Atty. Steven S. "Steve" Sidman

Steven S. Sidman is a deeply experienced, highly regarded transactional attorney dealing in the business of pop culture. His practice focuses on the modern entertainment, food & beverage/hospitality, lifestyle/branding, and sports industries. For nearly 28 years, Steve has provided sophisticated, insightful, front-line legal advice and business affairs counsel to highly creative talent and high-profile individuals and corporate entities, along with their various entrepreneurial ventures.

His clients have included legendary recording artists and songwriters, as well as Emmy-winning on-screen talent, creators and showrunners, and their various production companies and furnishing entities. Additionally, over the last decade, Steve has also served as outside counsel to some of the world’s most iconic brands, advising corporations concerning a wide array of goods and services.

He also spearheads a nationally renowned practice as lead counsel and trusted advisor to some of the world’s foremost chefs, restaurateurs and food & beverage brands.

Steve’s specific areas of professional concentration include:

Recorded Music:

• Representation of recording artists, songwriters, record producers and mixers; corporate executives, personal managers, talent agents and other professional consultants; record companies, production companies and music publishers, regarding transactions and various legal and business issues within the entertainment industries. Negotiation and documentation of a vast array of complex transactions within the music industry, including recording, music publishing and administration, audio-only and audio-visual distribution, producer, mixer, side and guest artist agreements; multi-artist and multi-writer furnishing agreements; motion picture soundtrack agreements; film composer agreements; personal management and talent agency agreements; copyright transfers (including catalog sales), assignments, licenses (including master-use licenses, “sampling” licenses, synchronization licenses, and “mechanical” licenses) and registrations; digital content distribution; product endorsements; touring and personal appearance agreements; and executive employment agreements.

Chefs, Restaurateurs & Lifestyle Branding:

• Representation of renowned chef-owners and entrepreneurs in all aspects of their careers in the food service, hospitality and lifestyle industries, including restaurant and brand development from top-to-bottom, hotel-restaurant and hotel-lounge ventures, product endorsements, media deals, book publishing, intellectual property, corporate and employment matters generally.

TV & Film:

• Representation of producers and talent alike in the negotiation of various agreements within the TV and film industries, including personal services agreements, option agreements and third-party content rights acquisitions generally, production agreements, life story deals and unscripted television projects.

Athletes:

• Legal/non-agent representation of both professional and amateur athletes across multiple sports in name, image and likeness agreements; product endorsements; media deals, book publishing, intellectual property, corporate, estate planning and real estate matters generally.

Book Publishing:

• Representation of authors and publishers in the negotiation of various agreements within the literary publishing industry, including literary agency agreements; various forms of collaboration agreements, including so-called “ghost writer” deals; book publishing deals; distribution agreements; and film and television option agreements.

Creative Talent, generally:

• Advice and counsel for creative talent, celebrities, social media influencers, public figures, high net-worth individuals and family offices regarding various intellectual property issues and rights concerning the exploitation of names, likenesses and brands, copyrights and trademarks, including licensing and product endorsement arrangements.

Internet, Social Media & New Media:

• Representation of industry-leading media, marketing and promotions companies regarding economic, business and legal issues related to the pursuit of new commercial opportunities and the establishment of new corporate ventures related to the entertainment, media and technology industries, including recently increased focus on market-driving podcasts, video game and social media influencer campaigns. Advice for start-up technology companies regarding intellectual property licensing and business development strategies both within and outside of the entertainment industries.

Representative client relations include serving as the outside general counsel and business advisor for a wide array of individuals, companies and entrepreneurial ventures, including the following recent and/or ongoing representations:

• Legendary recording artists and songwriters across popular musical genres in all facets of their careers, including the renegotiation of cornerstone agreements.
• Iconic pop music producers and songwriters in record producer and music publishing agreements, as well as all related licensing relationships.
• A “Big 3” global music group, analyzing its core contractual relationships with its artists across the group’s labels and imprints, for use in connection with a database to be deployed in connection with the commercial exploitation of the group’s recorded music assets.
• The world-leading film & TV streaming service in connection with music rights clearances for a client-owned major motion picture release and client-owned television series and related soundtrack album rights.
• An iconic music industry executive in connection with various matters related to his various entrepreneurial ventures, including recorded music, music publishing, book publishing matters, multiple television series development agreements, podcasting deals and motion picture investments.
• An NCAA Division 1 national championship-winning college football quarterback in all name, image and likeness, corporate and intellectual property-related matters.
• An international fragrance manufacturer and an international fashion design house in music licensing matters related to advertising and marketing campaigns.
• A multi-national spirits and alcoholic beverage conglomerate in connection with the creation of a celebrity-driven “craft” spirit, and thereafter expanding that project beyond liquor and into ready-to-drink, canned alcoholic malt beverages.
• An internationally revered, culinarily ground-breaking chef-restaurateur and his business partner, overseeing all media-related aspects of their multiple businesses, book publishing and distribution agreements, product endorsements, personal appearance deals, and intellectual property portfolio protection, as well as multiple restaurant concept developments.
• A nationally renowned chef, restaurateur and author in the negotiation of the motion picture rights agreement for his New York Times best-selling memoir, as well as all related agreements.
• An iconic prepared foods and lifestyle brand in negotiations for multiple celebrity endorsement agreements related to its core product and dietary services line.
• A nationally recognized chef-restaurateur in the settlement of trademark infringement charges, as well as the subsequent negotiation and documentation of multiple separate restaurant development and consulting deals, including in connection with a major international hotel brand’s move into a major American metropolitan market.
• A nationally recognized on-screen personality and content producer in the food TV space, as television production counsel in