Power Move of the Week™ · Entertainment Business
The artist who hired a lawyer before a manager — and saved the deal
Order of hires changed the outcome of a first publishing negotiation.
Week of July 20, 20263 min read
- Who
- Songwriter–producer, Atlanta
- The move
- Retained an entertainment lawyer on an hourly basis before signing any representation.
Most emerging artists hire a manager first because a manager costs nothing upfront. But a manager's commission is on gross, and the first contracts they negotiate set the ceiling for years.
Paying a lawyer for four hours of review before signing anything cost less than one month of commission and removed a perpetual-term clause from a publishing offer.
Build the team in the order that protects ownership: lawyer, accountant, then manager.
Key takeaways
- Hourly legal review is the cheapest insurance in entertainment.
- Commission structures should be defined in writing before the first deal.
- The first contract sets the template for everything after it.
The playbook
Budget four hours
Even a single review session catches perpetual and cross-collateralisation clauses.
Define the scope
Ask what a manager commissions and what they do not.
Keep your own files
Store every signed document where you control access.