MONDO.NYC OCTOBER 14-17, 2025

In the burgeoning creator economy, artists are being blindsided by legal regulations. Lynn Gonzalez, Partner, Granderson Des Rochers, LLP, led “Creators Beware: Legal & Business Issues Affecting Emerging Artists” with panelists Matt Cuttler, Partner, Rothenberg, Mohr & Binder, LLP; Alicia Ferriabough Taylor, Partner, The Law Offices of Robert A. Celestin, Esq; Jeanine McLean, President, MBK Entertainment Services & CEO, Cast Light Media; and Antoinette Trottman, SVP, Business Affairs Administration, Universal Music Group. As artists grow, they have had to learn about the regulations around royalty free loops, sample elements, and publishing violations. Trotman said, “it is best for the rights not to get muddy in the sense that some publishers want a fraction of the master rights or the artist wants a fraction of the publishing rights.” As artists become more self-sufficient and educated about the industry, they are less reliant on signing with a large label. However, that means they are missing out on benefits like development and funding. When labels are looking for the next artist to sign, their work ethic and track record are strong starting points. “Not everything is a viral explosion overnight. Some talents have been polishing their art for ten years,” said Cuttler. Ultimately, artists must navigate these complexities carefully to protect their livelihood and ensure long-term success in an evolving industry. Isis Alava

Discussions surrounding AI are inescapable in the current music industry landscape. In “Dealmaking in the Generative AI Space,” Dallin Earl, Associate, Covington & Burling LLP, led a discussion with panelists Linda Cole, Chief Legal Officer, Native Instruments; David Hughes, Principle, Hughes Strategic; and Lidia Kim, VP, Business & Legal Affairs, Concord Music Publishing; about the importance of transparency when working with AI. Hughes emphasized the importance of AI generator creators obtaining the appropriate licensing to produce the new content. This usually included often personality rights and a copyright license.   Without at least a surface level understanding how AI works, it would be nearly impossible to obtain appropriate licensing, such as a blanket license for a broad approach. Cole noted that AI has leaked into privacy policies, stating, “at Native Instruments, we state when we will use such content and how it will be stored, because it only takes one incident to destroy a brand.” Kim gave insight from a music publisher’s perspective, highlighting how vital it is to have an express reservation of rights to ensure that any license to partners is not granting rights to any copyright-use exceptions. Overall, there is still much work to do when tackling issues related to AI, but the tips provided by the panel give attorneys as well as future attorneys a good head start on what things to note on cases involving AI. Isis Alava

Michael Poster, Chair of Music Acquisitions & Financing and Partner, Michelman & Robinson, LLP LLP, returned to the stage to moderate “Catalog Shopping 2024.” Panelists Richard Conlon, Co-Founder & Partner, Catch Point Rights Partners; Jake DeVries, Director, Music Economics & Valuation Services Practice, Citrin Cooperman; Cynthia Katz (Goldfrach), Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP; & Alexandria ("Lexi") Todd (she/her), Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs, Primary Wave Music; discussed the importance of considering an artist when purchasing an artist’s catalog, instead of solely the catalog. Todd noted, “we want the artist to be involved in the process.” At her company, their partnership model allows the artist to retain a share after they sell.   There are some unique considerations in the catalog market, such as showing chain of title of songs, lien searches, judgment searches, residency, and tax returns. In addition, buyers must think about what the seller wants to give and what is it that you would like to gain – assets like the artist’s name, image, and likeness are important here. The panel highlighted exceptions like the “Weinstein” clause, stating that the seller has never and has not been accused of any claims of sexual misconduct. Clauses like this are to protect the catalog purchaser from any potential future negative impacts. As catalog buyers, no deal is a one-size-fits-all agreement. Conlon summarized the panel, saying, “every deal is very personal, you’re not investing in stuff, it’s people.” Isis Alava

Led by Scott Sholder, Partner, Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, the “‘Toe 2 Toe’: The 2023-2024 Music Litigation ‘Paper Chase’” panel heavily focused on current and past cases that have set precedents for music copyright litigation. Panelists Cynthia Arato, Co-Founder, Shapiro Arato Bach LLP; Frank Scibilia, Partner & Co-Chair, Copyright and Music Practices, Pryor Cashman; and Jake Tracer, SVP, Litigation & Legal Affairs, Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA); discussed topics such as sound recording used to train AI, fairuse, contributory copyright infringement, substantial similarity, personality rights, damages, and copyright termination. Discussions declared that fair use is an overused defense, where certain defendants are not-for-profit, and believe that for this reason alone they qualify for fair use. As was the case in Hachette Book Group v. Internet Archive (2004), non-profit status is not determinative of fair use. UMG v. Grande Communications (2024) reminds us of the consequences of contributory copyright infringement where the defendant knew about its subscribers’ infringing activity, resulting in $46,766,200 in statutory damages. The overall takeaway urged for creators to get a license. It’s in their best interest to not infringe on someone else’s creative works. Isis Alava

Industry experts Charles Goldstuck, Managing Partner, GoldState Music, and Michael Poster, Chair of Music Acquisitions & Financing and Partner, Michelman & Robinson, LLP, were joined by Grammy nominee, singer, songwriter, producer, and wellness advocate Mike Posner on Friday afternoon for “Bringing Creative Talent to Music Investments.” After conquering goals including writing hit songs, walking across the United States, and climbing Mount Everest, Posner decided he wanted to learn more about asset allocation. Posner met with Goldstuck, and the two developed a mutually beneficial relationship. Throughout the panel, the three discussed the intersection of creativity and strategy in music investments, with Posner providing creative insight to Goldstuck and his investment portfolio knowledge. Goldstuck believes a lasting business strategy emphasizes that long-term success relies on more than just financial returns, stating, “Mike is a very important part of how we think about things because we want his creative opinion on the repertoire and whether we want to buy a catalog or not.”   Posner has sold a portion of his catalog, and explained his journey from artist to investor, noting that his passion for music led him to seek meaningful partnerships. He highlighted the importance of working with high-integrity partners like Goldstuck, who care about music beyond its financial value. Posner commented, “artists are conduits in the divine like delicate flowers who you want to protect, so one cannot recommend someone without high integrity.” Goldstuck is also selective about his partners, as he believes investments go beyond monetary investments and create relationships between people. Goldstuck’s tip to anyone who seeks to invest in artists is to really commit to the business. Commitment forces one to prioritize partnerships and community. By merging Posner’s creativity with Charles’s strategies and experience, they have built a perfect harmony and ensure that the artists’ legacies are being honored and respected. Isis Alava & Joowon P.

Moderated by Phil Hill, Special Counsel, Music Industry Practice, Covington & Burling LLP, “A Whole New World: Developments in Music Public Policy Around the World” featured panelists Simon Goodbody, Partner, Bray & Krais; music lawyer Willie Ryan; Shannon Sorensen, SVP, Legal and Business Affairs, National Music Publishers' Association; and Nick Xenakis, Of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP. Considering today’s fast paced technological innovations like AI, panelists looked at what artists are doing to keep up.   While AI can have its benefits, Sorensen reminded us of the Copyright Office’s guidance – per Thaler v Perlmutter (2023), only humans can be considered authors, and AI cannot be copyrighted. Xenakis believes we can expect to see an influx of caselaw setting precedents in AI matters over the coming years, such as the American Music Fairness Act. The Act seeks remedy the fact that sound recording rights holders do not receive royalties when their music is played on the radio. The panel agreed that there is a lot of earning potential that is being lost without implementation the Act.   International insight was provided by Goodbody, from the United Kingdom, and Ryan, from Ireland. In the UK, there isn’t copyright office, however, they have determined that co-authorship between AI and human creators does not exist. Since the UK’s departure from the European Union, precedent on the originality element in copyright law is subject to change in the future, but the human interaction element is unwavering. Ryan also touched on the criminality of deepfakes, and how lawyers are left playing “whack-a-mole” to take them down. Delaney Durbin & Isis Alava

While considering the Deezer article on their “artist-centric” model, moderator Serona Elton, Head of Educational Partnerships, The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), led the analysis and explanation of the complications that come with different artist compensation models in “Streaming State of Affairs: Opportunity, Security & Fraud.” Panelists determined that the user-centric model is the favorite, as it distributes streaming revenue from listener to listener and reflects individuals’ musical preferences. In the pro-rata model, all the streaming monies go into one large pool, before being divided against the total number of streams across the platform. This results in only the most popular artists getting the largest paycheck. Michael Pelczynski, Chief Strategy & Impact Officer, Voice-Swap, observed that the pro-rata model made sense ten years ago when streaming’s potential was debatable, but today streaming is how the majority of the world listens to music. Lawrence Kanusher, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, also touched on the dangers of streaming fraud, fraud user’s methods, and how artificial streams are used every day to pull money out of the pro-rata streaming. Kanusher stated, “in the old model, the goal was to create demand for potential consumption. In the new model, the goal is to create demand for actual consumption.” Most of the panel agreed that the pro-rata model is likely outdated. Molly Neuman, President, CD Baby, summarized it perfectly, saying, “the pro-rata business model leaves artists to either compete with artificially inflated stream counts or to consider engaging in costly, unethical, and improper practices themselves.”

Nicole Haff, Senior Counsel, Lewis & Lin, LLC, was joined by Tal Dickstein, Partner, Loeb & Loeb LLP; Tyler Maulsby, Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; & Nick Shapiro, Founder & CEO, 10th Avenue Consulting, LLC; kicked off Mondo.NYC’s CLE program with “Managing in the Face of Crisis.” Panelists covered a wide variety of topics, including contract drafting, specifically morals clauses, the ethics and professional duties owed to your client when there are third parties involved, and litigation actions like filing demand letters. The panel defined morals clauses as specific conduct that may shock or offend the community and thus, reflect poorly on a company, but their enforcement also faces several limitations. These include concerns about first amendment rights and industry-specific restrictions such as the prohibition of morality clauses in Director’s Guild agreements. Maulsby offered a refresher on ABA model rules, emphasizing what to consider while dealing with third parties and sending out demand letters to a client’s manager or agent.  NDAs were also a hot topic of discussion. Shapiro weighed in, stating, “I don’t let my clients sign NDAs. Gone are the days of paying people for their silence. First, it just looks awful and it is likely going to be worse to pay for silence than what actually happened. We have seen so much bad behavior that it’s best to treat the person with respect.” As legal and professional standards shift, it is critical for attorneys and their clients to adapt to these changes to safeguard their reputations and legal standing. Isis Alava

I am thrilled to have attended my first-ever music conference at MONDO.NYC OCTOBER 15-18, 2024 last Friday! 🎵🗽 MONDO, NYC's annual festival, brought together the best music, arts, and technology in the heart of New York City. Last semester, my Music Curation in Media course professor, Josh Rabinowitz, introduced this event to the class. The experience was invaluable, and the day's topics ranged from diving deep into AI applications and music licensing to understanding the intricacies of deal-making in the industry. A highlight was connecting with two exceptional seniors Max Blackman and Alexa Rose Burnston from Sony Music Entertainment. In a beautiful coincidence, Mr. Blackman had previously interned at Primary Wave, where I had recently completed my internship! I am grateful for these meaningful connections and looking forward to applying these insights in my music industry journey. 🎶 #MONDONYC #MusicIndustry #MusicBusiness #MusicTech #NYCMusic

Great week in New York talking music investments, release strategies and catalog optimization! Thanks MONDO.NYC OCTOBER 15-18, 2024 for hosting and providing an opportunity to connect with great minds across our industry! Next stop: Santa Monica for Music Tectonics !