At its 25th annual GRAMMY Week event, the Recording Academy’s Entertainment Law Initiative (ELI) will honor Peter T. Paterno with the 2023 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award. The award is presented each year to an attorney who has demonstrated a commitment to advancing and supporting the music community through service.
"We're thrilled to return to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for the 25th anniversary ELI GRAMMY Week Event to salute the impact of entertainment law on the music industry," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said. "The creative community is grateful for Peter's advocacy on behalf of music makers, and I look forward to celebrating ELI's mission to inspire dialogue between industry professionals and to cultivate an inclusive future generation of entertainment law practitioners."
Paterno is a partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP and, over the course of his career, has nurtured the careers of dozens of multiplatinum recording artists, structuring, negotiating and documenting myriad of agreements. Paterno's clients include Dr. Dre, the Tupac Shakur estate, Metallica, Van Morrison, Blink-182, Twenty One Pilots, Skrillex, Tyler, the Creator, Q-Tip, Goo Goo Dolls, Rage Against The Machine, Rancid, Alice In Chains, Offspring, Linda Ronstadt, Jared Leto/Thirty Seconds to Mars, Roddy Ricch, Richard Sherman, Sia, the Henry Mancini Estate, Shirley Manson, Alanis Morissette, and Tori Amos, among others.
Paterno has also been intimately involved in the formation, purchase and sale of numerous entertainment companies ranging from production, publishing, recording, and film companies to merchandise and consumer electronic enterprises, including a well-known company engaged in the distribution of headphones, along with a streaming music business. He has extensive experience in all aspects of copyright and trademark law, tax planning relating to the entertainment industry, litigation management, and live theater production.
In 1990, Paterno started and became the first president of Hollywood Records, the Walt Disney Company’s popular music record label, reporting directly to Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner. He now serves as a partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP, in Los Angeles. He has been honored on Billboard's Top Music Lawyers List, and as a Super Lawyer for Super Lawyers Magazine. Paterno graduated from Harvey Mudd College (B.S. in mathematics, with distinction 1972); University of Hawaii (M.A. in mathematics 1973); and University of California at Los Angeles (J.D. 1976).
*Peter T. Paterno | Photo: Ron Lyon*
"Peter's longtime commitment to the music business and his ability to confidently navigate the intricacies of our industry make him an outstanding recipient of the ELI Service Award for this year's 25th anniversary event," Neil Crilly, Managing Director of Industry Leader Engagement & Chapter Operations at the Recording Academy, said. "I applaud ELI's Executive Committee for recognizing a leader whose expertise has helped countless artists succeed in their careers and who has supported the music industry through eras of change."
The Service Award winner is determined by ELI's Executive Committee, which works to uplift ELI by recognizing leaders in the entertainment law community and mentoring young professionals in the industry. The 2022-23 Executive Committee represents a diverse group of industry powerhouses working across the breadth of the entertainment law landscape. It is chaired by Laurie Soriano, and its members include Kris Ahrend, Sandy Crawshaw-Sparks, Susan Genco, Renee Karalian, Michael Kushner, Dina LaPolt, Wade Leak, Angie Martinez, Tanya Perara, Julian Petty, Leron Rogers, Henry Root, Bobby Rosenbloum, Julie Swidler, Jeff Walker, Robert Windom, and Stephanie Yu.
The ELI GRAMMY week event will also celebrate the winner and two runners-up of the 2023 Entertainment Law Initiative writing contest. Co-sponsored by the American Bar Association, the writing contest challenges students in Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws programs at U.S. law schools to research a pressing legal issue facing the modern music industry and outline a proposed solution in a 3,000-word essay. The author of the winning paper will receive a $10,000 scholarship, and the winning paper will be published in the ABA's journal Entertainment & Sports Lawyer; two runners-up from the writing contest will receive a $2,500 scholarship.
The winner will also receive travel and tickets to Los Angeles to attend the 2023 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 65th GRAMMY Awards, MusiCares Person of the Year, and the ELI GRAMMY week event. The contest is open to JD and LLM candidates at U.S. law schools; the submission deadline to enter the 2023 Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Contest is Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.
Individual tickets and a limited number of discounted student tickets to the ELI GRAMMY Week Event are on sale now.
The 2023 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 65th GRAMMY Awards, returns to Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, and will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT.
The eligibility period for the 65th GRAMMY Awards is Friday, Oct. 1, 2021 – Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. All eligible awards entries must be released within this timeframe.
The Recording Academy and GRAMMY.com do not endorse any particular artist, submission or nominee over another. The results of the GRAMMY Awards, including winners and nominees, are solely dependent on the Recording Academy’s Voting Membership.