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Zumwalt press |
Broken records: Jim Zumwalt
Nashville Business Journal, Digital Divide | by Annie Johnson , Staff Writer | July 1, 2011
www.bizjournals.com
 In 1996, producer Kenny Mimms paid a house visit to Jim Zumwalt and his wife, Kelly.
“Back in those days, Kenny was in the digital realm. He was extremely early in this town of being in the middle of what was going on (with) the Internet and in the digital world,” recalled Zumwalt, now equity partner at law firm Shackelford Zumwalt & Hayes.
“He comes over to my house, and he has an ancillary hard drive … and he says, ‘Check this out.’ And he takes it and he hooks it up to our computer hard drive, and he hits a button and within 30 minutes, he had transferred over 300 song files onto our hard drive.”
Mimms told Zumwalt to learn a valuable lesson: “He said ‘Look … this is the future, this is a huge problem for all of us in the music business. If I can go find any song on the planet somewhere in the world and I can download it, and I can walk over to your house and I can hook it up to your computer and within 30 minutes transfer 300 amazing records onto your computer and it’s that easy for me, think of what it’s going to do to the business in the future.’ ”
It turns out Mimms was right.
The story typifies major changes for entertainment lawyers, Zumwalt said, who have seen significant drops in the volume of work available.
“So consequently, the lawyer has to look for a broader scope of services they can provide clients,” he said.
It’s just been a lot less fun for Zumwalt, who has been in the business for more than three decades. And so, he believes, it’s time for a little more change.
“It’s time for the old people to get out of the way and for the new young people that are going to change the business and that are going to adapt with the times (to take charge), because music will remain unbelievably important.
“It will remain global. … There’s going to be lots of opportunity with music.”
To read more about this package featuring nine leaders on Music Row, click here. |
Shackelford, Zumwalt, Hayes, LLP – A Proud Member of the Nashville Bar Association 100% Club
The Nashville Bar Association 100% Club is a special category of membership that demonstrates a commitment to the legal profession and our community from legal organizations with more than three attorneys that enroll 100% of their Nashville attorneys as members of the NBA. Shackelford, Zumwalt, Hayes, LLP is proud to be a member of the club. |
Zumwalt Firm Embraces New Model
Music Row | by David M. Ross | Dec 17, 2010
musicrow.com
Entertainment law firm Zumwalt, Almon & Hayes, founded in 1975, is joining with Shackelford, Melton & McKinley creating the only law firm with offices in Nashville, Dallas and Austin. Beginning Jan. 1 the new group in Nashville will be named Shackelford, Zumwalt & Hayes.
The newly combined firm brings together over 45 lawyers with experience in business technology, media and entertainment law. Together they represent artists, songwriters, music publishers and record companies plus provide expertise in the film, television and book publishing industries. As part of the agreement Zumwalt partner Orville Almon will amicably depart to create his own firm, to be announced later.
“We’ve been thinking about creating a new model for a long time, and met with several different firms over the past few years,” said an excited Jim Zumwalt. “This was the first arrangement that really made sense. We’re focused on entertainment and technology and the Dallas, Austin corridor has a strong technology focus, too. Of course we remain committed to Nashville. John Shackelford and his team bring significant capabilities to our firm,” Zumwalt adds. “By combining our global entertainment expertise from Nashville with the business and technology capabilities in Dallas and Austin, I believe we’ve put together a group of legal talent that’s second to none.”
Zumwalt tells MusicRow, the Nashville office is planning to add about four attorneys plus support staff during 2011.
Jim Zumwalt and Craig Hayes and the lawyers at their firm represent some of the country’s leading entertainers, including Faith Hill, Creed, Aaron Neville, Lifehouse, Tanya Tucker and The Bar-Kays. The firm is most known for launching recording careers by advancing deals for such artists as Toby Keith, Paramore, Alter Bridge, Skillet, Shinedown, Saliva, Cage the Elephant, Brian McKnight, Take 6, The Neville Brothers, Jason & The Scorchers, The Kentucky HeadHunters, Jackyl, The Georgia Satellites, Jars of Clay, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Vertical Horizon, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Sonny Landreth. The firm also is known for having represented high-profile estates, including Otis Redding, James Brown, Sam Cooke, Kurt Cobain, Rich Mullins and Ben Keith. |
Dallas, Nashville law firms merge on music
The Dallas Morning News | By Eric Torbensom | January 3, 2011
dallasnews.com
In a music industry struggling to match the beat of the Internet economy, two law firms have come together over the promise of Texas.
The Lone Star State's rising musical profile - both in Austin and in the developing music scene of Denton - and its abundant investor capital have led a boutique Nashville entertainment law firm to unite with a longtime Dallas firm.
"We're going to make a major commitment to the state of Texas," said Jim Zumwalt, of the new firm Shackelford, Zumwalt & Hayes, as it will be known in Nashville, Tenn. That will be an extension of the Dallas firm Shackelford, Melton & McKinley.
"I can't say we're going to go [into Texas] and blow every band we find up big, as we can't manufacture hit songs," said Zumwalt, who has run his Nashville firm for 35 years. "But Texas is a really robust market, and I'm going to be spending a lot of time there."
Zumwalt and his Nashville partners represent acts such as Faith Hill, Creed and Aaron Neville and helped launch recording careers of artists such as Toby Keith.
The firm's roots are in rhythm and blues acts, but its artist list spans all kinds of music, as Nashville is much more than just a country-Western music producer these days, he said.
While Nashville's reputation as a music nexus continues to grow, Texas has a lot more venture capital that can finance bands, recording labels and other entertainment ventures, said Zumwalt, who counts himself among the first to sign bands out of Austin's South by Southwest music festival.
Entertainment law isn't as stuffy as other major legal practice areas, and Zumwalt said he has politely rebuffed merger offers from national firms looking to capitalize on his firm's Nashville connections.
His friendship with John Shackelford laid the groundwork for a cultural fit between the small Nashville office and the nearly 40 lawyers at Shackelford's Dallas firm.
The music business that used to hang on album sales has been crushed by Internet distribution, and in some ways has reverted to the early 1960s model built solely around hit singles, Zumwalt said.
With record sales down sharply through the recession, it's a tough time to be in the business, and music acts need all the legal help they can muster to get introduced to different people.
Building a band's popularity through social-media tools requires a lot of scouting and patience, and the law firm merger puts resources in Nashville, Dallas and Austin in a way that other entertainment-related firms can't match, he said.
Zumwalt said he brought radio personality RedBeard to Dallas and used him as his "ears and eyes" for the Dallas music scene.
A couple of Dallas-area acts, Joker's Deck and Calhoun, are quite promising to Zumwalt, who intends to spend time understanding Denton's growing music scene and learning more about North Texas acts. In turn, Shackelford lawyers will spend more time in Nashville scouting for business.
The merged firms won't be just about music; they'll focus on technology and intellectual property rights aspects of entertainment, as well as general business litigation that Shackelford's office in Dallas has always done.
"It boils down to us finding great songs," Zumwalt said. "This merger gives us a bigger platform to do that." |
Dallas Law Firm Finds Second Home in Music City
City Biz List Dallas | Dec 19, 2010
dallas.citybizlist.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn., -- A prominent Texas law firm is announcing a newNashville office after joining forces with attorneys from one of Music City's most venerated entertainment law firms. Beginning Jan. 1, Shackelford, Zumwalt & Hayes will be the Nashville office of Shackelford, Melton & McKinley, also with offices in Dallas and Austin.
The agreement creates the nation's only law firm with offices in Nashville, Dallas and Austin, bringing together more than 45 accomplished attorneys with decades of experience in business, technology, media and entertainment law. In addition to a wide variety of business clients, the combined firm represents artists, songwriters, music publishers and record companies, as well as providing extensive expertise in the film, television and book publishing industries.
"We're very excited to be working with the top entertainment lawyers in the city," says firm founder John C. Shackelford. "From contracts to global licensing deals to helping navigate the intersection of music and technology, we provide a level of service you just don't find at many law firms."
Jim Zumwalt and Craig Hayes and the lawyers at their firm represent some of the country's leading entertainers, including Faith Hill, Creed, Aaron Neville, Lifehouse, Tanya Tucker and The Bar-Kays. The firm is most known for launching recording careers by advancing deals for such artists as Toby Keith, Paramore, Alter Bridge, Skillet, Shinedown, Saliva, Cage the Elephant, Brian McKnight, Take 6, The Neville Brothers, Jason & The Scorchers, The Kentucky HeadHunters, Jackyl, The Georgia Satellites, Jars of Clay, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Vertical Horizon, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Sonny Landreth. The firm also is known for having represented high-profile estates, including Otis Redding,James Brown, Sam Cooke, Kurt Cobain, Rich Mullins and Ben Keith.
"John Shackelford and his team bring significant capabilities to our firm," Mr. Zumwalt says. "By combining our global entertainment expertise from Nashville with the business and technology capabilities in Dallas and Austin, I believe we've put together a group of legal talent that's second to none."
Mr. Zumwalt was one of the first attorneys in the nation to utilize the South by Southwest conference inAustin as a signing platform for new artists. His notable Texas clients have included Dallas' Little Sister and Jackopierce, Austin's Omar & the Howlers, and radio personality Redbeard. Mr. Zumwalt also provides strategic legal and business affairs services for New West Records, which began in Austin, Texas. New West maintains offices in Austin, Houston, Beverly Hills, and Athens, Georgia and distributes popular television show "Austin City Limits" through CD, DVD and international broadcast rights. Mr. Zumwalt also represents the popular Chicago-based television show "Soundstage."
Mr. Hayes' Texas clients include legendary Beaumont recording artist, producer (Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, U2) and "Outlaw Country" radio jock, Cowboy Jack Clement, as well as Dallaspop rock rising stars Jokersdeck and country rising star Katie Armiger of Houston and her label, Cold River Records. He also represents Dallas-based label Carved Records, Dallas' Native American-owned Rich-Heape Films, Bishop T.D. Jakes' Dallas-based Dexterity Sounds label, and Austin-based Ivan Nevilleand Cyril Neville.
Shackelford, Melton & McKinley is a business and entertainment law firm representing financial institutions, recording artists, real estate owners and developers, automobile dealerships, record labels, and other businesses in legal matters across the country. Learn more about the firm at http://www.shacklaw.net. |
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