How to Become a Music Lawyer

Originally written for the publisher Wiley’s client: https://www.lawyeredu.org/

The complexities of the music industry have grown substantially in the technological era –in some ways to the benefit of all, including musicians, and others to their detriment. 

This is due to advancements such as streaming, the ability for musicians to produce their music independently on platforms like Soundcloud, and to do so with genuine studio quality using software like ProTools. 

Nevertheless, the music industry has always been complicated by record sales, musician contract negotiations, touring, album promotion, and even musicians' drama. 

Music lawyers are needed in the industry to protect musicians and record companies in fair proportions, and by a considerable measure, that is the sole occupation of music lawyers. 

Going to law school and specializing in music law provides music lawyers with the tools to fulfill that demand exclusively. 

Likewise, networking with music industry communities and learning about the non-legal aspects of it are necessary for successfully fulfilling the responsibilities of a music lawyer. 

However, the profession of music law has had its public image tainted by too many incidents in which music lawyers aided record companies to leave musicians on the wrong end of a contract –and there are vanishingly few incidents in which the reverse occurs. 

In the public eye, music lawyers are only out for themselves; given that, they are always biased towards siding with record labels over musicians. 

What this has obscured in the public eye is that most music lawyers are not biased in this manner but that a sizable number of music lawyers are –and in spite of the latter, the former, entailing perfectly ethical and fair legal work, goes utterly unnoticed. 

This is to say, despite the fact that most music lawyers arrive musicians at fair agreements, they are still shunned, and that is unfair.  

What does it mean when music law goes right? What does it look like when music lawyers bring about fair agreements between musicians and record companies? 

How can music lawyers avoid being on the receiving end of songs like “EMI” by the Sex Pistols, which was directed at this very issue and which has been followed by an onslaught of similar songs from other musicians? 

Understanding how to become a music lawyer requires that you understand all of this about the profession and the music industry beforehand because a bad reputation can be profoundly stressful –especially when it is a surprise. 

But more importantly than that, to become a music lawyer, you must understand what it even means to be a music lawyer –which is also required for breaking the prejudice surrounding this profession in the sphere of public opinion. 

What is a Music Lawyer? 

Music law is exactly what it sounds like –the branch of law that deals with legal issues in music. It settles disputes across parties in the music industry through formal training in law school and practical experience working with clients in a law firm. 

Music lawyers take cases including copyright, contract management/negotiations, trademark disputes, and sometimes personal and/or professional conflict management among artists.

Consider, for example, the case of Eminem’s song “Kill You” on his 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP, which resulted in a 10 million dollar lawsuit from French pianist Jacques Loussier, who claims that Eminem used a sample from Loussier’s jazz-fusion song “Pulsion.”  

In such an instance, the case involved is one of copyright infringement, and music lawyers in such a case represent musicians in both parties –in this case, the suit was settled out of court between Universal Music Group and Loussier. 

Famous cases of other types are endless –Drake’s lawyer Larry Stein, for instance, has famously facilitated the rapper and R&B singer’s achievement of becoming among the wealthiest artists of all time through outstanding contract negotiation practices. 

Hence, the day-to-day workflow of a music lawyer will involve working through cases of these in kind and others that are similar –working closely with artists, record label executives and touring mediators to reach agreements and to prevent cases from getting out of hand.

Settling disputes between musicians or between record labels and musicians is especially difficult for unique psychological reasons, as the ultimate object at hand for salient consideration is art, which in many cases is highly personal and riddled with ego. 

Hence, music lawyers must understand how to effectively deal with individuals under the possession of a cult of personality –learning how to tell clients not to act or speak in specific situations and places with some personalities is a profound legal roadblock in and of itself. 

Lawyers might even become responsible for ensuring that musicians do not break the law –or at least coaching them toward more civil behavior. This is an example of some of the more informal tasks required of a music lawyer. 

Creative-type individuals are often unhinged and need help understanding law or finances. The sole duty of music lawyers is to ensure that, despite these pitfalls in understanding, clients are treated with dignity, fairness, and compassion. 

Ideally, a music attorney's role is to become an ally to people within the music industry, especially artists. 

Music Lawyer Salary 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2021, the median salary for lawyers is $127,990. 

While the Bureau of Labor Statistics hasn’t collected data regarding the salary of music attorneys, in particular, the average salary of a general lawyer is a good yardstick for salary expectations in law, no matter what branch you decide to pursue. 

Luckily, law is a career that is highly scalable in terms of income. If you study hard in law school and dedicate your life to your profession, you will significantly exceed a $127,900 salary as a music lawyer. 

Music Lawyer Jobs 

The jobs one can have as a music lawyer aren’t singular but are highly varied. 

Music lawyers can have clientele from artists, labels, other industry parties, or a mixture of all in their pool of clients. 

Likewise, music lawyers can work as many or as few hours as they like –-either working full-time, part-time or on a contract-to-contract basis. 

Nevertheless, it is highly recommended, especially early in a law career, that you put in more hours, as opposed to less, because that way, you can build a clientele and experience base that justifies putting in fewer hours.

Getting experience before law school or during law school working jobs either in a law firm in any capacity or as a paralegal is an excellent way to get started on this process. 

How to Become a Music Lawyer 

An essential step in becoming a music lawyer is acquiring a JD by going to law school. While in law school, you can choose to specialize in studying music law which is really the only way to truly understand the subject of law in the music industry. 

Without a formal education in law, while in theory, anyone can represent another person in a court of law, it will be a highly embarrassing affair doing so without the necessary education. 

To qualify for law school, however, one first needs a bachelor’s degree. The requirement of a bachelor’s degree for law school does not entail any specific major –just the degree itself. 

However, if becoming a music lawyer is the path you are interested in, majoring in music, PR, media, or philosophy are all ideal options. 

In law school, part of specializing in music law will require students to understand the music industry as a whole –specifically in its socio-cultural manifestations. 

It is one thing to understand perfectly the law of a particular industry. Still, if you do not understand the ins and outs of that industry’s non-legal aspects, that is a substantial gap in one’s ability to serve clients, who will undoubtedly have trouble communicating with you. 

Apart from acquiring a formal education in music, the best way to understand the ins and outs of the music industry is to do so through networking. 

By meeting many individuals who know a substantial amount about the music industry, one can find opportunities to receive mentorship, do volunteer work, and even acquire social connections with high-profile musicians and industry figures. 

This could mean going to the clubs with rappers to talk with other artists or sitting down with an industry executive and discussing what makes things tick legally in music. 

Besides networking, a tremendous amount of literature on the music industry is available, and much of it is accessible for free on the internet. 

The point is that knowing who your clients are –namely, what challenges they deal with on a day-to-day basis– in a non-legal matter is just as crucial to becoming a good music lawyer as is passing the bar exam and studying music law deeply in law school. 

Therefore, the two elements necessary for becoming a music lawyer are formal education in music law and a good understanding of the music industry –whether through formal or informal educational methods.