what can a entertainment lawyer do for my music career

by Ms. Haylee Sawayn 10 min read

Entertainment lawyers help manage the legal aspects of performing careers. In music-business law, an attorney's duties can include: Writing performance contracts

Among the many tasks they attend to for musicians are trademark registration, formation of a publishing company, song licensing, formalizing and dissolving internal band agreements, and getting out of bad deals. Entertainment lawyers also help fledgling businesses, such as indie labels, properly establish themselves as ...

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What is the job description for an entertainment lawyer?

As a Music Lawyer, you protect the business interests of [career_link composers], [career_link recording-artists], and bands. Falling within the broader category of [career_link attorney], the Music Lawyer handles mostly contract negotiations. Working closely with [career_link record-producers], [career_link concert-promoters], and Recording Artists, the Music Lawyer gets the …

How much does an entertainment lawyer cost?

One of the key functions of a music lawyer (and entertainment lawyer) is that of a deal maker. The entertainment industry, and specifically the music industry, can be very contract-heavy. An entertainment attorney that works as a music lawyer will review and, often, draft contract to protect the interests of his or her clients.

How to become an entertainment attorney?

Dec 19, 2013 · If you are an actor/actress, model, singer/songwriter, artist, a musician, band, photographer, scriptwriter, producer, filmmaker, or are writing, producing books, movies, songs, or anything else, you should get an entertainment lawyer to make sure: 1) you are on equal bargaining terms with a much larger agency, label, production company, or studio; 2) that you …

What do entertainment lawyers charge?

Anyone in the music business will need to hire any one of the good Music Lawyers available. These lawyers can help keep you from making a big mistake with your money or contracts. The entertainment business is one of the fields that have many people who will not look out for your best interest, even when they say they do.

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What type of lawyers work in the music industry?

Entertainment Attorneys handle all legal matters for musicians. This includes contractual agreements, negotiating, advice, and counseling.Jul 3, 2020

Are entertainment lawyers in demand?

Entertainment Lawyer Growth Trend Jobs for lawyers, including entertainment lawyers, are expected to increase 9 percent in the next decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS.Jan 20, 2022

Do entertainment lawyers make a lot of money?

The salaries of Entertainment Lawyers in the US range from $10,018 to $187,200 , with a median salary of $18,674 . The middle 57% of Entertainment Lawyers makes between $18,674 and $74,346, with the top 86% making $187,200.

Where do entertainment lawyers make the most money?

What are Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Entertainment Attorney JobsCityAnnual SalaryHourly WageManhattan, NY$103,718$49.86Barnstable Town, MA$102,913$49.48Cambridge, MA$102,724$49.39San Mateo, CA$101,937$49.016 more rows

What is the highest paid lawyer?

Medical lawyers are among the highest-paid types of lawyers and earn one of the highest median salaries in the legal field.

How do you become an entertainment lawyer?

How to become an entertainment lawyer? If you're considering a career path in entertainment law, many universities in India offer an LL. M and an online degree or diploma program. However, you initially require a law degree to be eligible for consideration.Jun 15, 2021

How much do Nintendo lawyers make?

543 Nintendo of America employees have shared their salaries on Glassdoor. Select your job title and find out how much you could make at Nintendo of America....Nintendo of America Salaries.Job TitleSalaryLawyer salaries - 1 salaries reported$186,163/yrCorporate Counsel salaries - 1 salaries reported$212,652/yr2 more rows

What type of law is entertainment?

Entertainment law, also referred to as media law, is legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services in entertainment law overlap with intellectual property law. Intellectual property has many moving parts that include trademarks, copyright, and the "Right of Publicity".

What is media law?

Media law is law that regulates media production and use. Media law can encompass many different types of media including broadcast television, internet and print media.

How much do divorce lawyers make?

Salary Ranges for Divorce Lawyers The salaries of Divorce Lawyers in the US range from $25,415 to $679,997 , with a median salary of $121,978 . The middle 57% of Divorce Lawyers makes between $121,979 and $306,401, with the top 86% making $679,997.

How much money do celebrity lawyers make?

Celebrity attorneys charge a flat fee plus a commission, and generally earn $100k – $2 million.

How much do entertainment lawyers make in NYC?

The average salary for Entertainment Lawyer Jobs in New York is $160,500*.

What is a music lawyer?

A music lawyer is a specialized attorney who deals with legal issues surrounding the music industry. They are trained to handle a wide range of legal issues, like contract management, copyright claims, trademark disputes, artist representation, and many more. While their duties are similar to those of other lawyers, ...

What is Chase Lawyers?

Chase Lawyers is an entertainment law firm comprised of veteran attorneys with considerable experience in the music industry.

What is a recording agreement?

Signing a recording agreement is a big step in any artist’s career, especially for the ones who are new to the industry. However, artists may unknowingly agree to terms that might not be favorable to them in the long run, like selling their rights to a record label.

What is entertainment lawyer?

What is an entertainment lawyer? Unlike divorce or corporate lawyers, an entertainment lawyer represents and protects the interests of creatives, companies and others in the many areas of the entertainment industry, such as film, television, new media, theater, publishing and music.

How much does a retainer cost?

It may start at $1000 for contractual and/or advisement issues and go up to $100,000 should they be retained for litigation. Before agreeing to any terms with an entertainment lawyer, inquire about their retainer fee.

Can an emerging creative lawyer be an entertainment lawyer?

And while true that these professionals can foster your career and provide some of the same benefits as an entertainment lawyer, namely industry connections and career advice, neither have the legal expertise of an entertainment lawyer.

What is intellectual property?

Intellectual property, or IP, is big business. From a screenwriter’s spec script to a musician’s original song, anything created within this industry necessitates protection from those who may want to buy it, option it, license it—or infringe upon it with unauthorized use. An entertainment lawyer can see to it that a client’s intellectual property is handled properly and protected when copyright or trademark issues arise.

Can an entertainment lawyer be hired as an employee?

Unless you are potentially forming a company that would require the ongoing services of an entertainment lawyer, they would not be hired as an employee. Rather, they are a contractor who is part of a law firm or the proprietor of their own business.

Is entertainment lawyer specialized?

The nature of work for an entertainment lawyer is highly specialized. That in part explains the costly fees for them. However, it also indicates the extensive education they must attain to be skilled at their job.

Which states offer competitive financial advantages for productions?

Many states outside of California and New York offer competitive financial advantages for productions, making it attractive to creatives on a budget to film in these other locations with local crew and other resources at their disposal.

What to Know Before You Seek an Attorney to Represent You

Heather McDonald wrote about music careers for The Balance Careers. She has worked in the music industry for over two decades.

Determine Your Needs

Music lawyers are under the umbrella of entertainment law, and many specialize in a certain part of the music industry. Understanding what you need legal help with will make it easier for you to find a lawyer who is up to the task. Knowing whether you are looking to build a long-term relationship with a lawyer is also something to consider.

How to Find a Lawyer

Once you know what you need from a lawyer, start asking those in your music industry circles. You are almost certain to know someone who has had to visit a lawyer for a music industry issue before.

Meet With Your Short List

Whether you do it by phone or in person, have a brief question and answer session with your short list of lawyers. Find out what they specialize in, how soon they can work on your case, how much they charge and what their payment terms are. If you get a bad feeling or just don't hit it off with a candidate, don't feel any obligation to hire them.

Why is it important to have a music lawyer?

A good music lawyer is essential to your success in the music and entertainment business. Having an entertainment lawyer experienced with the inner workings of the music industry could be the difference between either a long and successful career in the music industry or a “could have been” status.

What can a music attorney do?

A music attorney can help with a wide range of legal services. While this list is by no means exhaustive, here are the three most common type of services that we handle for our clients.

What is a music lawyer?

While this might be the most over-looked services that a music attorney can offer, it is one of the most important. Music lawyers are entertainment lawyers that have a general knowledge of the inner workings of the music industry (if the attorney is good at least).

Do I Need an Entertainment Lawyer? How Entertainment Lawyers Work and When to Hire One

One of the biggest mistakes many artists, bands, and other talent make during the course of their entertainment careers is not getting legal help soon enough. Many aspiring authors, musicians, actors, producers, models, bands, and others often make the error of relying on their managers or agents to pair them up with a lawyer.

Our FAQs answer the most common issues faced by entertainment clients

We have an extensive FAQ Library that covers the most common questions we get from entertainment clients, as well as FAQs on the most relevant legal issues.

Have we counseled clients like your? All the time

We have represented a variety of entertainment clients in numerous industries across multiple disciplines and practice matters. Here are some of the highlights.

What does an agent do?

Agents book performers' live appearances at events such as concerts or festivals. They also arrange things like commercials or sponsorships. Agents usually earn a percentage of what a concert or other appearance brings in. But because they aren't usually involved in recording projects, they don't get a share of music sales.

How many hours do people listen to music?

After all, people listen to more music now than they did just a few years ago. It's true: According to Nielsen, people spent 23 hours a week listening to music. By 2018, that number grew to 32 hours. That's just one factor behind the 12-percent increase in music revenues from 2017 to 2018 alone.

Is music a competitive industry?

Still, music is a fast-paced, competitive business. So it's important to know your talents, abilities, and interests and to adapt as necessary to new trends and technologies. That way, you can start and sustain a successful career. This article provides a diverse list of jobs in the music industry.

What is background singing?

Session singing (i.e., working "for hire"—usually without being publicly credited—on projects such as commercials or TV shows) Similarly, jobs for musicians can involve performing as part of a large orchestra, as a member of a band, or as a solo performer.

How much do music producers make?

All told, it's an exciting time to be a music producer. On average, music producers make about $95,000 a year. But that average is skewed by the extremely high earnings of the most famous producers. So how much you earn will likely depend on the demand for your services and the success of the projects you work on.

Do you love music and video games?

Do you love both music and video games? If so, you know how music can shape players' gaming experiences. As the gaming industry continues to grow, new opportunities are becoming available in video game development, including jobs for composers who create the music that sets the mood.

What is the job of a music publisher?

That's the job of music publishers. They help find performers for a song, make sure the song's licensing is in place, and deal with contracts and royalties. Music publishers need to know the ins and outs of the music industry, including copyright laws, how royalties work, and distribution practices.

How to get high quality photos of yourself?

When starting out, invest in a professional photographer to get high-quality photos of yourself, or band, that you use for your bio, website and social media. If you’re lucky, you might have a photographer friend that could hook you up. Make sure to communicate with them and plan out how the specific shots are going to be used ahead of time.

Is it more fantasy or reality to leave everything behind?

In popular culture, we romanticize the idea of leaving everything behind and head to the big city to pursue our passion. Unfortunately, more often than not, it’s more fantasy than reality.

Is music a product?

In a traditional sense, your music is your product, like physical copies of your music. But even that is changing. Your brand has now become the commodity you monetize through your merch and tickets to see you perform. Regardless of the form your product takes, you need to operate as a business entity.

Is time money?

As they say, time is money. If you’re not investing money , you’re investing time into the creative aspects of music production or learning the business. You will be doing a lot of learning so prepare yourself. Unless you have a lot of disposable income and you can pay a bunch of people, you will have to do things yourself.

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