Kenneth L. Steinthal

Steinthal, who specializes in music rights, media and entertainment rights, has for almost 40 years represented the world’s leading content providers as they wade through the unfamiliar territory of ever-evolving technologies testing decades old copyright laws.

“The music industry is a very unique industry,” Steinthal said. “The people that I litigate against today I’ll be negotiating a deal with tomorrow. It’s very different from litigating a commercial fraud case where you may never see the people on the other side again. ... It’s a fun place to be from a subject matter perspective. There are a lot of interesting issues that arise.”

Steinthal has successfully litigated on behalf of Google, Amazon, Peloton, Netflix, ESPN, PBS, NPR, ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia. He initially started as a general litigator but ended up working on many cases in the music industry.

“Over time, the folks that I worked closest with in the TV industry moved on to companies like MTV and ESPN and then the digital music industry,” he said. “As I had more and more dealings with the music societies and major record companies and publishers, and with the change in the copyright law in the ’90s, all of a sudden I was doing almost 100% music related litigation on behalf of companies that distribute audio and audiovisual content.”

Because the technology changes so much faster than the law does, “It’s really fun when you get these great issues where there’s often very little precedent and we get to represent companies that are new and different and fascinating,” Steinthal said.

Several copyright law provisions created decades ago have been the subject of conflicting interpretations as technologies have changed — along with concepts of what types of copies or performances of musical works should be deemed subject to licensing requirements and at what rate levels, Steinthal explained. The combination of how rarely copyright laws are updated coupled with the vigilance of claimants in seeking to exploit these legal uncertainties has made this a very active area of litigation, he said.

“The institutional music industry is and always has been fairly aggressive in trying to exploit their rights,” Steinthal said.

He is proud of his ability to strike a balance between fighting for his clients’ interests while striking deals without animosity. Especially when dealing with music companies, his clients do not want him to scorch the earth and leave the companies bitter. “I often say that my adversaries are my frenemies,” he said.

One case that highlights Steinthal’s abilities is In re Determination of Rates and Terms for Digital Performance of Sound Recordings, 19-CRB-0005- WR, (Copyright Royalty Board, filed Jan. 24, 2019), otherwise known as Web V. Before the board, Steinthal represented Google against the label and recording industry in a case regarding royalty rates and terms for digital performances of sound recordings over the internet made by noninteractive music streaming services. Steinthal’s efforts led to a June 2021 decision that adopted much of Google’s arguments and minimized rate increases until 2026.

Steinthal said he often gives this piece of advice to inexperienced attorneys: “Do well in whatever cases you have the opportunity to take on and then the other stuff will come your way. I didn’t select this field of the law; it self-selected me and It’s been fabulous.”

– Jonathan Lo