Gabe Fleet

Gabe’s experience includes the following:

Content Licensing

• Negotiating complex agreements for dozens of companies (from Fortune 500 public companies to cutting-edge, early-stage startups) adverse to record labels, music publishers, performing rights organizations, motion picture studios, television content owners, video/image libraries, book/audiobook publishers, podcast creators, news/print/online publishers, talent, and other intellectual property owners regarding the use of music, spoken word audio, video, images, text, name/image/likeness rights, and other IP in a wide array of products and services

Generative AI

• Representing industry-leading generative AI companies in legal and strategic counseling matters and complex commercial transactions. Some specific representations include:
  • Suno in various commercial transactions and extensive legal and strategic counseling. This has included negotiation of:
    • A landmark, multi-faceted, cross-border transaction with Warner Music Group to collaborate on next-generation licensed AI music, acquire various assets, and settle previous litigation between the parties
    • A global strategic alliance with BMG to establish a strategic framework for AI music covering BMG’s recorded and music publishing repertoire and settling prior use of BMG works
    • A commercial partnership with music producer/artist Timbaland, leading to the execution of a first-of-its-kind AI-powered remix campaign
  • ElevenLabs in a wide array of commercial transactions and strategic and legal counseling matters, including negotiating deals with book publishers for its ElevenReader AI-powered audiobook product
  • OpenAI in transactional and strategic counseling matters related to the launch of voice capabilities for its ChatGPT AI product
  • Perplexity in the negotiation of commercial partnership agreements with various content publishers throughout the world 
  • Numerous generative AI tool providers at all stages of their growth in negotiating data access and acquisition transactions across a wide range of modalities

Dispute Resolution

• Representing companies in negotiating settlements to high-stakes copyright and entertainment-related disputes, both before and after the filing of litigation. Some specific representations include:
  • Live Nation in the negotiation of a proposed Consent Decree to settle antitrust claims brought by the U.S. Dept. of Justice and various states
  • A leading audio generative AI company in settling litigation with copyright owners and individual creators making claims pertaining to the training and operation of the company’s AI tools, in what is reported to be the first negotiated settlement of a generative AI copyright litigation
  • Internet Archive in settling a copyright infringement litigation brought by various major record labels over the Internet Archive’s “Great 78” project
  • The entire commercial radio industry (through the National Association of Broadcasters) in settling the Web VI Copyright Royalty Board music royalty rate-setting proceeding, which set the sound recording royalty rates to be paid by radio webcasters for 2026-2030
  • Various brand owners in negotiating confidential, pre-litigation settlements of infringement claims from music copyright owners pertaining to the use of music in social media videos

Corporate Transactions

• Representing buyers, sellers, investors, and financing sources in acquisitions and financing transactions for music catalogs and other entertainment and copyright assets, including navigating the complex and esoteric legal and business issues unique to the music and entertainment industries. Some specific representations include:
  • Suno in its acquisition of the Songkick live music, concert-discovery platform from Warner Music Group
  • H.I.G. Capital in its acquisition of RBMedia, one of the leading audiobook publishers in the world
  • A strategic acquiror in the purchase of its JV partner’s music publishing revenue streams

Music/Entertainment/Media Commercial Transactions

• Representing media platforms and content studios in commercial transactions for the development, production, and distribution of podcasts, feature films, TV series, concert specials, and documentaries. This includes extensive experience in matters specific to the music aspects of television and film content, including for the original content studios of some of the world’s largest streaming providers
• Negotiating sponsorship and endorsement agreements, co-marketing agreements, and other commercial transactions between and among brand owners, copyright owners, and celebrities
• Representing brand owners and media companies in connection with the creation and exploitation of branded content and the entertainment-related aspects of advertising, marketing, and promotional campaigns. Specific matters include numerous projects that have won ADDY, CLIO, Cannes Lions, GRAMMY, and EMMY awards, multiple Super Bowl ads, and dozens of campaigns for some of the world’s most significant brands