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Why a website?

This version of this website was obviously not professionally designed, but it has become necessary and practical for me to have a website where I can make certain information and links available to the general public. Perhaps at some point I will hire somebody to spruce it up and add some bells and whistles. But perhaps not.

What I've Written

Here's a link to "Children As Chattels," the 1997 article I co-authored:
http://www.minorcon.org/childrenaschattels.html

Here's a link to the 4th edition of "The Musician's Business and Legal Guide" which contains my chapter on negotiating recording agreements:
http://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Business-Legal-Guide-4th/dp/0132281279/

California's "Coogan Law" is now parked in California's Family Code Sections 6750-6753. I co-authored the initial draft for my then-employer's client, "A Minor Consideration," an organization dedicated to assisting current and former child performers. The initial intent of my draft was to spark discussion among the various stakeholders, but it somehow got routed to a sitting legislator who apparently liked it enough to introduce it as a Bill! SAG then became the primary advocate for the Bill and keep me in the loop so that I could weigh in with suggested edits as the Bill was amended prior to passage. Much of my original draft language remains intact within the text of the Family Code.
http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=fam&group=06001-07000&file=6750-6753

From 1986-1990, I was the editor and lead writer of "RadioScope," a short-form daily and long-form weekend radio program broadcast on over 100 stations around the country. The program combined substantive urban entertainment news with personality features and just a hint of irreverent celebrity gossip (sort of an urban version of TMZ - just on the radio). As the broadcast and Internet industries changed in the 90s, "RadioScope's" founder Lee Bailey refocused his skills, shifting most of his content from terrestrial radio to the Internet.  Bailey's Electronic Urban Report  is among the top urban infotainment sources in the nation.
www.eurweb.com

During my years as a music journalist, my most memorable achievement was writing "Marvin Gaye: We Miss You," a two-hour radio documentary that received enormous acclaim from radio listeners across the country.
http://www.marvingayeprogram.com/

In 1986 and 1987, I had the good fortune of co-anchoring "Evening Edition" with Larry Mantle at KPCC.  During the 25+ years that have passed since my last turn on the KPCC microphones, Mantle has become somewhat of a radio legend in Los Angeles. Mantle's daily talk show "AirTalk" is among the most respected and substantive programs on the air.
http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/

Finally, for those who want more information on the historic important of the original AM 1580-KDAY, Wikipedia has a pretty good take on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDAY

Daniel K. Stuart

Daniel K. Stuart, Esq., music attorney - my bio, history, writings and links

Professional Experience

I am a music attorney and a Partner with the firm King, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner in Los Angeles.

My clients have included a broad range of recording artists, producers, songwriters, executives, entertainment companies and well-known corporations.

My experience includes drafting and negotiating all manner of agreements for producers, songwriters, recording artists, record companies, publishing companies and touring companies.

I am currently 50-years-old. In the 1980s (during my late teens and early 20s), I broke into the entertainment industry as a mobile DJ, newscaster (KPCC's Evening Edition with Larry Mantle), print journalist (Billboard, Impact and other trade magazines) and as the personal assistant to Greg Mack, the Music Director at groundbreaking L.A. radio station 1580 KDAY, where I had the additional honor of having some of my "traffic jam" DJ mixes broadcast on-the-air!

I spent my mid-20s as the managing editor of the nationally-syndcated infotainment radio program "RadioScope" and the creator and founding editor of "The Hip-Hop Countdown and Report," the first nationally-syndicated show based on Billboard magazine's hip-hop singles charts.

I decided to shift from music journalism to music law in the 90s, earned my law degree at Loyola Law School in L.A., apprenticed with entertainment lawyer Marc Staenberg (now the President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association) and built a modest practice of my own before joining Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, a well-known and influential law firm, where I worked from 1999-2014.

Among my more interesting experiences, while I was still a law student, I co-authored Children as Chattels: The Disturbing Plight of Child Performers, an article published in 1997 by the Beverly Hills Bar Association which paved the way for me to draft what would eventually become the 2000 version of California's "Coogan Law." As a result of that experience, I have developed significant expertise in the area of entertainment contracts with minors.

Over the years, I've developed a unique set of skills and contacts in the touring industry, assisting some of the biggest names in music with the behind-the-scenes contracts that served as the framework for some of the most profitable tours in recent years (including three of the most successful tours in the world between 2000-2009).

I continue to very active representing artists, producers and songwriters in the hip-hop, urban and rock genres. While I can't list my clients in this bio, I can tell you that they have written or produced hit records for such artists as Maroon 5, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Paula Abdul, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Bieber.

To contact me, please send an email to dstuart@khpblaw.com.

I am also intermittently active on Twitter where I can be contacted at @MusicLawyerDan.

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