Baltimore-based entertainment lawyer has guided OutKast and other stars

PAUL W. GARDNER

Age: 34

Profession: Attorney and managing partner, Gardner Law Group, Baltimore

Achievements: Represents national and local talent including Grouchy Greg (co-founder of Allhiphop.com); Mya; Dawn Robinson (En Vogue); Bizzy Bone (Bone Thugs-n-Harmony); K.D. (Prophet Jones); DJ P-Cutta; Ryan Banks; Los of Bad Boy Records; Bibi McGill (lead guitarist for Beyonce Knowles); Darkroom Productions (of the HBO shows “The Wire” and “Rob & Big”) and Bryant McGill. One of the first attorneys to build a MySpace page for networking.

Q. What can an attorney who specializes in entertainment law do for a musician or writer who’s starting out?

A. Look at it this way. If you are advanced $100,000 from your label, you will likely have to sell more than 200,000 CDs before you ever get a single penny from your work. At 200,000 CDs sold, about $3 million has moved through the system. Retail and distribution companies have made about $2 million, and your label has made up to $1 million. However, in artist royalties, you have not made one dime. Thus, attorneys in the entertainment industry provide general legal advice and negotiation skills — but this is only a small part of what we do.

An experienced and “connected” music attorney can be a valuable member of your team, getting your demo in front of the right pair of ears. A good entertainment attorney should also have in their repertoire the ability to be your business advisor and your personal “rainmaker.” In addition to bringing people together for creating deals, your attorney may also administer copyrights and help collect funds on your behalf. Of course, if things go wrong regarding any deal transaction, then your attorney can coordinate the ensuing litigation.

Q. What does an attorney do for an established entertainer after the contracts are signed?

A. After the initial recording contract is signed, an entertainment attorney has numerous contracts to review and negotiate during the artist’s career. Additionally, we accompany artists backstage at events to ensure that agreements are going as they were agreed upon.

Q. How have changes in the music industry changed your work?

A. Entertainment law attorneys now have to be more media-oriented, whereas in the past our main work was on record label contracts. We have to keep up with issues like digital rights management (DRM) and marketing on YouTube and MySpace, and need to be aware of changes in these companies. The universe of material that we need readily available has expanded.

Q. Do you work directly with entertainers, or through agents or other representatives?

A. We work closely with our clients, but we also work through agents and other representatives. It is a prerequisite that we work directly with a client. We don’t want to represent clients where we only go through a middleman, because then we aren’t really representing them. We work directly on the phone and through e-mail with high-profile clients like Mya, Bibi McGill, Dawn Robinson, and Los.

Q. Your firm has major stars from around the country as clients. How does a Baltimore-based firm do that?

A. I largely accomplished this the old-fashioned way: through word of mouth and by speaking on entertainment law panels. Breaking into the entertainment industry isn’t something you can wake up and do, because it’s like trying to get into an exclusive party. There are two main ways to get in: either 1) you get a formal invitation in the mail, or 2) someone from inside the party has to physically come from inside and bring you in. We got in largely through my first two clients, Tommy Davidson and OutKast. We also advertised heavily on MySpace, and I spoke at panels around the country.

Q. How can an entertainer find the right attorney?

A. The best way to find an entertainment attorney is through word of mouth. Ask other artists and industry professionals for recommendations. In addition, entertainment attorneys can often be found at entertainment industry conferences. Attorneys often participate at these events as panelists and usually stick around after the event in order to network and answer questions. However, if you prefer an approach that is less public in nature, then you can contact lawyer referral services.