Starting a Record Label? Why You’ll Need an Entertainment Attorney
It’s been so long since you’ve heard something fresh—something exciting and invigorating—and you can’t help but think “how is this band not signed yet?” Yes, the song you just heard was that good. The crowd before you cheers, the band takes a bow and waves as they go off stage, and all you can think about is the potential they have. You’ve been thinking for a while that starting a record label might be an exciting new direction to take things, and the band you just heard play could set the tone—and the bar—for future artists you might sign.
This actually happened to a close friend of mine. He runs a live music venue and heard a band on open mic night that he saw potential in. But before approaching the band, he asked me one simple question:
What advice can you, as an entertainment attorney, give to someone who wants to start a record label?
Some key points to my answers have been lingering in my head.
Treat Your Record Label Like a Business
Contrary to popular belief—to my friend’s belief, anyway—starting a record label is not the walk in the park it might seem to be. Truth is, the music business shares very similar characteristics with most other businesses, from a legal standpoint.
Starting this record company requires a business structure—will it be formed as an LLC? A partnership? A corporation? The business might have employees, who require employment agreements. It’ll need to purchase goods and services through third-party companies, and those deals will be dealt with via contracts.
Most importantly, a record label has to think about intellectual property. Protecting intellectual property is a crucial focus point if you want to be taken seriously. Including the proper language to do so in every contract will require sensitive legal counsel to negotiate, but can make or break the value of your business entity. It is important to take care of this as a first measure, before releasing any of your artists’ work.
Proper Contracts to Protect Your Business and Your Clients
Ensuring you have clear, concise, and signed contracts can help prepare for the unknown. Some common infringements on the music industry might include an example like:
- “One of my songs was uploaded to a site without my permission. Is there anything I can do to stop it?”
In the age of digital everything, more and more of these scenarios arise, and you want to be able to protect the music you and your artist have worked hard on.
Aside from infringements, knowing the proper contracts to sign can avoid simpler business questions such as:
- I’ve signed an artist that I plan to both represent and record. Which contracts should I use? Is there any other IP protection that would be appropriate?
How you develop original intellectual property, protect your rights in a contract, and negotiate terms in a deal can impact your career and even determine your artists’ trajectories.
How an Entertainment Attorney Can Help
It all sounds so great: hear great music and take your pick of talented artists. But there are so many things that go into it, some you may not have even thought about. Many deals need to be negotiated in the music industry, including:
- Marketing and promotion
- Media representation
- Distribution deals
- Collaboration agreements
- Producer agreements
- Work for hire agreements
- Record contract negotiations
- Intellectual property rights, including copyrights and trademarks
It can be daunting. You might want to think about music or signing the next big thing—the fun stuff. But you need to put business first if you want to succeed as a record label.
Need an entertainment attorney who understands the nuances of entertainment contracts, intellectual property protection, and other business transactions commonly encountered in the entertainment industry? Contact us today for a no-obligation consultation. 305-858-4512. Se habla español!