Music

Streaming and visual media. Virtual and augmented reality. Globalization. The evolving business models of independent labels. The rise of music festivals. Blockchain. Broadway and the modern music industry. These are just a few of the disruptors transforming the music industry. Under the hype, there are unprecedented opportunities for growth and innovation.

Loeb & Loeb has been recognized as a leader and an innovator in the music industry for more than half a century. Repeatedly named “Law Firm of the Year” in Entertainment Law — Music by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers, we have been a part of every turn as the industry — time and again — reinvents itself. Our clients range from some of the world’s largest music companies and most successful talent — recording artists, songwriters, producers and managers — to major financial institutions and investors, publishing companies, executives, celebrities and influencers, and leading technology companies. Our work is international, with clients that include China’s largest media company as well as the latest K-Pop superstars that are taking the world by storm.

Our longevity in the industry, our experience representing every type of stakeholder around the deal table and our well-earned credibility with industry leaders give us a 360-degree perspective and the ability to engage in decision-level dialogue and provide creative, practical solutions to resolve matters efficiently and effectively.

We counsel on the valuation, acquisition and sale, and administration and licensing of recording and publishing catalogs, handling acquisitions and sales of music catalogs valued at over $12 billion in the aggregate over the past few years alone. We are very active in representing our clients in capital raises, merger and acquisition opportunities, and generally in the growth and expansion of their businesses.

In today’s technology-driven marketplace, Loeb has been at the forefront of structuring and negotiating a significant number of the most complicated licensing agreements as well as the earliest agreements for ringtones, digital downloading, digital content, aggregations, peer-to-peer distribution, all forms of API licensing and webcasting. 

Our work extends to finance and lending, areas in which our lawyers assist music industry clients in shaping capital structures and raising debt and equity capital. We handle a large number of entertainment and media mergers and acquisitions, advising on intellectual property due diligence, industry-specific valuations, and other matters related to the merger, acquisition or sale of entertainment assets or companies.

We handle a full list of both more traditional and market-leading music industry transactions. We negotiate multimillion-dollar recording and publishing deals; festival formation and financing, as well as the multitude of IP and business matters associated with these endeavors; live touring; content licensing; merchandising and sponsorship agreements; and other business arrangements for some of the most successful and up-and-coming names in the music industry. We also represent motion picture and television producers in the acquisition and production of music for film, television, video programs, theatrical productions and interactive media projects, as well as the creation of new IP inspired by or based on existing music IP.

Our music industry team also draws on Loeb’s market-leading work in advertising, media and promotions across traditional and emerging channels for our extensive representation of major brands, advertising agencies, music companies and artists in first-of-their-kind, high-profile endorsement and sponsorship agreements.

In spite of our long history — or perhaps because of it — we understand that there is more to the music industry than recording deals. Our team brings together a deep bench of legal talent from across the firm, including practitioners from our intellectual property, litigation, corporate, tax, finance, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions teams, to provide a full complement of services for our music industry clients. 

At Loeb, our lawyers have a passion and love for this industry — and a reverence for music’s unwavering ability to unite communities and cultures … and bring us closer together.