KEN ABDO
Lommen, Abdo, Cole,
King & Stageberg, P.A.
80 South Eighth Street
Suite 2000
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: (612) 336-9316
Fax: (612) 339-8064
www.lommen.com
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Ken is a Vice President of Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg, P.A. He has served as legal counsel to many artists for over 20 years including multiple GRAMMY® award recipients as well as gold and platinum recording artists.
He is a voting member of The Recording Academy® and served on its Chicago Chapter Board of Governors. He is a former National Chair of The GRAMMY Foundation® Entertainment Law Initiative. He is a Past National Chair of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. For 11 years, he was Adjunct Professor of Entertainment Law at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN, where he helped design the schools first entertainment law curriculum.
Ken is a frequent national lecturer and a published author on entertainment law topics. He is a contributing author to the widely used law school textbook, “Law & Business of the Entertainment Industries” (Biederman, et al.).
With an affiliated office in New York City, Lommen Abdo’s entertainment law department provides entertainment and sports transactional and litigation services.
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KEN ANDERSON
Sheppard Mullin Richter
& Hampton LLP
30 Rockefeller Plaza
24th Floor
New York, NY 10112
Phone: (212) 634-3044
Fax: (212) 655-1744
www.sheppardmullin.com |
Ken Anderson heads the music group in the Entertainment, Media and Technology practice of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. For over 20 years, he has made deals and restructured business relationships for premier recording artists, composers, performers, producers, progressive independent labels and entrepreneurs in the music industry, the internet, and new media. He has also litigated high-profile and precedent-setting music cases. |
DAVID BEAME
Beame & Mencher LLP
238 Garfield Place
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: (718) 390-3503
www.bmlawgroup.com
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David Beame is an entertainment attorney, deal-maker and musician. He is a graduate of New World School of the Arts and received a bachelor of arts degree from Boston University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law. David is a partner at Beame & Mencher LLP and his clients include Grammy, MTV, Tony and YouTube Award winning artists, major and indie label bands, multi-platinum songwriters and producers, video directors, independent record labels and media companies, and international entertainment companies. Many of David’s clients are at the creative forefront of the digital revolution including the director of the Grammy-winning viral “Treadmill” video featuring OK Go and the artist, Never Shout Never, who has sold hundreds of thousands digital songs independently. He was formerly a partner at the law firm of Draves & Beame, PA, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Central Florida where he taught Entertainment and Sports Law and worked in the A&R Department of Rykodisc Records and Palm Pictures. David is a product of the changing media landscape and applies the same progressive spirit to his business dealings and guidance. |
ERIC J. BENDER
Bravado International Group
245 Fifth Avenue
Eighth Floor
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 445-3424
Fax: (212) 445-3499
www.bravadousa.com
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Eric has spent the last sixteen years in the entertainment industry as a Business and Legal Affairs Attorney at companies such as: PolyGram Records, PolyGram Diversified Entertainment, PolyGram Merchandising, World Online Merchandising and currently with Universal Music Group subsidiary Bravado International Group. He has extensive experience in the negotiation and drafting of merchandising, licensing, recording, film and video agreements. He has recently been involved in the acquisition of merchandising rights for such acclaimed artists as: the late Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Metallica, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Whitney Houston and Green Day. In addition, Eric has served as a producer on the festival award winning film entitled, “Bittersweet Place” which is currently airing on the Sundance Channel and a Music Consultant and Production Executive on the independent film, Kiss the Bride, winner of the 2002 Hamptons Film Festival and the 2003 Sarasota Film Festival. |
PAUL BEZILLA
Lommen, Abdo, Cole,
King & Stageberg, P.A.
80 South Eighth Street
Suite 2000
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: (612) 336-9344
Fax: (612) 339-8064
www.lommen.com |
Paul Bezilla, shareholder of Lommen Abdo Law Firm, has been practicing entertainment law for over 25 years and has extensive experience in all segments of the practice. During his career, he has provided legal services for an array of high profile individuals and companies, including Frank Sinatra, Cher, Quincy Jones, Warner Bros. Records, The Walt Disney Company, PolyGram Music Publishing and K-tel Records. His practice encompasses music, film, television, intellectual property, technology, software and licensing.
Paul has been a featured speaker at numerous entertainment industry seminars presented by the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the California Copyright Conference and the Minnesota State Bar Association. He has frequently lectured on entertainment law topics in the Music Department of the University of Southern California and taught courses in music business law for the Graduate Film Composing Program at USC.
Paul is a life-long musician who continues to pursue his love of music performance by playing bass guitar in various rock and jazz groups. |
TERRIE M. BJORKLUND
AFTRA National
7735 Old Georgetown Road Suite 950
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: (301) 657-2560
extension 853
www.aftra.org
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Terrie Bjorklund is the Associate General Counsel/Copyright & Intellectual Property for AFTRA – the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO – a media and entertainment labor union representing more than 70,000 recording artists, actors, DJs and broadcast journalists. Based in Washington, D.C., Ms. Bjorklund joined the AFTRA staff in 2002 and works to represent the intellectual property interests of over 14,000 recording artists and singers in the legislative and public policy arenas nationally and internationally.
Prior to joining AFTRA, Ms. Bjorklund worked in private practice representing recording artists, producers, and independent labels in licensing, recording, publishing, and intellectual property matters.
Ms. Bjorklund currently serves as AFTRA’s liaison to the Labor Advisory Committee for U.S. Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy and is a former board member of the Copyright Alliance and the District of Columbia Board of Appeals and Review.
Ms. Bjorklund is a graduate of The Evergreen State College and the Antioch School of Law. Her passion for advocating for artists’ rights is fueled by her early experience as a singer and songwriter. |
KENNETH BURRY
Greenberg Traurig LLP
2450 Colorado Avenue
Suite 400 East
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: (310) 586-7810
Fax: (310) 586-0270
www.gtlaw.com
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A shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Media and Entertainment Practice Group, Ken Burry represents both established and emerging artists in all aspects of the music and entertainment industry as well as institutional clients. His work cuts across the industry and involves music within television, motion picture and video games.
Established artist clients include Katy Perry, Josh Groban, Baz Luhrmann, Sofia Coppola, Sheryl Crow and the Rolling Stones. Ken navigates the changing and dynamic marketplace as media platforms and attendant deal structures evolve more rapidly than ever. This includes reclaiming copyrights, renegotiating of recording contracts, dealing with record label personalities and capturing new revenue streams in areas such as electronic gaming.
Emerging artist clients with new deals, or those searching out their first opportunity turn to Ken’s experience to guide them through increasingly difficult terrain as they tackle intimidating 360º deals and work to build and leverage a credible presence on the Internet.
Institutional clients face their own challenges. Yamaha, for example, has turned to Ken to help guide them through complex copyright issues relating to its electronic musical instrument-based product line. Motion picture studios regularly look to Ken to handle their film music work, soundtrack album deals and music publishing catalogue sales. Viacom hired Ken in connection with the sale of its Famous Music catalogue to Sony ATV and its film studio, Paramount Pictures, relied on him to handle all music aspects of the 50 Cent movie, “Get Rich Or Die Tryin.”
Ken was the entertainment specialist in connection with Robert F. X. Sillerman’s acquisition of the Elvis Presley estate assets. He also handled the sale by V2 of its U.S. record label. KCRW, a southern California public radio station, has turned to Ken in evaluating copyright regulations as it takes its programming on-line.
Ken also has developed a unique practice and expertise in global media events. He quarterbacked the legal work for the Live Earth world wide concerts supported by Al Gore to promote awareness of global climate change, and the Live 8 and NetAid events championed by Bono before that. |
TED COHEN
TAG Strategic
6725 Sunset Boulevard
Suite 420
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone: (310) 402-2800
Fax: (323) 769-8303
www.tagstrategic.com
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In an industry that’s been slow to embrace change, Cohen is the exception to the stereotypical music-exec rule. Of course, when you start a career on the road with the Sex Pistols and Van Halen, you’re more primed for the unexpected. In his previous role as SVP Digital Development & Distribution for EMI Music, Cohen led next-generation digital business development worldwide for this “big four” record company. During that time, EMI led the industry by embracing and exploiting new technologies and business models such as digital downloads and online music subscriptions, custom compilations, wireless services, high-definition audio and Internet radio.
Cohen also led two highly successful new media consulting operations, DMN Consulting and Consulting Adults, attracting clients such as Amazon.com, Universal Studios and DreamWorks Records. Cohen also held senior management positions at both Warner Bros. Records and Philips Media. A 30-year industry veteran, Cohen served as Chairman of the Mobile Entertainment Forum Americas and currently chairs international music conference MidemNet. Cohen serves on the boards for NARAS, the Neil Bogart Memorial Fund and co-chairs the new media arm of the T.J. Martell Foundation. |
BOB DONNELLY
Lommen, Abdo, Cole,
King & Stageberg P.A.
133 West 25th Street
Fifth Floor East
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 683-8775
Fax: (212) 414-0525
www.lommen.com |
This marks Bob Donnelly’s 34th year as a music attorney. His clients, who include members of the Rock and Jazz Hall of Fames, have awarded him 40 platinum plaques. A case he brought for past due royalties resulted in a $55 million dollar award to musicians. Donnelly is a popular commentator on music issues. |
MARCELINO FORD-LIVENE
Intel Corporation
2200 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95052-8119
Phone: (310) 729-0516
www.intel.com
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Marcelino Ford-Livene has over fifteen years of business, legal and programming experience in the interactive media industry. Currently, he is the General Manager of Interactive Content and Advanced Advertising Development for Intel’s Digital Home Group. In this capacity, he leads and manages a team charged with developing branded content and advertising-related platform solutions and opportunities as part of Intel’s global digital home initiative.
Before Intel, Ford-Livene was a senior executive in the corporate development and planning department at Gemstar - TV Guide (now Rovi Corp.). He also served as a senior official at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, D.C. He served as Special Counsel for New Media Policy for former FCC Chairman William E. Kennard, and most recently as Senior Counsel and Director of Media Strategic Analysis for the FCC’s Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis during Michael Powell’s tenure as FCC Chairman. During his time at the FCC, he worked on various domestic and international matters pertaining to media and information technology policy. He was also a founding member of the FCC’s DTV task force and media ownership working group. He has also held other positions such as Co-Founder of NetNoir Online, Director of Business Development for iBlast, and as an Associate at the law firm of Hill, Farrer & Burrill. Ford-Livene holds J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Illinois and a B.A. in Economics from UC San Diego. |
SCOTT FRANCIS
Warner/Chappell Music
Warner/Chappell Music U.S.
10585 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, Ca 90025-4950
Phone: (310) 441-8600
Fax: (310) 441-8780
www.warnerchappell.com
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Scott Francis is President, Warner/Chappell Music, and Chairman and CEO, Warner/ Chappell Music U.S. A veteran music publishing executive, Francis is responsible for the company’s day-to-day U.S. operations as well as playing a key role in crafting its global strategy, including acquisitions, digital sales and marketing, and synchronization efforts. Since joining Warner/Chappell in August 2008, Francis has overseen strategic executive appointments to Warner/Chappell’s New York, Nashville and Los Angeles offices as well as the signing and re-signing of key songwriters including Michael Bublé, Jakob Dylan, Dave Grohl, Don Henley, Josh Homme, Claude Kelly, John Paul Jones, James Otto and Lil Wayne, among others.
Previously, Francis served as President of BMG Songs North America. During his tenure, BMG Songs grew into one of the most successful music publishing operations in the world, with a diverse roster of highly successful songwriters including Maroon 5, Christina Aguilera, Nelly, Daughtry, The All-American Rejects, Yellowcard, Chingy, Keyshia Cole, Sara Evans, Chad Hugo and The Matrix, among many others. From 1994 to 2000, Francis served as Vice President, Business Affairs and Administration for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where he oversaw all aspects of business and legal affairs for the company’s U.S. operations.
Before joining Sony/ATV Francis worked as an attorney in private practice where he represented numerous recording artists, songwriters, producers and record companies, first at the firm of Levine Thall & Plotkin, and later at the firm of Mayer Katz Baker Leibowitz & Roberts. |
DAVID M. GIVEN
Phillips, Erlewine
& Given LLP
50 California Street
35th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: (415) 398-0900
Fax: (415) 398-0911
www.phillaw.com |
David M. Given is a partner and co-founder of Phillips, Erlewine & Given LLP, located in San Francisco. David’s practice spans both litigation and transactional related matters. His clients include individuals and business entities engaged in a range of activities, including music and motion picture production, video gaming, internet and other broadcast media, entertainment technology and software development.
For a two-year term, David served as chairman of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. He has been a panelist and featured speaker at numerous entertainment, technology and video game industry events. He co-chaired with Steve Tapia (Microsoft’s lead in-house IP attorney) the LSI-sponsored Entertainment Technology Law Summit in Seattle. In Summer 2007, he was chosen to present the ABA’s annual Presidential Showcase Program, entitled “Privacy, Copyright and Parental Control in the Age of YouTube, MySpace and Beyond.” He recently authored “A Modern Pandora’s Box: Music, the Internet and the Dilemma of Clearing Public Performance Rights,” Entertainment & Sports Law., 26:3 (Fall 2008), on the legal and policy principles at work in the clearance of public performance rights in music for internet service providers.
David graduated from Cornell University with a degree in French and Filmmaking and obtained his law degree from the University of Virginia. |
JONATHAN GRAY
Gray Krauss LLP
207 West 25th Street
Suite 600
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 966-6700
Fax: (212) 966-6051
www.indyfilmlaw.com |
A practicing attorney since 1990, Jonathan Gray is a dedicated advocate for emerging and established directors, producers, production entities, screenwriters, investors and distributors in film, television and other media. He is the senior partner at Gray Krauss, a full-service entertainment law firm. Originally founded as Spinak & Gray in 1998, Gray Krauss concentrates its work in independent film and television production, financial structuring and distribution, as well as music and intellectual property matters. The firm’s clients include motion picture and television producers, directors, writers, distributors and financiers. Jonathan has performed production counsel services on well over 100 feature films.
Jonathan is the former chairperson of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Motion Pictures. He is also an experienced trial lawyer and has acted as lead counsel in numerous jury and bench trials in the state and federal courts of New York. His diversified trial experience includes copyright and trademark actions, as well as product liability, securities, and civil rights matters. Jonathan is also an award-winning independent film producer. |
DAVID HERLIHY
Law Office of David Herlihy
14 Staniford Street
Newton, MA 02466
Phone: (617) 964-4006
Fax: (617) 964-4016
www.herlihylaw.com |
Since 1993, David Herlihy has maintained a law practice with a focus on intellectual property, entertainment law and new media. He is admitted to practice before Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and the U.S. Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts. David’s clients include authors, publishers, record companies, recording artists, songwriters, performers, managers, producers, visual artists, e-business innovation companies, software and service providers, webcasters, and entrepreneurs. He received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Boston College in 1979 and a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1982.
David was Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for Hobnox, USA, Inc, an artist focused online entertainment community and media publishing platform and he also served as in-house counsel and as President of the board of directors for The Passim Folk Music and Cultural Center, the legendary performance venue in Cambridge.
David is an Associate Academic Specialist in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Business Administration at Northeastern University, where he lectures about copyright law and the entertainment industry, and supervises the University’s record label.
In a prior lifetime, David was the lead singer and principal songwriter for O POSITIVE (a Boston-based musical group with full length albums on Epic Records and several independent record labels) for which he won three Boston Music Awards as “Outstanding Male Vocalist” as well as twice topping the Boston Phoenix/WFNX Best Music Poll as “Best Local Male Vocalist.” He is a Member of ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and is still active in the recording studio. David occasionally performs live with the bands HEY DAVE and WORKING CLASS ZEROS. |
DAVID HIRSHLAND
Bug Music, Inc.
7750 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Phone: (323) 969-0988
Fax: (323) 969-0968
www.bugmusic.com
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David Hirshland is currently the Executive Vice President of Bug Music, overseeing the operations of the independent publishing administration company’s five worldwide offices. David was previously employed at the law firm of Rosenfeld, Meyer and Susman where he represented both talent and institutional clients in the film and music industries. Prior to his legal career, David was an agent at the Rosebud Agency and later formed his own management company. In his capacity with Bug, he provides the company with general management skills as well as in-house legal services and also functions in an A&R capacity, allowing the company to increase the size of its ever expanding roster of writers and catalogs. Among them are the estates of Johnny Cash, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and Stevie Ray Vaughan, legendary artists such as Iggy Pop, the Guess Who and Los Lobos and contemporary alt rock stars such as Ryan Adams and Wilco. David received a B.A. in English Literature from Brown University and a J.D. from UCLA. |
NELS JACOBSON
Jagmo Design Studios
Detroit, MI
Phone: (248) 885-8475
www.jagmo.com
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Attorney Nels Jacobson has practiced in the areas of trademark, copyright and entertainment law since 1996. He has done stints at large and medium-sized firms in San Francisco, Nashville and Detroit, and served for a time as Assistant Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). Before that, Nels served as a law clerk to the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King, Circuit Judge with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Prior to entering the legal profession, Nels founded Jagmo Design Studios, a graphic design firm specializing in art for the entertainment industry. He was art director for SXSW for its first six years.
Nels has written and lectured extensively on entertainment, trademark and copyright subjects. His article “Rock Music Posters and the Law” was published in the Spring 2005 Issue of the American Bar Association journal Entertainment & Sports Lawyer; “Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp ba Bomp ba Bomp) ” won National Second Prize in ASCAP’s 1994 Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition; and his article “Faith Hope & Parody” was published in the Houston Law Review in 1994. Nels also has written a number of pieces about rock poster art, including the Foreword to Spencer Drate and Judith Salavetz’s 2005 book Swag 2: Rock Posters of the 90s and Beyond; “Armadillos, Peccadillos, and the Maverick Posterists of Austin, Texas” published in the 1997 book Prints and Printmakers of Texas; and “The Maverick Tradition: Postering in Austin, Texas” published in 1991-92 in Wes Wilson’s OFFtheWALL poster journal.
Nels is licensed to practice in California, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas, and as a patent attorney by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is a member of the Order of the Coif, receiving his law degree with high honors from the University of Houston Law Center in 1995 where he served as Administrative Editor of the Houston Law Review. Nels is a founding board member of the American Poster Institute and the South Austin Museum of Popular Culture, and a board member of The Rock Poster Society. He also served for several years on the packaging GRAMMY committees for both the Texas and San Francisco Chapters of the Recording Academy. He has been director of the SXSW Continuing Legal Education program since its inception in 1998. |
JASON JANEGO
Submarine Entertainment
525 Broadway, Suite 601
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (917) 226-9783
www.submarine.com
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Jason W. Janego is an independent consultant and attorney focusing on the development of innovative strategies for distribution and financing in all areas of the entertainment business. Most recently, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Big Beach Films, a New York-based production and distribution company whose credits include “Away We Go”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Is Anybody There” and “Sunshine Cleaning”. Before joining Big Beach, Mr. Janego was Head of Business & Legal Affairs for Magnolia Pictures, Magnolia Home Entertainment, and Landmark Theatres, all of which are subsidiaries of the vertically-integrated media company 2929 Entertainment.
Mr. Janego has also worked in the Business Affairs department at Miramax Films and, prior to that, with the independent film sales and financing company Cinetic Media. Earlier in his career, he was employed as an attorney in the legal department of the NBC television network and with Artemis Records. Mr. Janego received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and his undergraduate degree from Bucknell University. |
LEE KNIFE
Digital Media Association
1029 Vermont Avenue
Suite 850
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 639-9508
www.digmedia.org
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Lee Knife is Interim Executive Director for the Digital Media Association (“DiMA”) in Washington, D.C. Lee joined DiMA in 2005, when he started as General Counsel to the organization and assumed the role of Interim Executive Director at the end of 2009. DiMA is the ambassador for the digital media industry: webcasters, online media, digital services, and technology innovators. DiMA advocates for business and regulatory environments that support our members’ growth and success, including fair competition, fair royalties, innovation and consumer welfare. DiMA members include Apple’s iTunes, YouTube, Microsoft, RealNetworks, MTV Networks, Live 365 and many others.
Over the past four years with DiMA in his role as General Counsel, Lee has focused on the negotiations and arbitrations associated with sound recording and musical composition royalty rates, both in the United States and internationally. He has also been and will continue to be involved in lobbying and public relations efforts.
Lee joined DiMA with more than 15 years experience and practice in entertainment law, predominantly in the music business. He served as a Business & Legal Affairs Executive at several major record companies including EMI, BMG and Polygram – and most recently was Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs at Sanctuary Records. He has also worked at and provided consulting services to several internet-based, new-media companies, as well as representing musical instrument manufacturers, individual artists, and small record and production companies. Lee is a graduate of St. John’s University and Brooklyn Law School and admitted to practice law in both the State of New York and New Jersey. |
DINA LAPOLT
LaPolt Law, P.C.
9000 Sunset Boulevard
Suite 800
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Phone: (310) 858-0922
Fax: (310) 858-0933
www.LaPoltLaw.com |
Dina LaPolt is an entertainment attorney at LaPolt Law, P.C. in Los Angeles, California. LaPolt Law is a boutique transactional entertainment law firm that specializes in representing clients in the music, film, television, merchandising and book publishing industries. The firm’s clientele include prominent recording artists, songwriters, producers, music publishers, managers, independent record companies, merchandise and apparel companies, film production companies, directors, writers, authors, and actors. In addition to practicing law, Dina teaches “Legal and Practical Aspects of the Music Business” in the Entertainment Studies Department at UCLA Extension. For more information on Dina or the law firm please log onto www.LaPoltLaw.com. |
JEFFREY M. LIEBENSON
Herrick, Feinstein LLP
2 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 592-5916
Fax: (212) 545-3414
www.herrick.com
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Jeffrey M. Liebenson is head of the Music, Media and Digital Entertainment Group of Herrick, Feinstein LLP, a law firm in New York City. He concentrates his practice in digital entertainment, music and intellectual property law. Jeff represented Gracenote in obtaining digital lyric rights from the music publishing industry, EMI Recorded Music in its first iTunes negotiations with Apple, and Sony Music in the establishment of its Pressplay online service with Universal. Jeff represents several online and mobile distributors of digital entertainment. He previously was chief legal and business affairs executive for BMG Entertainment International. Jeff is the President of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers. |
CECILY MAK
RealNetworks, Inc. & Rhapsody America LLC
2012 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415) 934-2085
Fax: (415) 934-6728
www.rhapsody.com
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Cecily Mak is an intellectual property and entertainment attorney with senior in-house and top tier law firm (transactional and litigation) experience. She has been with RealNetworks, Inc. and Rhapsody America, LLC for over five years. She is currently the company’s lead music attorney primarily focused on growing the highly regarded subscription service Rhapsody.
Cecily works across the company supporting everything from corporate development to record label relations; music publishing clearances to business development generally. She is responsible for structuring, negotiating and drafting in and outbound content and technology licensing agreements for the company’s digital media business and counseling various teams with regard to the company’s aggressive product innovation and development.
A fifth generation San Franciscan and a UC Hastings graduate, she is a frequent public speaker and regular contributor to a range of publications including music magazines, legal periodicals, and releases from the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers. She co-authored a book entitled “Music Law in the Digital Age” released by the Berklee Press in January 2010. She is currently teaching Digital Media Law at UC Hastings for the fourth year in a row. |
DOUG MARK
Mark Music & Media
Law, P.C.
1900 Avenue of the Stars
25th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: (310) 818-7242
Fax: (310) 818-7249
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For the past 23 years, music attorney Doug Mark has represented all possible entities in the music and film industries as an artist advocate, company executive and corporate advisor.
His firm, Mark Music & Media Law, P.C., was founded in 2007, with offices in Los Angeles and New York. The firm’s artist clients are numerous, ranging from rock, pop and rap stars to legacy artists, from “baby bands” to established acts, “indie” to “major label” and some of the world’s leading motion picture composers. Doug has been a senior executive at Giant Records and Epitaph/Anti- Records and has advised companies within the Universal, EMI and Sony music groups.
Other entities receive focus from Mark Music and Media Law as well. Start-ups, financing companies, branding companies, management companies, writers, producers and executives all receive the finest advice and documentation from the firm. Transactions for these companies include equity financing, catalogue sales, mergers, employment agreements, artist deals, etc. |
DANICA MATHES
Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP
3232 McKinney Avenue
Suite 1400
Dallas, TX 75204
Phone: (214) 740-1474
Fax: (214) 740-5774
www.bellnunnally.com
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Danica Mathes’ practice focuses on Intellectual Property, Entertainment & New Media law.
Danica is adept at handling traditional and emerging intellectual property, advertising and new media matters for individuals, entrepreneurial and closely held businesses, and Fortune 100 companies, including:
- Assisting in the development, acquisition, use prosecution, protection, registration, clearance, escrow, licensing and sale of proprietary products and services, such as copyrights, trademarks, software, sound and video recording, brand management, and ancillary rights such as those relating to endorsements, sponsorships, promotional articles, clothing and products.
- Counseling and advising clients regarding internet and e-commerce ventures, technology transactions, software development, website development, privacy issues and digital content acquisition and licensing.
- Selection of appropriate business entities, and disadvantaged business entity formation and certification.
- Analyzing advertising and trade issues, including media, advertising and marketing agreements, trade regulation compliance, telemarketing, fax and email spam law compliance, and branded entertainment initiatives.
Danica also represents and counsels clients in various areas and genres of the arts, including music (established and developing recording artists and producers, musicians, managers, record labels and publishers), film (production companies, producers, directors, actors and screenwriters), television, radio, theatre, visual arts, literary publishing, amateur and professional athletics, and interactive media. |
LAWRENCE MESTEL
Primary Wave Music Company
116 East 16th Street
Ninth Floor
New York, NY 10003
Phone: (212) 584-8080
Fax: (212) 661-8890
www.primarywavemusic.com |
Lawrence Mestel, Partner and CEO of Primary Wave Music Company, brings 20 years of entertainment industry experience to Primary Wave Music Publishing. Primary Wave is a leader in applying an aggressive and creative approach to marketing its catalog of iconic and legendary artists and songwriters as well as providing a unique home to developing artists and songwriters through its history of marketing and branding their music. Primary Wave’s extensive catalog includes the songs of Kurt Cobain, Steven Tyler, John Lennon, Def Leppard, Hall and Oates, Chicago, Maurice White, Steve Earle, Graham Parker, Holy Knight, Steven Curtis Chapman, Lamont Dozier, Blue October, The Airborne Toxic Event, Saving Abel, Anberlin, Shwayze, New Boyz, Taddy Porter among many others. In addition to music publishing, Primary Wave has a talent management division, a games division, and an intellectual property creation company which also includes records.
Before forming Primary Wave Music, Mr. Mestel was Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Virgin Records, where he was responsible for all marketing, sales and business-related aspects of the company. During his tenure, Mr. Mestel worked with iconic artists including The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, Jermaine Dupri and Lenny Kravitz. Prior to that, Mr. Mestel was Executive Vice President and general manager at Arista, managing sales, international and strategic marketing, A&R and marketing administration, finance and business affairs. While at Arista, he developed such artists as Avril Lavigne, Outkast, Usher, Pink, Carlos Santana, Dido among many others. Before that, Mr. Mestel was Chief Operating Officer for Island Entertainment Group, which included Island Records, Island Music Publishing and Island Pictures
Mr. Mestel has co-founded numerous companies over the years and has sat on such boards as Launch Media, Island Entertainment Group and Priority Homecare.
Mr. Mestel received a BBA in business from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is married and has three children and resides in New York City. |
NANCY C. PRAGER
2828 Connecticut Avenue NW
Suite 515
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: (202) 725-6095
www.pragerlaw.us
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Nancy Prager is an attorney based in Washington, D.C. Before starting her own practice, she practiced with firms in Memphis and Atlanta, as well as provided business development services to technology companies. She launched her practice to offer strategic legal services to clients at a reasonable rate.
Nancy has advised a wide range of clients over the course of her legal career, from computer device manufacturers to musicians. She addresses matters ranging from intellectual property and privacy to estate and business planning for her clients. Among the clients she has advised have been:
- a coalition of publishers that had developed a blanket license that would have made it easier for individuals and small businesses to legally use music on their websites.
- a wireless service provider that desired to offer music to its subscribers through a unique platform.
- a significant music magazine as it transitioned to deliver content over the internet.
- a variety of internet service providers on compliance with the so-called take down provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended.
- artists, managers and publishers on matters related to the use of music on the internet.
Additionally, Nancy has spoken at conferences around the country, and written for a variety of publications about issues related to the convergence of intellectual property, technology and media, as well as strategic legal issues for companies, individuals and artists.
She is a graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the State Bar of Georgia and the State Bar of Tennessee. |
DAVID RING
Universal Music Group, eLabs
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As Executive Vice President, Business Development & Business Affairs for Universal Music Group, eLabs, Mr. Ring has been instrumental in guiding the company into existing and next generation emerging digital platforms, from downloads and on-demand streaming to subscription services, webcasting and interactive radio, social media and new mobile platforms. His duties include discovering ways to utilize these new platforms and technologies to better market, promote and sell music and video content to consumers generally.
Mr. Ring has overseen a number of innovative, technology-driven deals that have kept the company at the forefront of new media trends. He was the architect of the first ever music on-demand streaming service at Farmclub.com and helped lead UMG into the mobile music business in 2003. To that end, Mr. Ring has been proactive in pursuing groundbreaking arrangements with a wide variety of digital sites and providers that have helped make UMG a leader in this vital, emerging market.
Mr. Ring and his eLabs team have completed deals with companies including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Amazon, Google, YouTube, MySpace, Microsoft, Rhapsody, Napster, MTV and Apple, just to name a few.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Ring was Senior Vice President, Business Affairs & Business Development for eLabs, where he served as both a business development executive and the Head of Business & Legal Affairs, in August 2005. Prior to that, he was Head of Business & Legal Affairs for UMG’s global e-commerce and Advanced Technology (eCAT) division and, previously, Director of Business and Legal Affairs for UMG.
Mr. Ring started his music business career as an associate at the Los Angeles law firms of Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Riley and Rosenberg, Nagler & Phillips, where he handled intellectual property and business litigation with an emphasis on music and other entertainment related issues. He holds a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science, Cum Laude, from the University of California at Berkeley. |
MARK ROBINSON
Warner Music Group
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104
Phone: (212) 275-2178
Fax: (212) 405-5416
www.wmg.com
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Mark Robinson is currently Vice President & Senior Counsel for Warner Music Group, responsible for recorded music issues across Warner Music Group’s family of labels which include Atlantic, Elektra, Nonesuch, Reprise, Rhino, Sire, Warner Bros. and Word. Throughout his career Mark has worked with a myriad of industry artists from Death Row Records to gold and platinum acts Mana, Mike Jones, Scarface, Bun B, Cam’ron and Paul Wall to Beatle, Ringo Starr to infamous American Idol castaway, William Hung.
Robinson is lead counsel for Asylum Records, the urban arm of Warner Bros Records, Warner Music Group’s newly created country division, Warner Music Nashville and Warner Music Group’s independent distribution arm Alternative Distribution Alliance. Additionally, he heads legal and business affairs issues for Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group, which includes East West Records, ILG and Ryko.
Prior to joining WMG, Robinson was Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs at top independent label Koch Entertainment. With Koch since 1999, Robinson was responsible for handling all legal matters for each of Koch’s seven labels and publishing companies. In 1997, Robinson had joined the Velvel Music Group, the record label run by industry legend Walter Yetnikoff, and served as Director of Business and Legal Affairs until the company was acquired by Koch two years later.
Robinson is a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law where he was on the Editorial Board of the Seton Hall Journal of Sport Law and has been published in the area of Trademark and Tort law. He is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), is an active member of the RIAA Legal Committee and is a board director of the non-for-profit music organization, Now Hear This Foundation. |
LERON E. ROGERS
Hewitt & Rogers
5185 Peachtree Parkway
Suite 200
Norcross, GA 30092
Phone: (770) 447-4700
Fax: (770) 447-4300
www.hewittrogers.com
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Leron E. Rogers is a partner in the law firm of Hewitt & Rogers in Atlanta, Georgia. He heads up the firm’s entertainment, technology and media law practice group and is known throughout the country for representing high profile entertainers and athletes in their professional and business ventures. Leron represents Grammy Nominated artists, songwriters and producers as well as successful management companies, record labels and publishing companies. Some of Leron’s high profile celebrity practice has included representation of Steve Harvey, Multi-platinum R&B group Silk, DMX, Q. Parker (112), Erick Sermon (EPMD), Professor Griff (Public Enemy), Dead Prez and Lil Scrappy among others.
In addition to representing individual entertainers, Leron represents successful corporations that conduct significant business within the technology, media and entertainment industry as well as professional athletes in their off the field business ventures. Some of his high profile athlete clients include the NFL single game rushing record holder Jamal Lewis of the Cleveland Browns and Pro Bowl Defensive Tackle Rod Coleman among others.
Leron is also a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS/Grammy Foundation), Advisory Board Member of the Future of Music Coalition and the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers. Leron Rogers is a frequent speaker and featured panelist at conferences including MusicExpo-London, National Action Network, Winter Music Conference, BESLA, Atlantis Music Conference and has been featured in local and national publications. Leron, a former draft pick of the Atlanta Braves, has been honored as one of the Top Counselor’s At Law in “Who’s Who in Black Atlanta.” |
JAY ROSENTHAL
National Music Publishers’
Association
101 Constitution Avenue NW
Suite 705 East
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 742-4375
www.nmpa.org
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Jay Rosenthal is Senior Vice-President and General Counsel with the National Music Publishers’ Associations’ (NMPA). Mr. Rosenthal was formerly General Counsel for the Recording Artists’ Coalition (RAC), and has represented, among others, SoundExchange, Thievery Corporation, ESL Music, Mya, Salt N Pepa, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Rare Essence, and Robert Schimmel.
Mr. Rosenthal is a Professorial Lecturer in Entertainment Law at the George Washington University Law School and an Adjunct Professor of Entertainment Law at the Washington College of Law at The American University. He is a former SoundExchange Board Member, a Copyright Examiner with the U.S. Copyright Office, a Vice president of the Washington Area Music Association, and an Advisory Board Member of the Songwriter Association of Washington.
Mr. Rosenthal has authored numerous articles on entertainment law and intellectual property. He is a Contributing Editor with Entertainment, Law & Finance, and is a periodic contributor to Billboard and other industry newsletters and journals. He has lectured extensively across the country on entertainment industry topics.
Mr. Rosenthal received an Undergraduate Degree in History and a Masters Degree in International Affairs from The American University, a Juris Doctor Degree in Law from The Antioch School of Law (Editor, Antioch Law Journal), and a Master of Law Degree in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University Law Center. |
DAN SATORIUS
Lommen, Abdo, Cole,
King & Stageberg P.A.
80 South Eighth Street
Suite 2000
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: (612) 336-9332
Fax: (612) 339-8064
www.lommen.com |
Dan Satorius brings a depth of industry knowledge to his entertainment law practice – from having worked in the industry, earning advanced degrees, and practiced law in that area for over 25 years. He received a Masters of Arts in motion picture production from the University of Iowa and a law degree from Southern Illinois University. His experiences as a professional musician and an award-winning film-maker give Mr. Satorius a breadth of practical understanding and knowledge of the entertainment industry.
During the past 15 years, he has been an important figure in the development of the film and music industries in Minnesota. He was an adjunct professor of law for eight years at William Mitchell School of Law. He regularly teaches courses on the legal and business aspects of film and television production and the music industry at various colleges and universities.
Mr. Satorius writes and lectures frequently on many topics relating to the entertainment industries. His clients include producers, publishers, distributors, artists, writers and performers in the music, motion picture, television, book publishing, computer and interactive media industries. |
ROBERT L. SULLIVAN
Loeb & Loeb LLP
1906 Acklen Avenue
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: (615) 749-8300
Fax: (615) 676-5189
www.loeb.com
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Robert L. Sullivan is a partner in the Nashville Office of Loeb & Loeb. Bob was a Senior Scholar and received his B.A. magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University, in 1974. He earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School in 1977.
Bob’s practice focuses on entertainment transactions, as well as litigation and mediation in entertainment and intellectual property areas. Bob represents recording artists, producers, and songwriters, and is Co-Executor of the Johnny Cash Estate. As a litigator, Bob represented several major defendants in the Bridgeport Music copyright infringement cases. He successfully defended Joe Diffie in the trial and appeal of a copyright infringement action involving the song “Prop Me Up Beside the Juke Box” and Randy Travis in the case involving “Better Class of Losers”.
He is a member of the American and Tennessee Bar Associations, Copyright Society of the South, Copyright Society of the United States of America, and Leadership Music. Bob is a member of the Board of Directors of Legal Services of Middle Tennessee, Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville, Women Rock for the Cure, and the Nashville Community Chorus.
Bob is an instructor at the Nashville School of Law and Belmont College and is listed in “Best Lawyers in America” in the field of Entertainment Law. |
DONALD M. WOODARD
Epstein Becker Green
Resurgens Plaza
945 East Paces Ferry Road
Suite 2700
Atlanta, GA 30326
Phone: (404) 923-9055
Fax: (404) 923-9955
www.Ebglaw.com |
DONALD M. WOODARD is a Senior Counsel in the Business Law practice in the Atlanta office and focuses on transactional entertainment and media law. Mr. Woodard is recognized and respected locally and nationally as a mover and shaker in the entertainment industry. He has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People in entertainment by Rolling Out magazine and was among the Atlanta Business Chronicle's "40 Under 40 Rising Stars". He represents a diverse group of clients including, by way of example, entertainment businesses and production companies and Grammy Award winning recording artists, record producers and songwriters who have sold over 100 million records worldwide.
Mr. Woodard provides unparalleled counsel to his clients and savvy business and branding expertise. His creativity in deal making provides the structure that allows his clients to lead the charts and the industry. Mr. Woodard has not just helped his clients make history but he has done so as well. He was the first African-American federal judicial clerk on the Northern District of Georgia’s Bankruptcy Court where he oversaw the high profile bankruptcy of TLC, the best selling female recording group at the time. He also negotiated the first commercial product endorsement deal for a recording artist with Brand Jordan/Nike.
Mr. Woodard:
- Represents high-profile individuals, recording artists, record producers, and corporate entertainment companies in the music and entertainment industries in transactional matters, including negotiating distribution, recording, producer, music publishing, personal management, tour, motion picture soundtrack, merchandising, and product endorsement agreements
- Advises creative talent and companies in the entertainment business on intellectual property rights and content protection
- Counsels entertainment clients in their cross-marketing and brand-building opportunities
- Counsels entertainment companies in new media and distribution models
- Advises clients in a variety of business sectors including book publishing, apparel and media
- Counsels executives at corporations and major record labels on structuring current and deferred compensation packages
Mr. Woodard has served on the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He is a member of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyer Association, among other organizations. |