As a legal professional, academic, and art enthusiast, Michael focuses his career on the complex and nuanced interplays between media, formats, and mediums of the modern entertainment industry. With a specialty in music rights management, media financing, and dispute resolution, Michael is uniquely positioned to advise and advocate for modern artists, content creators, and entrepreneurs who wish to build their brand and media presence empire.

Michael represents a wide variety of clients in negotiating complex agreements and disputes relating to music production, music distribution, media finance, music publishing and administration, film and TV production and distribution, multi-media licensing, and generative artificial intelligence.

Michael is currently an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School teaching Independent Film Finance and Distribution and Metaverse, Web3, and NFT Law, and he remains invested in the interplay between art, technology, and law.

Before becoming an attorney to pursue his passion for advocating for artists and the arts, Michael spent four years working as a musician, with musicians, and for music companies in various facets including song pitching, A&R, film and TV licensing, recording, producing, songwriting, and performing in musical groups around the greater Los Angeles area. 

Negotiated over 50 multi-million-dollar senior financing deals including:

• “Terrifier 3”
• “Sound of Freedom”
• “Woman of The Hour” (Anna Kendrick)
• “Cash Out” (John Travolta)
• “Savage Salvation” (Robert DeNiro; John Malkovich)
• “Gunner” (Morgan Feeman; Liam Hemsworth; John Travolta)
• “97 Minutes” (Alec Baldwin)
• “Guns Up” (Kevin James)

Negotiated music financing for various pictures including:

• “Black Flies” (Sean Penn; debuted at Cannes 2023)
• “Thug” (Liam Neeson)
• “Bride Hard” (Rebel Wilson)

General music counsel for clients including:

• Imagine Entertainment
• Henson Studios
• Story Pirates (an award-winning kids’ podcast featuring artists such as Lin-Manuel Miranda)
• The Comedy Store
• Kidoodle

Negotiated music publishing, merchandising, and rights agreements for various artists and entertainment companies including:

• Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, including playing an integral role in their recent partnership with Warner/Chappell
• The multi-million-dollar sale of a predominant music news outlet to a major entertainment conglomerate

Production counsel on various music-focused productions including:

• “The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium” (HBO)
• “Amazon Music Live”
• “Amazon Music: City Sessions”
• “Apple Music Live”
• “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock” (Henson)

Distribution Counsel for:

• Good Deed Entertainment
• Buffalo 8
• “Sweetwater” (Cary Elwes; Eric Roberts; Richard Dreyfuss)
• “The Last Rodeo” (Neal McDonough; Jon Avnet)

Negotiated music video agreements with stars including Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cry Baby”, Cardi B’s “WAP”, Ben Platt’s “The Rain” as counsel for choreographer JaQuel Knight

Music booker counsel for:

• Netflix’s “The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience”
• “Candle Light” concert series

Negotiated music talent agreements for productions including:

• Village Road Show’s “Cinnamon”
• “Fraggle Rock”
• “Harriet the Spy”
• “Accidental Wolf”
• “Yo Gabba Gabba”

Negotiated Soundtrack agreements including:

• “Julia”
• “The Novice”
• “The Watcher”
• “Oh, Canada”

Music licensing and clearance for documentaries such as:

• “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues”
• “Dear Mama”

Music supervisor counsel on various production such as:

• “Lyle Lyle Crocodile”
• “The Color Purple”
• “Dear Even Hansen”
• “Better Man”
• “Countdown” (Amazon)

PUBLICATIONS

• "Why Music Supervisors are Clashing with Netflix,” Los Angeles Times, 2022
• "The Mechanical Licensing Collective: What it is, Why you should care, and How to make it work for you," Music Connection, 2021
• "Young v Trump 2020: No More Rockin' in the Free World," Daily Journal, 2020
• “COVID-19 Relief for Musicians – Where to Find It and How to Apply,” Gear Gods, 2020
• “Skidmore v Led Zeppelin: A stairway to clearer lines in music copyright?” Daily Journal, 2020
• “Two Cents for the Quarantined Musician,” 2020

Speaking Engagements

• “Mental Illness in the Legal Profession Strategies for Coping,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2024
• "Demystifying Artificial Intelligence in the Entertainment Industry,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2023
• "Industry Update: Music in Web3, NFTs, and the Metaverse,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2023
• "Structuring and Negotiating NFT and Blockchain Agreements,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2022
• “The MLC, Mechanical Licensing Collective: Why It Matters, What’s Changing, How to Collect Your Money,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2021 

Media Mentions

• “Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat and Warner Chappell Publishing Strike Global Partnership,” Variety, 2022
• “Mariah Carey sued by writer of another song named ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’,” Los Angeles Times, 2022

Affiliations

• Beverly Hills Bar Association – Entertainment Law Section
• Recording Academy
• Association of Independent Music Publishers

Bar Admissions

• State Bar of California, December 2018
• United States District Court, Central District of California, December 2018

Education

• Southwestern Law School, Juris Doctor, May 2018
• California State University at Northridge, Bachelor of Arts, Music Industry Studies; Minor, Philosophy, May 2012