Michael J. Perlstein
Partner
Michael J. Perlstein is a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Fischbach, Perlstein, and Lieberman & Almond LLP. His practice focuses on music publishing, recording industry and related copyright and contractual matters. He represents leading artists, songwriters, music publishers, producers and estates of deceased authors and recording artists. A major emphasis of his practice involves representation of buyers and sellers of composition and master catalogs as well as analysis of copyright termination rights and other complex copyright issues related to musical and other works.
He is a member of the California and New York bars. Mr. Perlstein was named among Billboard’s Top Music Attorneys 2021-2022 for negotiating record setting catalog sales and general transactional practice.
He is the author of the following articles:
The chapter entitled Music Publishing in Entertainment Law, Editions 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5 (1989, 1996, 2004, 2013 and 2018) published by the New York State Bar Association;
In re Marriage of Worth – Copyright as Community Property: Questions about
Worth are More Than Merely Trivial, published in the April 1988 Entertainment Law Reporter;
Contracts with Kids: A Limited Discussion of Entertainment Industry Contracts Involving Minors Under California Law, published in the 1992-93 Entertainment Publishing and the Arts Handbook;
A Cue Sheet Primer, published in the March 2000 edition of The Score, The Journal of the Society of Composers and Lyricists; Some Aspects of United States Music Publishing Agreements: The Exclusive Term
Copublishing Agreement and the Minimum Delivery Commitment, published in the
January, 2001 Journal of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers;
A Primer on Termination Rights, published in the syllabi of the 2007 and 2008
Entertainment and Sports Law Section of the Texas State Bar Association convention;
She Got the Goldmine, I Got the Shaft: When Copyright Collides with
Community Property, published in the syllabus of the 2008 Entertainment and Sports
Law section of the Texas State Bar Association convention.
He is a former Adjunct Associate Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School
in Los Angeles teaching the course on music publishing.
He served as a trustee (2006-2012) and was elected President of the Los Angeles Copyright Society 2012.