The entertainment business is about passion and commitment. We practice law with a passion for creativity and a commitment to our clients’ success.
We work with music creators in all genres, nationally and internationally, and on all music exploitation platforms. Our clients include GRAMMY® Award winners, gold and platinum recording artists, songwriters, producers and recorded music rights owners.
Representative Services:
A group of music industry attorneys, including Bob Donnelly, got together to play a friendly game of baseball on a late summer afternoon. Read
The East Hampton Star article, “
Insiders on the Outfield: A champion of recording artists plays ball, talks shop in Amagansett.”
Estate Planning for the Entertainer or Athlete - Appearing in the American Bar Association's "Entertainment & Sports Lawyer," by Tim Matson, Lommen Abdo intellectual property attorney, and Scott Nelson, estate planning attorney.
Ken Abdo and Tim Matson presented a national webinar for the ABA which was broadcast from the Lommen Abdo office on "
Statutory Terminations of Copyright Transfers under the U.S. Copyright Act as applicable to Sound Recordings." The 90-minute presentation addressed the statutory authority which allows recording artists to recover copyrights transferred to recording companies under older recording agreements. In this effort, Ken and Tim have been working with iconic music hit-makers such as Kool and the Gang and many others.
Ken Abdo knows music from the performing side. He knows it from the business side. And he knows it from the legal side. These days, Abdo is girding for a legal battle with the recording industry over a 1976 amendment to federal copyright law that allows artists to reclaim their work after 35 years and do with it as they please. The process legally is called "termination of transfer of copyright" and Abdo filed the first such notice with the U.S. Copyright Office on behalf of Greenberg. Abdo and Greenberg will know in 2013 whether the retrieval of "Funkytown's" copyright will go smoothly or require litigation. Read the rest of the Star Tribune article, "
A Second Bite at the Apple."
John Simson interviewed Ivan Barius, Songwriter/Producer, Karma Productions at the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit 2011 at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Watch the interview.
Read John Simson's Billboard Bulletin guest post entitled "
Artist Revenue Stream Survey -- The Importance of Being Data."
Termination of Copyright Transfers in Music Receives National and International Interest - Ken Abdo's quote in the New York Times article on August 15, 2011 ignited national and international interest in the topic of termination of copyright transfers.
From Playroom to Pop Stardom - Ken Abdo was interviewed for this April 13, 2011 Star Tribune article concerning young artists.
Listen to the interview of Ken Abdo by Beet Street in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Final Regs Issued on Treating Musical Works as Capital Assets - The IRS issued final regulations on February 4, 2011 governing how to elect to treat the sale or exchange of a musical work or copyright in a musical work as a sale or exchange of a capital asset (TD 9514).
3rd Annual Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium reaches new level with national speakers. Lommen Abdo presented its 3rd Annual Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium for industry professionals in sports, music, interactive, film and other entertainment businesses on Friday, November 12, 2010 on the 50th floor of the IDS Center in Minneapolis.
Though opening night is delayed until early 2011, Lommen Abdo client Reeve Carney readies for his lead role as Spiderman in Broadways most expensive play ever.
Check out the article and photos on Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark in Vogue.
Read Bob Donnelly's Billboard Magazine article, "
Buyer Beware: Why Artists Should Do a 180 on "360" Deals."
Ken Abdo was interviewed for an article on the MinnPost.com news blog on the Performance Right Act. Read the article: "
As stations bombard us with ads against the 'radio tax,' here's the other side of the story."
The
Second Annual Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium was held on November 12, 2009. Lommen Abdo attorneys, partnering with Minnesota Law & Politics® and the GRAMMY Foundation®, spoke to attorneys and industry professionals about substantive legal and business issues addressed in the practice of entertainment and sports law.
View this
Billy McLaughlin video about his determination to learn to play guitar left handed when he became unable to play right handed.
An
article which appeared in the March 15, 2008 Boston Globe covering the SXSW Music Festival. Ken Abdo was quoted in the article.
An
article on Ken Abdo which was published in the American Bar Association’s Forum in the Entertainment and Sports Industries quarterly publication.