Founded in 1998, the Recording Artists Project (RAP) focuses on entertainment law issues. RAP provides legal assistance to music artists, independent record labels, production companies, songwriters, film companies, artist managers and other arts and entertainment entrepreneurs and firms. Recently, the Executive Director of RAP, 2L Jennifer Johnson-Blalock sat down for a Q&A to share some insight.
What is RAP?
The Recording Artists Project (RAP) was founded nearly ten years ago to provide pro bono counsel to Boston-area recording artists. RAP functions as both a clinical through the Legal Services Center and as a student organization, allowing students maximum flexibility with their involvement. Within the organization, students work in teams, with the help of our dedicated supervisor, Brian Price, to solve the legal problems of local musicians. These issues are incredibly varied; RAP works on recording contracts, management and agency agreements, licensing, copyright and trademark issues, business formation–basically whatever the client needs.
How did you get involved and why?
I’ve always been committed to arts and entertainment; in college, I worked in publishing and journalism. I decided to go to law school because I wanted to be more on the business, rather than the creative, side of the industry. So I came to HLS knowing that I wanted to work in entertainment law, and I sought out those organizations that would allow me to get experience. I joined the Committee on Sports and Entertainment Law, the Arts and Literature Law Society, and, of course, the Recording Artists Project.
I served as a team leader during my first year in RAP, working with a fantastic band throughout the year on both a management and an agency contract. This year, I’m the Director of the organization. I’m still involved with clients–last semester, I worked on a cybersquatting case and a studio rental contract, and I’m currently going over a licensing agreement. But as the Director, I also coordinate member and client recruitment. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to play a greater role in the organization and help ensure its continued presence at HLS.
How has the organization evolved over time?
When RAP first started, it was a very collaborative organization, frequently working with the Berkman Center and other student groups like the Committee on Sports and Entertainment Law. I think that over the years, RAP has started to focus more exclusively on client work. Though the actual legal work is definitely the heart of the organization, this approach can be somewhat isolating, only giving students the opportunity to interact with their team members. This year, we’re trying to turn RAP into more of a community that helps its members explore our shared interests. We’re holding regular meetings to discuss the different cases we’re working on, which gives the members a much broader view of the range of legal work. We’re also planning on using these meetings to explore the music industry more generally by discussing current developments and bringing in speakers. We want RAP to be a place where students who are interested in entertainment law have the opportunity to interact with like-minded people and really learn from each other.
What are your plans this summer? Did your involvement in RAP
influence this decision?
This summer I’ll be working at Irell & Manella, a law firm in Los Angeles. They’re incredibly strong in the entertainment sector, both in litigation and transactional work, which is what I hope to focus on. RAP has solidified my desire to work in entertainment, and it’s also made it possible. Jobs in this field are extremely competitive, partially because it’s viewed as a glamorous area of the law and partially because a lot of work is done at the boutique level. Everyone I talked to during OCI was very enthusiastic about my work with RAP. I think it gave me a huge boost because it showed that I was dedicated, and it’s also given me practical experience. In terms of both personal fulfillment and professional success, RAP is the best thing I’ve done so far at HLS.
