Music Contracts Demystified: Legal Perspectives for Navigating the Music Industry (CLE)

Join the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville (ABC) and the Country Music Association (CMA) for a panel discussion with seasoned Nashville entertainment attorneys who will share their expertise and insights on the intricate world of music contracts. Gain valuable knowledge on navigating legal challenges, understanding contract terms, protecting your rights as a musician, and maximizing opportunities in the music industry. Whether you're an artist, attorney, or industry professional, this panel will shed light on the unknowns of music contracts, provide practical advice, and empower you to make informed decisions in your music career. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from legal experts and enhance your understanding of the legal landscape in the music industry. Bring your questions! We will close out the evening with an audience Q&A.

CMA is the Presenting Sponsor of this Education Workshop. 

This course has been approved by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education for a maximum of one (1) hour of general credit.

Moderator

Hillel Frankel - Attorney with McGlinchey Stafford PLLC

Hillel Frankel is Of Counsel with McGlinchey Stafford PLLC and works out of their Nashville office focusing on intellectual property and transactional music and entertainment matters.
Hillel has more than 25 years of experience in representing artists, writers, producers, production companies, record labels, visual artists and filmmakers. He also provides counsel in business affairs and business development for start-up production and music tech companies, recording companies as well as apparel, branding, sponsorship and marketing entities. Hillel’s clients range from Nashville music producers and songwriters to Chicago soul legends to current R&B and rap artists as well as legal consulting for music businesses such as labels, publishers, managers and production and merchandise companies.

In his not-so-former life as musician “Frankie Hill,” Hillel recorded and toured internationally on keyboards and saxophone for numerous bands including GRAMMY-nominated Liquid Soul, LA’s Bonedaddys, and Chicago’s P-1 and Heavy Manners

Panelists

Dr. Cheryl Slay Carr - Juris Doctor, University of Maryland School of Law, Doctor of Education, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Master of Public Administration, Clark-Atlanta University, Bachelor of Arts, University of Michigan.

Cheryl Slay Carr is Professor of Music Business at Belmont University.  As an administrator within higher education, Dr. Carr served as Associate Dean of the College of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont for 7 years.  Her background in the creative industries finds its roots in an interdisciplinary combination of studies in law, visual art, and performing as a gospel/jazz/R&B singer.  In law school, she refined her interests to include museum law, cultural antiquities, moral rights within copyright law, and negotiation in the entertainment industry.  Her research and writing emphases focus on the three faces of justice: organizational justice, cultural justice (law and art/entertainment), and the inner justice of the soul. Dr. Carr’s writing and speaking focuses have included commerce in the music industry, entertainment law, diversity in the business of jazz and opera, and the state of Black music.  Her doctoral research combined her interdisciplinary bases of knowledge, focusing on the intersection of diversity, equity and inclusion and policymaking in Higher Education with film-Inspired leadership.  She founded Minding the Gap, a Diversity in Entertainment Industry Symposium that facilitated an annual dialogue on a range of equity issues in the entertainment industry. 

As an attorney-entrepreneur, she founded and managed an entertainment and intellectual property law firm where she represented a range of businesses, filmmakers, authors, record companies, musicians, technology companies, and visual artists. She completed the Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers in International and Comparative Intellectual Property, is a Maryland Bar Foundation Fellow, and an alumna of Leadership Music.  She has served a number of arts organizations through service on boards of directors, including Nashville Opera as Board President, Opera America, Maryland Lawyers for the Arts, Jazz Education Network, the Association for Popular Music Education, and the Association of Arts Administration Educators.  She has been honored as a recipient of the Nashville Business Journal Women of Influence award, Nashville Business Journal Women in Music City award, and is an nFocus magazine Model Behavior honoree. She is an experienced singer and producer of Invocation, an EP of her jazz-inspired recordings (www.musicarr.com).

Michael Ransom - Attorney with Nicholas C. Ferrara & Associates, PLLC

Michael is a veteran of the entertainment industry whose career as a touring and recording artist has allowed him to build a broad legal practice that includes transactional negotiation and drafting, intellectual property protection, and high profile litigation. After graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law with numerous awards and recognitions, Michael joined the firm of King & Ballow where he handled complex litigation matters ranging from copyright infringement to breach of recording agreements on behalf of artists, public figures, software companies, and many others. Taking the invaluable experience gained from litigating, Michael transitioned to a highly regarded transactional law firm where he honed his negotiation and drafting skills representing a wide range of entertainment industry clients. Michael joined Ferrara & Pisarek, PLLC in 2021 and has continued growing a personal practice that includes international touring and recording artists, up and coming producers, major entertainment and software companies, and everything in between.

Todd Hartley - Senior Vice President for Legal and Business Affairs for the Country Music Association, Inc. (CMA)

Todd is Senior Vice President for Legal and Business Affairs for the Country Music Association, Inc. (CMA). Founded in 1958, the CMA is the premier trade association of the Country Music industry. Representing professionals making a living in Country Music globally, the organization serves as a critical resource of support and information, honors excellence in the genre and provides a forum for industry leadership. CMA is dedicated to expanding Country Music around the world through a number of core programs and initiatives including the organization’s three annual television properties—the CMA Awards, “CMA Fest” and “CMA Country Christmas,” all of which air on ABC. The organization’s philanthropic arm, the CMA Foundation, works tirelessly to provide equitable access to music education in order to create impactful change for students and teachers across the United States

At CMA, Todd is a member of the senior leadership team, responsible for managing all inside and outside legal work for the organization and managing risk elements for the organization’s activities, including the marketing, production, and licensing of CMA’s television and music ventures. He is responsible for optimizing deal structures for the organization to drive CMA’s strategic plan. Todd manages a team that facilitates 1000+ transactions per year, including agreements with A-list talent, corporate brands, world class venues, and all major labels. He leads CMA union interactions including with SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA, AFM, and IATSE.

Todd also serves as a Vice Chair and Commissioner for the Nashville Fairgrounds for the City of Nashville, overseeing management of the 100+ acre entertainment facility in the heart of Nashville. The Fairgrounds hosts Nashville's major league soccer team, the Nashville Soccer Club, at Geodis Park. The Fairgrounds also operates the historic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, an over 120 year old racing facility, as well as a city park, multiple mixed use developments, and tens of thousands of feet of rentable venue space.

Todd, along with his wife Laura, are also the owners of Nashville Clubs LLC, a local Nashville business whose mission is to help parents solve for 3-5pm in Nashville by providing high quality after school clubs to Nashville's children.