Owen J. Sloane

Owen J. Sloane is a respected entertainment attorney with a distinguished career negotiating groundbreaking deals and providing strategic counsel to the music industry.

For over 45 years, Owen has been at the forefront of entertainment law, representing artists, creators, and companies in the music, film, television, and digital media industries. He has negotiated historic deals in the industry, from the first artist-owned label in rock music to pioneering agreements on Internet rights, mobile entertainment, and digital distribution. Owen has guided clients through the eras of the industry, from vinyl to streaming, advising on innovative deal structures and new revenue models, including touring and promotional agreements, branding and merchandise contracts, and industry-adjacent interests.

Owen is highly sought after as an expert witness and litigation consultant in the music industry. He provides authoritative testimony on contract interpretation, intellectual property rights, royalty disputes, and industry practices, and has played a critical role in high-profile cases involving the estates of Michael Jackson and Bing Crosby, and disputes with entities such as Nine Inch Nails and Harrah’s Hotels. His esteemed experience and reputation in the industry garner the attention and trust of jurists and jurors across the country and the world.

Throughout his career, Owen has represented an impressive roster of clients, including legendary musicians such as Elton John, Barry Manilow, Suzanne Vega, Rickie Lee Jones, Steve Winwood, Chris Daughtry, Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Rogers, ABBA, Lindsay Buckingham, Radio Free Virgin, Jane’s Addiction, Joe Cocker, and Academy Award winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler, as well as major corporations such as HBO, Coca-Cola, Playboy, Lorimar, and MTM (Mary Tyler Moore).

Owen’s practice expands and evolves to meet the needs of his clients, always driven by a desire to understand and achieve their goals. In structuring and negotiating deals, he works strategically to identify the best path to their best result, based on decades of industry experience. When his clients’ interests extend internationally, he works with trusted professionals around the globe to align with their needs. He collaborates closely with counsel in key international jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and Australia, to provide seamless support to his high-profile clients.

As an authority in entertainment law, Owen has earned numerous accolades, including repeated recognition as one of Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers. His insights and perspectives have been featured in major media outlets such as The New York Times, Billboard, Forbes, The LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as on television networks like CNN and ET.