Last night, the Grammy Foundation held a panel of Entertainment Lawyers who gave their opinions on how to get involved in, maintain, and make money with, an Entertainment Law Practice. I took extensive notes throughout most of the presentation, which I am attaching to this post. They may be helpful, they may not. Keep in mind they are rough version of what the panelists spoke about but you should be able to glean the general ideas.
Note: I did not take notes on the Q&A session that involved a lengthy discussion on the "strange" new deals in the business. The gist was, you must stay flexible, and cautious. With these new deals and new services, no one really knows what they are doing so trust is a big issue.
Cheers,
ab
Entertainment Law Initiative
Music Law: Lawyer’s View From the Street
• How did you get into the business?
o Tim Madelbaum: spent time working on music, not very much law; record label friend, got a job in-house; jack of all trades job; lack of experience at a law firm left him w/o tools to be capable, then left and did corporate law and real estate; went from corporate firm to boutique firm to EMI; started own firm after leaving EMI then got a job at Drier;
o Nick Ferara: in music biz through Flom going and freelancing; after graduation worked at A&R rep, although took job at big firm in big firm (good experience); learned to be a lawyer; then got A&R job; at Atlantic helped build contacts; once had contacts hung own shingle
o Peter Lewit: played in band during law school; got signed to Atlantic; just began running around meeting bands; got a band a deal; found a real music lawyer, got a job w/ the lawyer that just started his own practice, while building his own practice; in that day could build practice quickly;
o Janine Small: did lots of group work in entertainment; follow dreams the money will follow; get experience in a firm where you can; learn how to be a lawyer;
• Is a critical part of practice going and finding/seeing bands?
o Peter: actually running around and seeing band is not that helpful now; more online now; really just going out to meet people to get perspective; not the way to go, but you can’t be shy in a social setting; there is a high degree of BS sensors with all clients on transactional side; in deal-making you must be part of the community
o Nick: most firms are small; 3 types of attorneys: 1 that goes and brings in biz; 2 one that services the clients; 3 combination of the two; always looking for servicers not always people to bring in biz
o Tim: whatever the relevance of seeing bands is, this has changed as the power of major labels has diminished an internet has leveled playing field; currency is still the contacts; ability to be successful is the ability to get in touch with people; major system is a small world that is about relationships;
o Janine: get clients through relationships;
• Need developing clients, how do you decide whether to take on new clients and deal with these relationships?
o Peter: today you are relying more on your own intuition; at beginning this is hard; must make decisions about ability to be a meaningful commercial enterprise, with record sales like they are place bets on acts that have staying power beyond records; this is kind of good news; the strongest will survive across the board; publishing deals are smaller today;
o Nick: new clients can’t pay you until money starts coming in; you must be careful, really you have to be great, this is hard but it is there;
o Tim: through first two deals, label and publishing, could sustatin; now this isn’t the case; so now, must be super judicious about who you work with; have more difficult billing discussions up front; must have some kind of commitment; can’t justify work where there is no monetization;
• What type of fee arrangements do you have w/ clients?
o Peter: some clients are hourly (much larger clients, MySpace) still alive and well when clients have the resources, flat fees phasing out, retainers (companies) no hassle version of hourly easier; commission 5-10% depending on acts and types of infrastructures, higher if doing more for client, makes much more sense to justify work that you are down-streaming in the system, used to do a deal and not hear from someone, now there are many more deals much more work, you are a small business affairs dept, only way to rationalize is getting a piece b/c you aren’t getting paid directly for these deals; can’t enforce a post term commission; must hold on to clients;
o Nick: commission is good, consistent renegotiation is frustrating, if percentage is going down switch to hourly;
o Tim: doing more hybrid w/in a client; do this deal for percentage, this deal by the hour, etc; big fees sometimes don’t justify extra work;
o Janine:
• How do you maintain clientele
o Nick: service clients, this is the key; when artist is working you are dealing with team; MUST VISIT THE CLIENT;
o Tim: trust, as well, is volatile; hope to build relationship with a trust relationship;
o Peter: no one wants to pay; best clients are the ones that have been with you the longest; people will always want a better deal; happens usually when the team changes; may be fluctuations in your good clients but they ultimately rely on you; must hold on to clients, means good relationships with the entire team, welcome their opinions, invite other members in to anchor trust;
o Tim: also from the other side, what can happen sometimes the talent takes a back seat and relationship becomes with the team; there is still something about seeing the band play, this is important;
o Janine: people look to you to find deals; most of changes happen when artist is cleaning house;
• Where can a practice be built to sustain a living and lifestyle?
o Peter: practice outside NY is doable but contact is still critical, even with the firm; w/ right software you can do it; didn’t really impede practice so much, detriment was contact with firm
o Tim: works from house on Fridays; technology enables transparency; clients know where to find me; just come in if you must; don’t think you can do it full time; must be at the firm for a good portion of the week, in turn, get a lot done from home;
• For students, what do you recommend?
o Nick: law school does not prepare for practice; apprenticeships help; sink or swim mentality; don’t have time to train new people, first thing – go practice law at a firm first get experience
o Janine: intern while in school if you can; takes close to a year until someone is actually valuable; do on the ground learning; it is important to know what you are doing;
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