Volume 4 - No.401 by Anthony R. Berman, Esq. Since this trend is likely to continue it is advisable to locate legal counsel with broad experience in multimedia licensing and development issues, as well as the traditional background in recording and publishing deal negotiations. Negotiation skills and general legal counsel are only a portion of what attorneys bring to the table in the music industry. Many attorneys are defacto business advisors and professional matchmakers, bringing parties together for new projects.
Some attorneys administer copyrights and collect and receive funds on behalf of their clients.
And, of course, when deals go sour, an attorney coordinates the litigation process to resolve the claim. Finding an attorney requires some research and the best place to start is word of mouth. Ask other musicians, managers, studio owners for recommendations. The music industry is a relatively small network of professionals who tend to interface on a regular basis. One of these places is music industry conferences.