Artists' rights attorney

An artist's rights attorney's expertise is crucial for protecting artists' interests against the legal complexities of creating and commercializing works, whether in music, audiovisual, cinema, or literature.

Our firm in Paris comprises experienced professionals who understand intellectual property law specificities, ensuring defense of your copyrights, contract management, and protection against rights violations.

French law provides several statuses for artists, each with a distinct social and tax regime.

The artist-author (artiste-auteur, writer, composer, visual artist, photographer, etc.) falls under the social security regime for artist-authors, formerly managed by AGESSA and MDA (Maison des Artistes), now unified and attached to URSSAF Limousin from January 1, 2019 (operationally managed by URSSAF Limousin since 2020).

The performing artist (artiste-interprète, actor, musician, dancer, etc.) benefits from a presumption of employment under Article L.7121-3 of the French Labor Code (Code du travail): they are considered an employee as soon as they perform a service for compensation, unless proven otherwise.

The intermittent du spectacle is a multi-employer salaried worker who benefits from a specific unemployment insurance scheme (Annexes VIII and X of the general unemployment insurance regulations), subject to proof of a minimum number of hours worked.

The auto-entrepreneur (micro-enterprise) status is also available to artists for certain activities, as is portage salarial (umbrella company employment), which offers the flexibility of independence with the social coverage of employment.

Neighboring rights (droits voisins du droit d'auteur), governed by Articles L.211-1 and following of the Intellectual Property Code, protect performing artists, phonogram and videogram producers, and audiovisual communication companies.

The performing artist has economic rights (to authorize or prohibit the fixation, reproduction, and communication to the public of their performance) and moral rights (respect for their name, quality, and interpretation).

The collective management of these rights is handled by several specialized organizations: ADAMI (Société civile pour l'Administration des Droits des Artistes et Musiciens Interprètes) manages the rights of featured performing artists; SPEDIDAM (Société de Perception et de Distribution des Droits des Artistes-Interprètes) represents session musicians and non-featured performers; SACD (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) collects rights for authors of dramatic, audiovisual, and multimedia works; SACEM (Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Éditeurs de Musique) manages the rights of music authors, composers, and publishers.

Equitable remuneration (rémunération équitable, Article L.214-1 CPI) ensures that performing artists and producers receive compensation when commercial phonograms are publicly broadcast (radio, bars, shops). Private copying remuneration (rémunération pour copie privée) compensates for the loss of revenue from copies made for personal use.

The professional practice of art relies on a specific legal ecosystem combining contract law, social law, tax law and copyright. Our firm advises visual artists, musicians, performers and creators on this entire framework, from status choice to artistic estate transmission.

Most performing and recording artists earn part of their income through collective management organisations (CMOs) such as SACEM (composers, lyricists), ADAMI (performers), SPEDIDAM (session musicians) or SACD (dramatic works). These bodies are governed by Articles L.321-1 et seq. of the French Intellectual Property Code and supervised by the Commission de contrôle des organismes de gestion.

Membership is voluntary but reshapes the way royalties, neighbouring rights and private-copy remuneration are collected and distributed. Our firm audits artist statements, contests undue deductions and negotiates exit or scope-limitation strategies when an artist wishes to keep direct control over specific catalogues.

An artist's career hinges on three contractual pillars: the recording agreement, the publishing agreement, and the management/booking agreement.

Each must be negotiated with a deep understanding of French Intellectual Property Code provisions on moral rights (Article L. 121-1, inalienable and perpetual), proportional remuneration (Article L. 131-4), and the recent reforms of 2018 and 2023 reinforcing artists' rights against streaming platforms.

Our firm advises emerging and established artists, producers, labels and managers on every step of the contractual lifecycle, including 360 deals, distribution agreements, sync licensing, NFT releases and Web3 collaborations.