Business Affairs
Representation is a
fiduciary practice
before it is anything else.
The Business Affairs practice at Maison is attorney-led and client-centered. What follows is a plain-language account of the work we do on behalf of represented talent — not a sales page, not an aspirational list, but a practitioner's index of the craft.
Contract Review
Every agreement, read twice.
Brand agreements, production contracts, modeling contracts, endorsement deals, record agreements, publishing contracts, management agreements — all reviewed line by line. We identify the terms that matter, the terms that should be removed, and the terms that should be added. Nothing is executed on your behalf without your informed consent.
- · Standard markup
- · Fair-dealing review
- · Counter-proposal drafting
Rights Protection
Likeness, image, voice, performance.
Your name, your face, your voice, your performance, and your likeness are intellectual property. We protect them with specificity. Territory, term, media, exclusivity, and renewal are negotiated as discrete levers — never bundled into vague global grants. Derivative use, AI training, and synthetic reproduction are addressed in every agreement.
- · Name-and-likeness
- · Synthetic media clauses
- · Territorial reservations
Exclusivity & Non-Compete
What you give, what you keep.
Exclusivity is a term to be bought, not assumed. Every exclusivity request is scrutinized for scope, duration, category, and territory. We negotiate carve-outs for ongoing relationships, for personal brand development, and for adjacent categories. Non-compete language is reviewed against the laws of the jurisdictions where you actually work.
- · Category exclusivity
- · Territorial carve-outs
- · Tail periods
Deal Structuring & Negotiation
Fees, participations, options, floors.
Headline fees are only the first line. We structure compensation across guarantees, back-end participation, bonuses, stock, options, equity, and royalty escalators. We reserve options for renewal, for option exercise, and for sequels. We negotiate floors and caps in the language of the industries you work in — film, television, streaming, fashion, music, sport, publishing.
- · Back-end participation
- · Options & escalators
- · Floor & guarantee
Royalty Audit
What is owed, verified.
Royalty statements are not receipts. They are claims. Every material statement is audited against the underlying agreement, against industry norms, and against historical baselines. Discrepancies are documented. Shortfalls are pursued. Audit rights are retained in every agreement we negotiate so that verification is never a matter of counterparty goodwill.
- · Statement reconciliation
- · Shortfall recovery
- · Audit-rights retention
IP & Likeness
Trademark, copyright, trade dress.
Your personal brand is an intellectual-property portfolio in waiting. We assist with trademark registration for name and mark, copyright registration for original works, and the structuring of loan-out entities where they produce legitimate protection and tax efficiency. Union and guild considerations (SAG-AFTRA, AEA, DGA, WGA, AFM) are integrated, not ignored.
- · Trademark filings
- · Loan-out structuring
- · Guild compliance
Estate & Legacy Planning
Careers end; legacies should not.
For career-long talent, we coordinate with estate counsel on the structuring of publicity rights, posthumous likeness control, trust and foundation formation, and the administration of residual income. Legacy is not a concern for the final decade — it is a structural decision made early.
- · Posthumous rights
- · Trust structuring
- · Residual administration
In practice
“The best deal is the one negotiated before the pressure arrives.”
The Business Affairs practice is supported by the Maison Standard — our published service-level commitments — and by our published credentials. For a confidential conversation about representation, contact the Private Office.