82 BILLBOARD | AUGUST 24, 2019
LIL NAS X: L. JACOBS. FRANKENHEIMER: LOEB &LOEB. FRID, MILLER: MILLER BARONDESS. GODESKY: O’MELVENY & MYERS. GREENSPAN, ROSENBERG: MYMAN GREENSPAN FOX ROSENBERG MOBASSER YOUNGER & LIGHT. GREENSTEIN: WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI. GRUBMAN: JEFFREY DAY. JACOBS: BEN RITTER.
MEISELAS: MATT FURMAN.BACKSTAGE PASS / Top Music Lawyers 2019
PRESSING ISSUE
“The continuing fracturing of performance
rights organizations from the three traditional
PROs to new ones like Global Music Rights and
Pro Music Rights.”Allen Grubman
Founder/senior partner, Grubman Shire
Meiselas & Sacks
BROOKLYN LAW SCHOOLDavid Jacobs
Partner, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks
NEW YORK LAW SCHOOLKenny Meiselas
Senior partner, Grubman Shire Meiselas
& Sacks
MAURICE A. DEANE SCHOOL OF LAW AT
HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Grubman started 44 years ago with “a table, a
chair and a phone,” he recalls, and has grown his
firm beyond the music industry to focus on every
aspect of media and entertainment. “We representstatistic speaks to an urgent industry issue: “The
equitable division of proceeds from the explosion
of the streaming economy.” Greenspan’s client,
Christina Aguilera, after her first major tour in
a decade, launched her Las Vegas residency in
June. Greenspan also negotiated tours last year for
Bon Jovi, Dead & Company, Red Hot Chili Peppers
and Guns N’ Roses. “Forget all the stuff about
nobody caring about rock music anymore,” he
says. ”This [touring success] is the real stuff.”Gary Greenstein
Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW
SCHOOL
Greenstein advised digital companies in
negotiations leading to industrywide acceptance
and passage last year of the Music Modernization
Act. He also represents parties before the
Copyright Royalty Board and typically works
behind the scenes for Silicon Valley technology
companies including Google, advising them on
music-related issues, and digital music providers
including Pandora, Spotify and Tencent.John Frankenheimer
Chair, music industry practice; Loeb
& Loeb
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES,
SCHOOL OF LAW
Frankenheimer’s client Diana Ross this year is
celebrating the 60th year of her career, “and there
is a tremendous amount of activity around that,”
he says, including Ross’ ongoing Songbook Tour.
Frankenheimer advised Superfly Events in the sale
of its share of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
to Live Nation and represented WG&S in its merger
with Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman “to create one
of the pre-eminent business management firms.
When you are putting two great organizations
together, one plus one equals three.”
DEAL POINT HE WOULD LIKE TO SEE
“The only thing that should be recoupable
[against artist royalties] is the advance; all the
other costs should be borne by the label. The
artist also should always see some money from
the very first unit, and that percentage should rise
based on success.”
Sasha Frid
Partner, Miller Barondess
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, SCHOOL
OF LAW
Louis “Skip” Miller
Partner, Miller Barondess
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES,
SCHOOL OF LAW
Miller, 72, is representing Inglewood, Calif., in
its efforts to keep Madison Square Garden from
blocking construction of the city’s new arena
— which will rival The Forum, run by MSG. The
dispute “involves billions of dollars, the future of
the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers [who will play at
the new arena] and a significant part of the city’s
future,” he says. Frid guided Mötley Crüe through
the rollout of the band’s Netflix biopic, The Dirt.
He also successfully defended Nile Rodgers
against former manager Peter Herman claiming
he was owed unpaid commissions. “Get it in
writing,” he advises. “I can’t tell you how many
times things get misinterpreted or promises
are not kept.”
Leah Godesky
Partner, O’Melveny & Myers
COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL
Godesky, 36, scored a big win for Kesha in her
legal battle with Dr. Luke (aka Lukasz Gottwald)
in May when a New York appeals court affirmed
that Sony Music has to tell the singer who it
interviewed as part of its internal investigation
into her sexual misconduct claims against the
producer. “It helps ensure that Kesha has access
to the information that she needs to defend
herself,” she says.
Eric Greenspan
Founder/partner/head of the music
department, Myman Greenspan Fox
Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY WASHINGTON COLLEGE
OF LAW
Aaron Rosenberg
Partner, Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg
Mobasser Younger & Light
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
Rosenberg’s client Ariana Grande broke a
streaming record during the last year: Her
Thank U, Next album posted 307 million first-week
on-demand audio streams. For Rosenberg, 42, the
GreensteinGrubmanJacobsUNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA,
LOS ANGELES,
SCHOOL OF LAW
Los Angeles
Enrollment 1,197THE BEST THING ABOUT MY
LAW SCHOOL WAS
“Having interesting professors
and making friends then who
are still my friends.”
Louis “Skip” Miller
Miller BarondessUNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
SCHOOL OF LAW
Miami
Enrollment 1,019
THE BEST THING ABOUT MY
LAW SCHOOL WAS
“Besides the beach, sun and
palm trees, the school helped
me find an internship at
Universal Music Latin, which
shaped my career to date.”
Simran Singh
Singh Singh & TraubenUNIVERSITY OF
PENNSYLVANIA LAW
SCHOOL
Philadelphia
Enrollment 871THE BEST THING ABOUT MY
LAW SCHOOL WAS
“Penn has a unique culture. People
were really collaborative. I learned
people succeed when they work
together and pull each other up.”
Danielle Aguirre
National Music Publishers’
AssociationTop Music Law Schools
FrankenheimerFridMillerGodeskyGreenspanRosenbergDavid Jacobs (left)
with client Lil Nas X,
whose hit “Old
Tow n Ro a d ” s p e n t
a record-setting
19 weeks atop the
Hot 100.Meiselas