Biography
Jill A. Michael is an accomplished intellectual property attorney who focuses her practice on corporate and entertainment law. She has over twenty-five years of experience in drafting, reviewing and negotiating all types of contracts, including entertainment-related documents, such as recording, distribution, production, music publishing, producer, management, agency, merchandising, and live touring/performance agreements, and master use, synchronization, and mechanical licenses.
Ms. Michael has handled several significant copyright terminations for songwriter clients, and the resulting negotiations of purchase agreements with major music publishers for those copyrights. Ms. Michael works extensively and in close contact with recording and performing artists, bands, producers, songwriters, record companies, managers and music publishers. She advises clients on and negotiates matters ranging from contractual copyright and royalty issues to recording and record producing issues, to live performance/touring contractual issues, to royalty statement issues concerning proper reporting and payment, to proper song registration with, and collection by, performance royalty organizations.
Representative Clients
- Representation of Oscar- and Grammy-nominated songwriter/composer Shawn Patterson, composer of the theme song for The Lego Movie, “Everything Is Awesome.” Instrumental in assisting Mr. Patterson with garnering his 2015 Oscar nomination for “Best Original Song,” as well as in negotiating his co-publishing agreement with Warner Brothers for the composition. She has also negotiated and closed other agreements for Shawn’s television network and cable series work.
- Assisted in the representation and negotiation of important several music director and live touring agreements for the Grammy-nominated and Emmy-winning music director, keyboardist, performer and arranger, Greg Phillinganes, including the agreement leading to his 2015 Outstanding Music Direction Emmy Award for his work on Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All-Star Grammy Salute.
- Assisted in the negotiation and completion of several important copyright purchase agreements with major publishers for songwriter clients terminating their original copyright grants – one with an extensive “Motown” catalog, and one with a portion of just one top-ten, “hit” pop song.
Publications
| Title | Publisher | Date |
|---|---|---|
| “Music Co-publishing and the Mysterious ‘Writer’s Share’” | American Bar Association’s Entertainment and Sports Lawyer. | 2002 |
Activites
Ms. Michael has participated as a judge in the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law Moot Court competition and has recently been a guest lecturer at New York University’s School of Education Music Entertainment Professions Program, St. John’s Law School, and Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.
- Education
- Fordham University Law School, J.D.
- American University, B.A. in Law & Society
- Bar Admissions
- New York
- Additional Information
- National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences