Why Do Artists Need An Attorney?

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

—King Henry VI, Part II.

Even though this line by William Shakespeare may sound funny, many argue that he was not saying that we should actually kill all the lawyers.Rather, he meant that if there were no lawyers, there would be nobody to be the advocate for the common man.

What Is an Entertainment Lawyer?

The term “entertainment lawyer” covers a wide spectrum of legal practitioners. I have often heard that an entertainment lawyer is usually a general practitioner who happens to do entertainment law, or who just represents people or companies in the entertainment industry. Although that generalization applies to many entertainment lawyers, they come in all shapes, sizes, and areas of expertise. Some may be strictly negotiators and never set foot in a courtroom. Others may be strictly litigation attorneys who focus on entertainment-related issues, or only represent music companies for their litigation needs. Some entertainment attorneys work for big companies as in-house counsel and never represent individuals and never go to court on behalf of the record label.

More often that not, an entertainment lawyer has a combination of different types of legal knowledge and can handle a wide spectrum of issues in the music industry. Some entertainment lawyers are even musicians, songwriters, or artists, or used to be. However, the law is a jealous mistress, and to master the ins and outs of entertainment law requires a great deal of time and effort. That doesn’t leave much time for creative pursuits on much more than a part-time basis, if at all.

What Can an Entertainment Lawyer Do For You?

Your entertainment lawyer can offer a number of different services, and can be there (and most times should be there) to help you negotiate the maze of contracts that you will encounter during your entertainment career. But in some cases, an entertainment lawyer may be required to handle certain personal matters for his entertainment clients, such as divorce(s), wills, trusts, and even criminal matters. Many of these matters may have certain types of entertainment-related issues.

For instance, a divorce in which one or (not always both) both parties are artists or songwriters will have any number of different entertainment-related issues, such as the evaluation of a song catalogue, artist royalties, assignment of copyright(s), etc. Of course, if you are going through a nasty divorce, you may want to hire a divorce specialist, but he probably won’t be very well versed in entertainment issues. Thus, he will have to consult with an entertainment attorney to make sure that he has covered these important issues completely.

Wills and trusts may have the same types of entertainment-related issues. Copyright laws protect the creator of a copyright for his entire life plus 70 years, so the client must have the foresight to protect his intellectual property rights long after he is gone. Also, copyright infringement can be a criminal matter because the copyright code specifies penalties.

Your attorney may also be able to handle a number of different business issues, such as setting up your business or helping out with tax issues, or he may work closely with your accountant in regard to business or tax issues. Regardless, it’s most important that your entertainment lawyer have an extremely good understanding of contract law and be well versed in all types of entertainment contracts. He must also be completely familiar with intellectual property rights, which are the cornerstone of the music industry: copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, and sometimes patents. These issues are critical to anyone’s future in the entertainment industry and are worthy of a much more detailed discussion.

A good entertainment lawyer can make a huge difference in your career. He can steer you away from trouble, if you have the good sense to see him before trouble happens. Or he can get you out of trouble once you’re in it, which can, unfortunately, happen in the blink of an eye. Unless you are extremely lucky, at some time or another you will encounter problems where you will be glad to have a good attorney on your side.

A really good entertainment lawyer will also be beneficial in furthering your career. He will have many connections in the music industry and can shop a deal for you, get you in to meet the right people, or assist your career in any number of other ways.

Sooner or Later? When Should You Hire An Attorney?

Unfortunately, more often than not, people either can’t afford to see an entertainment lawyer for every issue that comes up, or they just don’t think they’ll need one until it’s too late. It’s very much like going to a car mechanic. If you see your mechanic regularly and keep your car in good shape, you are less likely to have major problems. But bad things happen and cars break down, and eventually you’ll end up paying for major repairs. In the same way, if you retain an experienced lawyer to assist you along the path of your career, you are much less likely to have to pay him to fix major problems later.

Whether you’re a songwriter, artist, musician, or anything else, if you don’t know what is going on with your business matters and how to “mind the store,” you could be setting yourself up for a hard fall, or at least an eye-opening wake-up call. Experience can cost money, and you don’t want to have to buy more than you can afford.