Weiss Legal Group

Entertainment law cuts across a wide swath of legal practice areas, and there is no true body of music or entertainment law.  The practice of entertainment law involves the interaction and interrelationship with various subjects and fields of law, including contracts, copyrights, trademarks, business law, employment law, immigration law, tax law, entities law, securities law, and sometimes even criminal law.  For example, if an entertainment client is involved in a dissolution of marriage or bankruptcy, valuation and allocation of intellectual property rights, personal property rights, and royalties from their entertainment career may be necessary.  Entertainment often also touches on international aspects of tax and intellectual property law.

What distinguishes these practice areas in the field of entertainment is the often distinctly different ways in which industry custom dictates the parameters of certain terms and relationships between the parties.  Specific industry knowledge is essential, as are industry relationships, as the entertainment industry is by and large a “people business.”

Tom Player, the principle entertainment law attorney at Weiss Legal Group, has been either directly or indirectly involved in the entertainment business for over thirty years, and has been practicing entertainment law since 2000.  The entertainment law services offered at Weiss Legal Group include drafting and negotiating of recording contracts; music publishing agreements; producer agreements; management contracts; booking agent/ touring contracts; music licensing; merchandising agreements; digital distribution agreements; copyrights; service marks/ trademarks; endorsements/ sponsorships; registration with performing rights organizations; works for hire; music video agreements; privacy/ publicity rights; acquisition of literary rights for film and television; director and performer agreements for film and television; representation of radio on-air talent, authors, and models; and litigation and appeals of entertainment related issues.