Recording stars hungry for films, tours and huge catalog payoffs turn to these 16 chart-topping attorneys.
Clients of the top music lawyers include (from left) Olivia Rodrigo, Beyoncé, Luke Combs, RM of BTS and Cher.
The Chosunilbo JNS/Imazins/Getty Images; Amy Sussman/Getty Images; Amy E. Price/Getty Images; Jerod Harris/Getty Images; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
If you’re an artist trying to sell your catalog — or an entertainment company trying to buy one — you should take a closer look at the attorneys who make up THR‘s 2024 Top Music Lawyers list. From working on Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour and Cowboy Carter album to negotiating deals with Crocs and NASCAR for Luke Combs to linking K-pop kings like RM and Jung Kook with stars like Megan Thee Stallion and Usher, these are the dealmakers you need to know about.
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Lisa Alter & Katie Baron
Image Credit: Alter Kenrick & Baron (2) In the past 18 months, Alter and Baron have negotiated and closed $1 billion in deals. They have represented Primary Wave in the acquisitions of several catalogs, including Def Leppard, The Strokes, Ramones, James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Whitney Houston, Bob Marley and a share of Stevie Nicks’. The duo has helped other companies acquire more catalogs, including Iconic Artists Group (Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker), Influence Media Partners (Future, Blake Shelton, Enrique Iglesias), BMG Rights Management (Peter Frampton, ZZ Top) and Reservoir Media Management (Sonny Rollins, Louis Prima).
THE SONG THAT DOMINATED MY AIRPODS THIS YEAR
BARON “Pink Pony Club,” by Chappell Roan.
ALTER “Houdini,” by Eminem
MY FIRST-EVER LIVE SHOW
BARON New Kids on the Block
ALTER Traffic
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John Branca, David Byrnes & David Lande
Image Credit: Joseph Puhy; Courtesy of David Byrnes; John O’Boyle From working on Beyoncé’s epic Renaissance tour and film as well as Cowboy Carter album — which snagged 11 Grammy nominations — to negotiating Pharrell’s Piece by Piece deal with Focus Features and a new Adidas agreement, Ziffren Brittenham’s music department is in top form. They also negotiated a major deal for Barry Gibb’s Bee Gees catalog and Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS tour, as well as her partnership with Gen Z-obsessed Stanley water bottles and lucrative Lancôme endorsement deal.
MY THOUGHTS ON AI IN MUSIC
LANDE “Exciting to view the opportunities through the lens of my Gen Z clients who are embracing the technology and finding interesting ways to create using it.”
MY FIRST-EVER LIVE SHOW
LANDE The Rolling Stones
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Tiffany Dunn
Image Credit: Gittings Photography Dunn has represented John R. Cash Revocable Trust in matters concerning Johnny Cash trademarks, copyright and more, from a collab with Jacques Marie Mage eyewear to the posthumous Songwriter album to Cash’s statue at the U.S. Capitol, making the late icon the first musician to be honored in such a way. For Luke Combs, Dunn has worked on his collaborations with Crocs, NASCAR and NBC Sports; his partnership with Miller Lite; and his Nashville restaurant, Category 10.
MY FAVORITE MOVIE OR SHOW ABOUT LAWYERS Legally Blonde
MY FIRST-EVER LIVE SHOW “At Six Flags. My first country show was Garth Brooks.”
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Damien Granderson
Image Credit: Courtesy of Subject Granderson represented Quality Control Music in its sale to K-pop power HYBE America, and he also reps triple Grammy nominee Raye, handling performance agreements for her shows at London’s O2 Arena, Coachella, Saturday Night Live and Royal Albert Hall. He also negotiates for J Balvin and Ne-Yo.
MY THOUGHTS ON AI IN MUSIC “AI-powered tools make music creation, distribution and consumption more accessible and personalized while helping artists and businesses optimize their processes.”
MY FIRST-EVER LIVE SHOW Fugees
ARTIST COLLABORATION I WOULD LOVE TO SEE Stevie Wonder and Raye
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Palisa Kelley
Image Credit: HarbourView Equity Partners As sales of music catalogs have skyrocketed over the past few years, Kelley has emerged as the premier dealmaker in the arena. She’s helped acquire the catalogs of some of the biggest artists in the world, including Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Pat Benatar, Christine McVie, Nelly, Florida Georgia Line and Brad Paisley. Kelley has made deals for more than 55 catalogs and 29,000-plus songs across master recordings, publishing income streams and musical compositions.
MY FAVORITE MOVIE OR SHOW ABOUT LAWYERS “Extraordinary Attorney Woo. I sit on the board of an organization that serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This K-drama about an attorney with autism is an entertaining production that leads with compassion.”
THE SONG THAT DOMINATED MY AIRPODS THIS YEAR “Not Like Us,” by Kendrick Lamar
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE … “Women of color in executive positions.”
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Christine Lepera
Image Credit: Dave Cross Photography Lepera is the litigator artists call when they need help in court, especially when it comes to copyright, trademark and contract disputes. She’s represented Universal Music Group, Drake, Katy Perry, Post Malone and Dr. Luke, among others. For Dua Lipa, she successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of a copyright infringement case against the pop star and Warner Music Group for “Levitating,” Billboard’s No. 1 song of 2021; Lepera also won a summary judgment for Timbaland and other defendants on claims of infringement.
MY FAVORITE MOVIE OR SHOW ABOUT LAWYERS To Kill a Mockingbird
THE SONG THAT DOMINATED MY AIRPODS THIS YEAR “Texas Hold ‘Em,” by Beyoncé
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Donald S. Passman, J. Eugene (Gene) Salomon Jr. & Ethan Schiffres
Image Credit: Alex Berliner (3) This trio’s clients mirror the Billboard charts — there’s Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Adele. For the latter, they worked on her Las Vegas and Munich residencies, while other deals include Green Day’s Saviors album and tour, as well as Pink’s latest live trek. The firm also negotiated the asset sale by Cher to Iconic Artists Group and represents Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning composer Ludwig Göransson for his work on Oppenheimer and Childish Gambino’s latest album. They also count Stevie Wonder, R.E.M. and Adam Lambert as clients.
MY FAVORITE MOVIE OR SHOW ABOUT LAWYERS
PASSMAN Suits
SALOMON The Verdict
SCHIFFRES The Firm
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE …
SALOMON “Women in the studio and in leadership positions.”
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Adrian Perry & Jonathan Sperling
Image Credit: Gittings Photography (2) Perry and Sperling co-led a team of lawyers that represented a music company in one of the largest music catalog deals in the industry. With such clients as Sony Music, Disney, Amazon, the NBA and the NFL, Perry continues to be an authority on AI deals, digital content distribution issues, and data collection and licensing, while Sperling is a go-to litigator for labels in copyright and royalty disputes.
THE SONG THAT DOMINATED MY AIRPODS THIS YEAR
PERRY “Personality Crisis,” by New York Dolls
SPERLING “Am Yisrael Chai,” by Eyal Golan
ARTIST COLLABORATION I WOULD LOVE TO SEE
PERRY Billie Eilish and Julian Casablancas
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Julian Petty
Image Credit: Kai Morrison Warner has been on a white-hot winning streak thanks to breaking new acts like Benson Boone and Teddy Swims, along with the continued success of Zach Bryan. And Petty is working across those new artist deals as well as renegotiations as the label’s executive vp and head of legal affairs. In addition, he negotiated Linkin Park’s partnership with Riot Games and continues to work on the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business Fellowship Program at Howard University, established after the death of George Floyd and aimed at increasing the pipeline for Black executives in the music business.
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE … “Respect for its OGs. I realize it’s a youth-driven business, but there is a lot of talent and insight held by the legacy artists and older execs. We need to do a better job harvesting that institutional knowledge and talent.”
MY FIRST-EVER LIVE SHOW “DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. I vividly remember them rocking the house and strengthening my love for hip-hop.”
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Alexis Robinson & Daniel Schnapp
Image Credit: Sheppard Mullin (2) For the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Robinson and Schnapp negotiated multiyear licenses with Netflix, Spotify, BBC, Univision and more to publicly perform the repertory of musical works of the performing rights organization. The duo also put together numerous membership and financial incentive agreements for new and existing ASCAP members Lauryn Hill, SZA, Kacey Musgraves and Fall Out Boy. Other big clients include TikTok, Vevo and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
MY FAVORITE MOVIE OR SHOW ABOUT LAWYERS
ROBINSON My Cousin Vinny
SCHNAPP The Devil’s Advocate
ARTIST COLLABORATION I WOULD LOVE TO SEE
ROBINSON Amy Winehouse and Kendrick Lamar
SCHNAPP Metallica and Post Malone
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Angela Marie Rogers
Image Credit: Courtesy of Subject After running her own firm for more than a decade, Rogers joined gamma. — the media and technology company and new wave record label — as head of business and legal affairs. There, she handles signings for partners like Usher, Snoop Dogg and Rebel Music’s Sexyy Red while also spearheading strategic partnerships. In addition, she led production legal services at Mass Appeal for the Hulu documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Story Never Told, about the iconic Atlanta street party that took place during the ’80s and ’90s.
MY THOUGHTS ON AI IN MUSIC “Still formulating.”
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE … “Creativity on the business side. The traditional major record label model and traditional independent distribution model need to change. That’s why I’m so excited about being part of gamma. Anything’s possible over here.”
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Jess Rosen
Image Credit: Greenberg Traurig Country music has always been one of music’s top genres, but in the past few years, these stars have dominated the pop scene and reached newer heights. Rosen has been working behind the scenes alongside the genre’s biggest acts, negotiating major tour deals for Kenny Chesney, Kacey Musgraves and Kane Brown, whose publishing catalog he also helped sell. Rosen — who secured more than 240 deals, collectively valued at more than eight figures, in the past year — also negotiated celebrity restaurant license deals for Brown and Miranda Lambert.
THE SONG THAT DOMINATED MY AIRPODS THIS YEAR “Summer Wind,” by Frank Sinatra
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Angela Martinez
Image Credit: Vilmarie Cardenas Martinez is the founder and sole operator of AngieLaw and represents some of the world’s biggest Latin acts, including Ozuna, Luis Fonsi, Feid, Sebastián Yatra, María Becerra and Alemán. In the past year, she continued to navigate the complexities of music law, closing a series of high-stakes agreements, including recording, publishing, distribution and asset purchase deals, collectively securing more than $130 million.
MY FAVORITE MOVIE OR SHOW ABOUT LAWYERS My Cousin Vinny
MY THOUGHTS ON AI IN MUSIC “New technologies in music often meet resistance, as we saw with cassettes, CDs and digital music. While I understand concerns around AI, I believe the industry should focus on ways to monetize it and create unique fan experiences that only artists can provide. Embracing AI can open new opportunities without losing the personal connection central to music.”
MY FIRST-EVER LIVE SHOW “Vanilla Ice, En Vogue and MC Hammer — don’t judge me!”
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Bobby Rosenbloum
Image Credit: Greenberg Traurig In the past year, Rosenbloum has orchestrated deals totaling more than $3 billion. He oversees music licensing and strategy for music AI companies like SourceAudio, Klay Vision, Songbird AI and Oy, as well as social media platforms like Meta, Snap, TikTok, X and Twitch. He’s on speed dial as outside music counsel for such top companies as Mattel, the Coca-Cola Co., Amazon Studios, Lululemon, Verizon Wireless, MLB and Apple Studios — just to name a few. And he serves as deputy general counsel of the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy.
THE SONG THAT DOMINATED MY AIRPODS THIS YEAR “Espresso,” by Sabrina Carpenter (produced by our client Julian Bunetta).
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE … “Solutions for global music publishing licensing. The current fragmentation of the marketplace has made it far too difficult for new businesses to innovate.”
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Matthew Thompson
Image Credit: Sidley Austin Thompson assisted Warner Music Group in its recent reorg of Atlantic Records, including the elevation of 10K Projects founder Elliot Grainge to CEO. Thompson also helped WMG and its affiliates on a joint venture with 10K Projects, home to Ice Spice, Artemas and Trippie Redd. And he’s worked on big catalog acquisitions, including WMG acquiring the entire recorded music catalog of Yes.
MY THOUGHTS ON AI IN MUSIC “Keep it out. Music is a deeply human creation and experience and should stay that way.”
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE … “Ability to connect emergent artists with fans. I know there are a ton of ways to make this happen, but so many young up-and-comers just never find their audience. It’s sad.”
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Debbie White
Image Credit: Diana King Call White the queen of K-pop collabs. She’s represented HYBE — home to BTS — for seven years, and her recent deals include Jung Kook teaming up with Usher for “Standing Next to You”; RM and Megan Thee Stallion joining forces for “Neva Play”; and Jimin linking with NLE Choppa, JVKE and Muni Long on “Angel Pt. 1” and “Angel Pt. 2” from the Fast X soundtrack. She also worked on NewJeans’ global brand ambassadorship with Coca-Cola and is busy outside of the K-pop spectrum, handling deals for clients like Hello Sunshine, The Who, Duran Duran and Christina Aguilera, for her Las Vegas residency and an Airbnb partnership.
THE SONG THAT DOMINATED MY AIRPODS THIS YEAR “Fire for You,” by Cannons, and “A Sky Full of Stars,” by Coldplay.
MY FIRST-EVER LIVE SHOW “Carpenters in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. However, the first concert I truly remember attending was Styx at Radio City Music Hall.”
This story appeared in the Nov. 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
