Anthea McGibbon

He’s now based in Florida, but Jamaicans have not lost him as the entertainment attorney, as Lloyd Stanbury calls himself. What they have gained instead is his increasing wealth of knowledge and experience being gained in foreign land to use to their benefit. This is very useful when hiring him, Lloyd Stanbury has even more now, the entertainers he specializes in representing are securing a wider niche overseas.

It goes without saying that hardly any member of the creative community can exist without legal representation, as the field is a crafty one, for both performing artists and visual artists alike.

The niche factor: The business of entertainment law is a very specialized area of law and requires special training and skills. The scope of entertainment law is also very wide, as it encompasses music, films, radio and TV broadcasting, book publishing and games. Some entertainment attorneys focus on niche areas of practice such as music business law, or the law relating to broadcasting, or films. 

 Although representing mostly performing artists of the creative tribe, Stanbury can apply some elements in representing the visual artist. He also represents managers, producers of music and film, book writers, events promoters, government arts development agencies, arts and entertainment trade associations and collective rights management societies.

Stanbury’s clients list ranges from recording and performing artists, music producers, arts and entertainment managers, film producers, industry associations and collective management societies, to government agencies in the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa.

The main components of his career are legal representation; arts and entertainment policy development consultancy; lecturing/workshop training in arts and entertainment law and management.

As an entertainment attorney and consultant, the responsibilities include the drafting and negotiation of all types of entertainment contracts, provision of advise on business establishment procedures, provision of advice to performers, songwriters, music producers, event promoters, film producers and other practitioners with regard to the implications of intellectual property rights legislations dealing with matters such as Copyrights, Trademarks and E-Business related issues.

But artists and artistes can be a difficult bunch to handle. Stanbury’s main challenge is the significant level of ignorance that exists among arts and entertainment practitioners, as well as the general public regarding the requirements of the business of entertainment.

To fully qualify to become an attorney within the Caribbean requires 5 years of training. However, to become a good entertainment attorney training and learning never ends. Aside from studying contract law, training in Intellectual Property Law is a must. 

The contract law principles and intellectual property law principles governing the business of entertainment are more or less the same in the vast majority of countries around the world. As an entertainment lawyer specializing in the music industry Stanbury has had to interact with other attorneys as well as record labels and music publishing companies operating in various jurisdictions. These include the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany etc. An experienced entertainment lawyer will therefore need to understand the peculiarities and differences in the rules and regulations in the entertainment industries of overseas countries where such peculiarities and differences do exist.  

From the start, fees are charged, so consultation is a guaranteed charge. The costs can range from US$100 to thousands of dollars US.

Representation is normally billed on an hourly basis, or in special cases on a contingency bais where fees are linked to the value of the deal done or transaction negotiated.  

Stanbury also is an arts and entertainment business consultant, although admitted to practice law throughout the English speaking Caribbean.

See more at the Stanbury on law and the arts.

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