Alan David Barson

Alan David Barson is a partner in Greenspoon Marder’s Corporate, Entertainment, Media & Sports, and Innovation & Technology practice groups. Based in the firm’s Miami office, Mr. Barson advises companies and their founders, entrepreneurs, executives, investors, rights holders, creative talent, and family offices on corporate and commercial transactions, technology and media matters, licensing, intellectual property, brand strategy, and entertainment and sports transactions.

Mr. Barson’s practice focuses on transactions and business counseling where commercial strategy, intellectual property rights, brand value, and execution risk intersect. He structures and negotiates complex agreements involving corporate and business transactions, technology and commercial arrangements, media and entertainment rights, music and publishing assets, licensing and distribution, sponsorship and endorsement matters, NIL, brand protection, and cross-border commercial relationships. He also serves as outside general counsel to operating companies and principals, helping clients manage legal risk, address governance and business-sensitive regulatory issues, and advance strategic commercial objectives.

Mr. Barson has represented clients across the music, film, television, theater, publishing, fashion, technology, health technology, life sciences commercialization, and sports industries. His experience includes negotiating and restructuring major-label recording and distribution agreements, global music publishing arrangements, music catalog transactions, talent agreements for stage and screen projects, literary-property acquisition and rights agreements, film production agreements, private placement, Regulation D, and related securities compliance matters, character and merchandising licenses for animated television and motion picture properties, and brand-protection and trade-secret protocols for proprietary products and contract-manufacturing relationships.

In addition to his law firm practice, Mr. Barson brings substantial in-house, founder, entrepreneur, and operator experience to his client work. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Head of Business and Legal Affairs, and General Counsel of London/Sire Records Group, a Warner Music Group label, where he led business and legal affairs across recording, licensing, distribution, music publishing, and strategic partnership matters. He has also founded and led business ventures and advised companies on commercialization, channel strategy, international expansion, product deployment, licensing, and operational risk. This background informs his practical approach to transactions, particularly for early-stage, emerging-growth, and established companies in technology, media, entertainment, and other IP-driven sectors.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Barson practiced with leading New York entertainment and media law firms, where he represented public media companies, private businesses, recording artists, songwriters, actors, screenwriters, producers, studios, record labels, music publishers, cable networks, promoters, senior executives, and other creative and business clients. Before entering the legal profession, he worked in the London music industry as a recording engineer, record producer, remixer, artist manager, music publisher, and software developer for first-generation computer-based musical instruments.

Mr. Barson also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he taught “Entertainment Lawyering,” a course focused on contracting, rights, deal structures, and industry practice.