Deal Shopping
Entertainment attorneys are often asked by prospective clients whether they do deal shopping—i.e., whether they approach record companies and music publishers to try to get record deals and publishing deals for their clients.
In my experience, attorneys who advertise that they do deal shopping are usually the last people in the world you want representing you to labels and publishers. Often they’re shopping multiple clients at the same time, which gives the impression to labels and publishers that they’re just deal shopping for hire and don’t really believe in the music.
And there’s another issue, which is a more recent development. In the past, labels were generally more willing to consider material brought to them from attorneys, since there was always a possibility of an obscure artist who might be the next big thing. But these days, labels and publishers have their ears much more to the ground, and therefore sometimes believe (incorrectly, I might add) that if there are any unsigned artists out there they should know about, they already know about them.
There is, however, one instance in which I’ve seen deal shopping occasionally work successfully. Sometimes an extremely well-connected attorney will take a strong personal interest in an artist and want to do anything possible to help, including approaching labels and/or publishers on the artist’s behalf. Having great connections will help the attorney get through the door and be taken seriously. That being said, my experience has been that if the label or publisher doesn’t fall in love with the artist, or believe that the artist has great commercial potential, they’re not likely to be interested in signing the artist. And even if they do sign the artist—based primarily on the attorney’s status in the industry—it’s ultimately not likely that they will put out the promotional muscle necessary to make the artist a success.
If you decide to hire an attorney to do deal shopping, make sure their compensation is on a percentage basis only, and that you don’t have to front the legal cost. If they don’t believe in you enough to shop you on a percentage basis, they probably don’t envision their shopping efforts being very successful. And make sure you have a clear written agreement with the attorney, spelling out the arrangements. It’s best not to sign such an agreement until you’ve first had an opportunity to ask another music business expert whether the terms of the agreement are reasonable.
Contacting an Attorney for the First Time
Before you contact an attorney, make sure that you’re clear in your own mind what you expect, and define what your legal needs are, as best you can. Be ready to concisely and clearly communicate those needs to the attorney. The more you can do so, the more professional you will seem, and the more seriously you will be taken.
Some attorneys will be willing to have a no-charge introductory meeting with you, so you can meet them and feel out whether they might be a good fit for you.
You could start this process by calling a few attorneys or sending them an email describing briefly who you are and what you do, and what your legal needs are. If the attorneys are in your local area, you could also ask whether they would be willing to spend a few minutes with you so that you can meet them. Be careful not to hype yourself to them; just be down to earth. Experienced entertainment attorneys have pretty advanced BS detectors, and it will hurt your credibility if they think you’re at all exaggerating your situation.
If you find one or more attorneys willing to briefly meet with you on an introductory basis, don’t expect them to discuss the details of your legal matters or to give you legal advice. Remember that the point of the meeting is just to meet the attorney. If they think you’re just trying to get free legal advice, it won’t start out the relationship on a very good basis. And be sure to stick to the allotted time unless the attorney clearly indicates that he or she wants to have a longer session with you.
Attorneys are not purely mercenary creatures; most attorneys I know do a substantial amount of pro bono work. But most attorneys have significant overhead costs and very busy schedules, and do not have the luxury of donating big blocks of their time to non-paying clients.
It can sometimes take awhile to find an attorney who is a good fit. So it’s always better to start looking sooner than later.
