Interview With Rush Hicks, Entertainment Lawyer

Rush Hicks is a well-known Entertainment Lawyer in Nashville, TN.  His most notable clients he lists are "Randy Travis, Take 6, Larry the Cable Guy, Luke Bryan, Bryan White, Leann Rimes and Paramore". To get some insight into the music industry I asked him a few questions.

Where did you attend law school and how to do obtaining training for the specific role of an Entertainment Lawyer?

Hicks: Mercer University.  The training really came after I finished law school.  I took an unusual route in that I attended a semester of Belmont after law school taking music business classes.

What drove you into the specialized field of Entertainment Law?

Hicks:  I have a music degree from college and have always played music.  It seemed a natural for me.

How many years have you been practicing law?

Hicks:  30 years and I've represented record companies, artists, songwriters, music publishers and managers. regulations to follow.

Being interested in venue management I asked Rush Hicks if he had ever represented a music venue, unfortunately he had not. He did however offer some words of wisdom for someone looking to open a music venue. "Be extremely careful. Lots of local regulations to follow."  He is correct; many communities have sound ordinances, building codes, and require special permits to have live music.

In a past blog I talked about Performance Rights Organizations and how a venue must obtain a license from one or all three of them to play music.  I asked Hicks if he had an experience representing a client dealing with a PRO issue. 

Hicks:  I did represent a club in Johnson City, TN that was sued by BMI.  I convinced the club owner to settle because he was violating Copyright Law.

It can be a long and expensive journey fighting a PRO lawsuit.  Hicks was very ethical in convincing the client to settle, the club was in the wrong by not getting a PRO license.  Maybe they did not know or maybe they were trying to save money. Either way, it is very important to know what is necessary to obtain when running a club or venue.

If you want to open a music venue, you may not need to pay the extra money to hire a specialist in the entertainment law field, but you should get a lawyer. Most lawyers have a basic understanding of the legalities of starting a business and can help you get an organized and informed start to your business.  The courthouse will also be your best friend.  That is where you will go to get all your permits, licenses (not PRO licenses) and you can learn about all the local regulations you will have to follow.

Rush Hicks did have some advice for bands as well. I asked him when he thinks a band should bring in a lawyer to guide them through the legal processes a band faces.

Hicks:  From the very beginning.  It's expensive for a new band to hire an entertainment attorney, but it's well worth it.

When artists like Paramore come to you, do you find that they have everything legally in line? Songs copyrighted, band agreements, contracts, etc.  Or is it just a mess of backlogged work.  Do you take care of these things for the band or do you leave that up to their managers and labels to sort out?

Hicks:  I represented Hayley and the band from the beginning of her career so I handled their recording and publishing contracts, incorporating the band, trademarks, and touring agreements.

Hayley from Paramore was brought up in a music business oriented family who knew the importance of making everything legal. Most bands don't have that advantage so they do much of these tasks themselves and then once they start getting success is when they turn to a lawyer.  Rush Hicks handles documents that confuse most band members, even if you are small band, it could be wise to seek legal help rather than investing in equipment or studio time.  The perk about Entertainment Lawyers is they work in the Industry, meaning they know people who could potentially help your band succeed.  This can be applied to a venue owner as well; the Industry is all about networking.  Even if you are paying to network with your lawyer, the connections he can bring to you could be priceless. Networking options or not an Entertainment Lawyer as Hicks describes is there to "offer business advice and assistance to help them keep more of their money." 

Finally, I asked Hicks if he had any words of advice for a young band.

Hicks:  Make great music and then hire an experienced business team to protect your interests.