Entertainment Law

A successful artist's name and image can become valuable commodities. Use of the artist's name and likeness by another party can infringe on rights held by the artist. The legitimacy of such uses is often unclear and is based on several areas of law that overlap and sometimes contradict each other, such as right to privacy, right to publicity, UNFAIR COMPETITION, DEFAMATION, and FIRST AMENDMENT law.

Concerns about long-term contracts and record labels taking advantage of rock stars have caused major stars to lobby Congress. Don Henley, Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette have spoken before Congress on the need for rock stars to represent their own interests, without so much interference or control from record companies. Singer-songwriter Don Henley, co-founder of the Recording Artists Coalition, which represents dozens of stars, including Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Q-Tip, and Peggy Lee, said of the movement, "Record companies have been screwing artists for ages. It's time we organize and fight back. We've got our own trade group now. We're going to Washington."