Lawyer Overview
David Chidekel advises a broad mix of clients throughout the media and entertainment world — across music, television, film, digital marketing, and digital advertising — on their most sophisticated commercial transactions. A meaningful part of his work centers on guiding emerging, high-growth companies that are building new technologies to distribute and monetize music and other content over decentralized online platforms.
Drawing on his prior service as Chief Commercial Officer of BitTorrent, David has a particular passion for bringing together technology entrepreneurs and established entertainment companies, then architecting and negotiating the deals that result. He is well known for the deep web of relationships he has cultivated across the entertainment-and-technology ecosystem, and in that role he regularly counsels founders, senior executives, boards, managers, and investors on both legal questions and overall business strategy.
Music: Over the course of his career, David has served as outside counsel to a range of major-label and independent record companies and music publishers, structuring joint ventures, acquisitions, funding and distribution arrangements, and other intricate agreements. His client roster has likewise included prominent recording artists, producers, songwriters and composers, musicians, DJs, and management firms — for whom he handles the full spectrum of recording, publishing, distribution, agency, management, production, mixing, master-use and synchronization licensing, touring, branding, endorsement, band-member, and rights-acquisition agreements.
Film & TV: David has acted as both finance and production counsel to television networks, film distributors, and film and television producers, while also negotiating and drafting the agreements that govern directors, actors, screenwriters, agents, sales agents, and composers. He is, in addition, a sought-after advisor to leading documentary filmmakers.
Literary Publishing: David's literary practice spans best-selling authors as well as graphic-novel creators, for whom he negotiates a wide variety of agreements — including publishing, distribution, talent-agency, collaboration, and film and television option, shopping, and attachment arrangements.
Name, Image & Likeness Rights: David also works extensively in the name, image, and likeness arena, handling advertising, branding, sponsorship, and licensing agreements for recording artists, actors, influencers, podcasters, high-net-worth individuals, and athletes in action sports and beyond — and, on the other side of the table, representing merchandising, branding, modeling, and fashion companies.
Digital Media, Technology & Gaming: Complementing his entertainment work, David has collaborated with many of the entrepreneurs and technologists who drove the rise of digital music and decentralized peer-to-peer networking. He has counseled digital-media companies developing interactive content for large-screen environments and AR/MR/VR, along with video-game developers and distributors. During 2016 and 2017, David served as Chief Commercial Officer of BitTorrent, Inc., where he led the company's commercial transactions as well as its legal, business-affairs, and corporate and business-development functions. More recently, he has advised fintech companies that are applying emerging technologies to reinvent how sponsorships are structured for sports, music, corporate, and other live events.
Awards & Accomplishments
David has earned repeated recognition on Billboard's annual "Top Music Attorneys" list and on Variety's Legal Impact Report. His perspective has also been featured and quoted across a wide range of outlets, among them Forbes, Billboard, Variety, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and the Los Angeles Times.
Speaking, Teaching & Publications
Speaking Engagements:
- Moderator and panelist at the New Music Seminar
- South by Southwest Music Conference
- Philadelphia Music Conference and NEMO
- Digital-music panels for Billboard Magazine
- Digital Music Forum East
- New York State Bar Association
Teaching:
- Adjunct Professor of Entertainment Law, Hofstra University School of Law
- Featured Guest Lecturer, Pace University School of Law
- Featured Guest Lecturer, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Representative Transactions
- Represented an acclaimed ABC news producer — also a best-selling author, documentary filmmaker, and political commentator — in his agreements with book publishers, agents, streaming services, and broadcast and premium cable networks.
- Advised an emerging comedian, writer, and film director on a national comedy tour underwritten by a leading online mortgage company.
- Counseled prominent documentary filmmakers on production, directing, hosting, and related agreements with major streaming platforms and broadcast and premium cable networks.
- Represented the world-renowned drummer of an iconic punk-rock band in the sale of his master recording, merchandising, and publishing rights to a large independent publisher and marketing firm, and negotiated the agreements for a television series chronicling the history of punk rock along with several NIL deals.
- Advised the co-founding and sole surviving member of a legendary R&B group on a live stage musical built around his life-story rights, a collaboration to bring a new alcoholic beverage to market, and a range of internal corporate housekeeping matters.
- Handled the acquisition of, and related agreements for, an international designer, developer, and marketer of custom guitar pedals and amplifiers.
- Guided a music-technology start-up launching a blockchain-backed, AI-enhanced platform built to monetize the virality of music.
- Represented a celebrity pop, R&B, and hip-hop recording artist across all of his recording, publishing, endorsement, and NIL agreements, including arrangements with a broadcast network for a popular music-themed television show and with a major sports broadcast and streaming network.
- Advised the fintech pioneer of product-based digital offers and rewards featuring real-time payments and data transfer on its SaaS, platform-usage, IT-services, software-development and licensing, and other advertising, marketing, and technology agreements.
- Represented an independent film and television production company on "first-look" production and distribution deals with major streaming platforms and broadcast and premium cable networks, as well as agreements for its annual film and comedy festivals showcasing BIPOC talent.
- Advised film and television producers on a variety of music-related agreements, including composer deals and the co-production and distribution of soundtracks and soundtrack albums with major-label record and publishing companies and celebrity musicians.
- Served independent rock, hip-hop, and R&B labels and publishers on the full range of recorded-music, publishing, and merchandising matters, together with distribution and financing agreements with major distributors.
- Represented a high-net-worth individual across all of his entertainment transactions — including video-game licensing and film and television development, production, and distribution agreements — and in the formation and marketing of a quantitative hybrid equity/hedge fund for independent films.
- Advised a well-known film and television producer-director on all of his entertainment transactions, including the acquisition of worldwide rights to a popular TV series and the production, distribution, and music-administration agreements for a global children's film and television company.
- Represented internationally renowned major record labels and music publishers on all recorded-music and publishing matters, and formed and served as general counsel to several of these companies.
Prior Experience
- Early Sullivan (Partner)
- Fish & Richardson (Principal)
- Phillips Nizer (Partner)