Print PDF Music and Entertainment
Our firm provides legal counsel related to arts, entertainment, and sports in a variety of circumstances. We represent musicians, rock bands, dancers, playwrights, songwriters, concert producers, painters, sculptors, video and board game developers, and toymakers, as well as Fortune 500 corporations, institutional clients, and sports organizations that enter into transactions with such individuals and groups.
Our lawyers understand the important balance between protecting creative work product in a digitized world and allowing beneficial use and distribution. We often are called upon to prepare the relevant documents to make sure that the rights of all parties in a complex entertainment-related transaction are clearly delineated, so as to avoid complicated litigation in the future. In such engagements, our attorneys negotiate and prepare an array of licensing, distribution, performance, management, agency, publishing, and recording agreements. Our work in this area has included preparation of the following kinds of documents:
- Consent and assignment agreements with models and actors when clients use their services
- Talent agreements, including agreements with well-known Hollywood actors, country-western artists, reality show performers, and Olympic medalists
- Musician/ensemble performance agreements, and the accompanying agreements with music publishers and recording companies to secure performance rights
- Music rights transfer agreements, which transfer music composition and lyrics rights and other intellectual property to newly formed corporate entities
- Assignments of independent music label agreements to Napster
- Revenue-sharing agreements among musicians for distribution of proceeds from music licensing and CD sales
- Website music rights and streaming agreements
- Agreements with world-renowned photographers for their services
- Agreements for manufacture and distribution of board games
- Agreements of copyright transfer, licensing, and theatrical services for production of an original stage musical
In addition, Vorys entertainment lawyers also advise clients about matters involving the U.S. performing rights societies ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, as well as similar societies operating abroad. In this area, we have assisted both corporate and non-profit clients in obtaining blanket and website performance licenses and developed response strategies to answer solicitation letters from these societies on behalf of our clients. We perform comprehensive audits of music use among our large retail and institutional clients, developing programs to assist them in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations concerning music rights. We also have experience in negotiating rights under the voluminous Screen Actors Guild (SAG) provisions.
