72 BILLBOARD | AUGUST 24 , 2 019
BACKSTAGE PASS / Top Music Lawyers 2019
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ILD.Stuart Rosen
Senior vp/general counsel, BMI
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA LAW SCHOOL
In 2017, BMI won its suit to retain the fractional
licensing of songs; the deadline for the
Department of Justice to appeal passed nearly
18 months ago. “That closed the book on what
we felt was a really big accomplishment,” says
Rosen, 60. He continues to focus on the DOJ’s
anticipated review of the consent decree that
has given the government oversight of BMI
since 1941. Rosen played a key role in BMI’s
advocacy of the Music Modernization Act and
is also overseeing BMI’s actions on behalf of its
songwriters against the North American Concert
Promoters Association and the Radio Music
License Committee.
PRESSING ISSUE
“Striking the right balance with wanting to
encourage the growth of these new [digital]
businesses, because they’re our customers. If
they do well, we do well. But you’ve got to figure
out a way, from day one, to deliver value to the
songwriters and publishers whose music is really
the engine behind their websites.”
STREAMING
Patrick Donnelly
Executive vp/general counsel and
secretary, SiriusXM
CORNELL LAW SCHOOL
“It’s time that we grow the pie instead of fighting
over how big the [slices are],” says Donnelly, 57,
of the Music Modernization Act, which became
law in October after last-minute negotiations
between SiriusXM and the rest of the music
industry. “Lawsuits that caused friction are
going to disappear” as a result of the act, he
says. Donnelly also was integral in leading
the negotiations for SiriusXM’s $3.5 billion
acquisition of Pandora — and expects similar
moves by his company in the future. “We’re
always looking at financing or acquisitions.
There’s always going to be something going on.”
Horacio Gutierrez
General counsel/vp business and legal
affairs, Spotify
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
SCHOOL OF LAW
Sofia Sheppard
Associate general counsel/head of global
licensing and business development,
Spotify
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF LAW,
UPPSALA UNIVERSITY (SWEDEN) SCHOOL OF LAW
In the run-up to Spotify’s 2018 public listing,
which gave the music streaming giant a
$30 billion market capitalization, Gutierrez, 54,
spent months negotiating with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, educating employees and
shareholders, as well as working on agreements
with content providers — both the multinational
music companies and independents. Sheppard,
44, helped Spotify launch in the Middle East,
North Africa and India. In the lattermost market,
Spotify’s user base has grown to 2 million.
PRESSING ISSUE
GUTIERREZ “The lack of transparency on
the economics of the music industry and how
the opacity negatively affects creators or
artists. There’s a lot of misinformation about
Spotify’s contribution to the music industry
and the streaming industry in general, and the
significance of the streaming contribution is not
well understood. It is now the largest contributor
to global music-industry revenue today.”
Elizabeth Miles
Director, iTunes and Apple Music legal;
Apple
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, SCHOOL
OF LAW
Robert Windom
Chief counsel for content and services,
Apple
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GOULD
SCHOOL OF LAW
Miles and Windom have supported Apple Music’s
expansion to new platforms — and helped drive
subscriptions — by negotiating deals with mobile
phone carriers, automakers and connected
devices. A partnership with Volkswagen was
followed by one with Fiat Chrysler. A deal with
Verizon led to Apple Music signing with 10 more
carriers worldwide. And, adds Windom, “we
signed with Amazon to be on Alexa-enabled Echo
devices” in November.
FREE LEGAL ADVICE
MILES “Check out the many paths to finding
your voice and your fans before you presume that
any one label, publisher, manager or agent holds
the keys.”
Colin Rushing
Senior vp/general counsel, SoundExchange
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF LAW
Rushing, 46, helped SoundExchange pay out
a record $953 million in 2018, resulting in part
from a $150 million settlement with SiriusXM
over royalties on pre-1972 recordings. “It made
a big impact,” he says of the settlement. “It
pushed us to the record-setting year we had.”
The deal was signed in June 2018; in November,
SoundExchange made its largest distribution to
artists and labels to date.
PRESSING ISSUE
“First, we still don’t have a terrestrial [radio]
performance right for sound recordings,
and we are still fighting for it. Second, the
Music Modernization Act still needs to be
implemented. That will be defining across all
sectors of the industry.”
Kent Walker
Senior vp global affairs, Google
STANFORD LAW SCHOOL
Even the best attorneys can’t win every
argument. The European Union in April gave
final approval to its Copyright Directive despite
Walker’s efforts to oppose it and Google’s
view that the reform legislation, as he puts it,
contained “vague, untested requirements.” The
directive now awaits action by the EU member
states. Walker, 58, oversees Google’s legal
team, which is involved in making music deals
in 50 countries. Google-owned YouTube, which
now hosts videos by some 2 million artists
and reaches 1 billion monthly users — and is a
target of the EU’s action — believes that “more
innovation and collaboration ... are the best way
to achieve a sustainable future for the news and
creative sectors,” says Walker.
NEGOTIATION AND
LITIGATION
Kenneth Abdo
Partner, Fox Rothschild
WILLIAM MITCHELL COLLEGE OF LAW
Tim Mandelbaum
Partner, Fox Rothschild
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER STURM COLLEGE OF LAW
Michael Reinert
Partner, Fox Rothschild
BENJAMIN N. CARDOZO SCHOOL OF LAW
“My mission in life is to work with legacy acts,”
says Abdo, 63, who spent much of the past
year renegotiating Kool & The Gang’s catalog
deal with Universal Music Group, in addition to
brokering deals for clients Toto, Three Dog Night
and Roberta Flack. Mandelbaum, 62, helped
orchestrate the reunion of the Wu-Tang Clan
in time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its
seminal debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36
Chambers), with a 13-stop tour and a Showtime
docuseries. The group’s members have “lots of
issues,” says Mandelbaum, “but they have the
amazing ability to separate business and be
onstage, all peace, love and kumbaya.” Reinert,
62, also is carving a niche in musical heritage,
working on historic projects (including the new
Motown 60th-anniversary film). “I love working
with older artists who come to the realization
of what they want to do with catalog, income
streams [and] likeness rights,” says Reinert. “It’s
a big thing.”
RECENT MEMORABLE CONCERT
REINERT “Jazz Fest in New Orleans. I used to
represent The Subdudes when they were Little
Miles
Windom
Rushing
Walker
FORDHAM LAW SCHOOL
Fordham University
New York
Enrollment 1,269
THE BEST THING ABOUT MY
LAW SCHOOL WAS
“I was expecting law school to
be brutal, and it was not easy.
But it was a very nurturing and
supportive place.”
Ilene Farkas
Pryor Cashman
GEORGETOWN LAW
Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.
Enrollment 2,694
THE BEST THING ABOUT MY
LAW SCHOOL WAS
“I had the unique opportunity to
go to a top-level law school and
coach underclass lacrosse — a
personal passion.”
Shawn Trell
AEG Presents
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
Harvard University
Cambridge, Mass.
Enrollment 1,990
THE BEST THING ABOUT MY
LAW SCHOOL WAS
“Being incredibly intellectually
challenged and learning how to
think in a very critical, logical and
strategic way.”
Donald Passman
G ang Tyre R amer B rown & P a s sman
Top Music Law Schools
Abdo
Mandelbaum
Reinert
S. Rosen
Donnelly
Gutierrez
Sheppard