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N’ Roses, Beyoncé, David Bowie Estate, Elvis Presley Estate, Imagine Dragons and many more.
Buyer of the music publishing company and personal catalog of a multi-Grammy and Country Award-winning singer-songwriter and a go-forward joint venture for songwriter co-publishing deals and administration valued at $200+ million.
Credit Suisse, as lender and structuring agent, in an asset-backed financing to support the acquisition by a KKR-led consortium of a $1.1 billion music portfolio that includes more than 62,000 copyrights.
An iconic Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame recording artist and songwriter in connection with a $400+ million transaction related to the sale of a publishing catalog and go-forward record deal, including corporate and tax matters.
Various independent music companies in connection with all aspects of the music industry business, including artist recording and 360 deals, co-publishing, administration and distribution deals.
Grammy Award-winning and world-renowned producer and mixer Manny Marroquin in connection with musical recordings for Justin Bieber, Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande, Glass Animals, Yung Gravy, Cage the Elephant, Travis Scott, Post Malone and many other A-list artists.
SPIN in its partnership with 101 Studios to develop and produce film, television and podcast projects based on SPIN’s IP and music magazine library.
A private equity sponsor in the creation of BEATS partnership with Andre Young and Jimmy Iovine.
Banc of California, as administrative agent and lender, in connection with a senior secured revolving credit facility to a global music content acquisition and distribution business in acquisition financings involving catalogs of over 75,000 artists.
CIT Bank, N.A., as joint lead arranger and lender, in connection with a senior secured revolving credit and term loan facility to Concord, one of the world’s largest independent music holding companies.
Crossroads Live, a global theatre producer, in connection with a multi-million-dollar financing obtained from a leading private investment firm.
Vine-managed funds in connection with the sale to Shamrock’s Content Strategy of a portfolio of music and other entertainment content assets comprising more than 450 songs and thousands of hours of film and television content.
A major investment fund in connection with a multi-million debt financing of a leading independent full-service promoter of live entertainment.
TikTok in connection with a multi-year content and promotional partnership with Red Bull Media pursuant to which the parties will collaborate on various content and event initiatives for exclusive distribution on TikTok.
BMG on a variety of music endeavors.
HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment), a South Korean entertainment lifestyle platform company, in the $1 billion acquisition of Ithaca Holdings, a fully integrated media company with interests across music, tech, film, television, brands and culture.
101 Studios on a wide range of music and non-music matters and initiatives.
Shamrock Capital Advisors on various investment transactions into entertainment and media companies, including Religion of Sports and Boardwalk Pictures.
The Estate of Joe Cocker and his widow, Pam Cocker, in the sale of his music catalog to Irving Azoff’s company, Iconic Artists Agency.
Intel and Greenlight Media in connection with Lady Gaga’s Grammy Performance tribute to the late David Bowie and behind-the-scenes film project.
Global live events, including opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
Vector Capital in its acquisition of Mood Media, the world’s leading in-store media solutions company dedicated to elevating the Customer Experience.
Mood Media in its acquisition of Vibenomics, the leading in-store digital advertising solution provider.
Symphony Technology Group in its acquisition and take private of Avid Technology, Inc., a technology and multimedia company that develops digital editing systems and audio, video and music notation software.
An ad hoc group of secured noteholders and lenders to SFX Entertainment, now known as LiveStyle, the largest global producer of live events and digital entertainment content focused on electronic music.
William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME) in an appeal brought by Virgin Fest challenging the summary judgment victory secured for WME in a force majeure dispute regarding the cancellation of a music festival. In a published opinion, the court of appeal upheld the summary judgment ruling in WME’s favor, bringing to a close the three-plus year dispute.
Lakeshore Records in selling their film music rights to Cutting Edge, a leading music financier and services provider for film, TV and advertising.
Envy Gaming in its collaboration with Post Malone, primarily handling the equity portion of the deal.
Universal Music Group in several landmark copyright infringement lawsuits concerning the legality of displaying and distributing copyrighted music videos on “user-generated content” websites and the scope of the safe harbors of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for such activities.
Warner Music Group in multiple class actions relating to exploitation rights and compensation.
Recording Industry Association of America in a copyright infringement lawsuit against LimeWire.
MCA Records in the long-running litigation with the Buddy Holly Estate and the Crickets.
Life is Beautiful Music Festival in a trademark and copyright suit (affirmed on appeal), obtaining summary judgment and attorneys’ fees.
Raven Capital Management in its loan to Outback Presents, an independent entertainment promoter; in its equity position in Crossroads Live, a global platform for live entertainment; and in its joint venture managing a JV that owns Endurance Music Group, the music publishing and rights management provider for Raven Music Partners, and a music portfolio.