Matthew V. Wilson

Matt is a partner in the Corporate & Finance and Intellectual Property practice groups, chair of the Entertainment & Sports industry team, and a member of the Life Sciences industry team. He counsels creators, rights holders, creative businesses, brands, and growth-stage companies on the business, transactional, intellectual-property, and commercial issues that shape valuable intellectual property and public-facing careers.

A self-described music nerd, amateur musician, and lifelong fan, Matt brings more than two decades of entertainment-industry experience to his work with recording artists, songwriters, producers, publishers, managers, labels, distributors, promoters, venues, and other music-business participants. He drafts, analyzes, and negotiates recording, publishing, producer, distribution, management, touring, merchandising, sponsorship, licensing, and related commercial agreements. His work also includes copyright and trademark strategy, rights acquisition and exploitation, compensation structures, brand and identity protection, and the business decisions that accompany an artist’s evolving career.

Matt has substantial experience in the live-entertainment sector, advising clients involved in festivals, concerts, touring productions, and other experiential events. He assists with the development, production, commercialization, and sale of live events in the United States and internationally, and helps clients address the contractual, intellectual property, sponsorship, production, and operational issues that arise throughout an event’s life cycle.

In film, television, and media, Matt represents production companies, creative professionals, and business-side participants from development through distribution and ancillary exploitation. His experience includes project financing; talent and producer engagements; work-for-hire, option, and chain-of-title matters; content clearance; intellectual-property protection and licensing; advertising and promotions; and related production and commercialization arrangements. He also advises clients on transactional and commercial issues connected to Georgia’s film-tax-credit environment.

Matt’s broader creative-industry practice includes work for museums, galleries, fine artists, muralists, photographers, tattoo artists, authors, digital creators, influencers, and other media personalities. He advises on contract negotiation, copyright and trademark protection, commissions, merchandising, sponsorships, sales, licensing, advertising, promotional campaigns, and other opportunities to create and commercialize creative assets and personal brands.

Matt also advises technology, gaming, and e-commerce companies on the legal and commercial issues that arise in developing, launching, and operating digital products and services. His work includes content clearance and licensing; website development, hosting, and services agreements; online terms of use; e-commerce and digital marketing practices; sweepstakes and skill contests; and compliance with applicable legal, regulatory, and industry self-regulatory standards.

Matt is recognized by Best Lawyers in America® for Entertainment Law – Music and Trademark Law and by World Trademark Review. He regularly speaks at industry and legal conferences, including programs presented by the Americana Music Association, Music Business Association, Folk Alliance International, Cutting Edge Music Business Conference, the American Bar Association Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries, Digital World Summit, and North American Law Conference. His writing has appeared in legal and general-interest outlets including Bloomberg, Vulture, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Entrepreneur, Law360, Hypebot, TheWrap, Georgia Entertainment News, ABA Journal, and The Observer.

Outside of the firm, Matt is a founding partner of GT Entertainment Group, an artist-management and development company, and Good Times Productions, a music and entertainment promotions company. He is also a founding board member of Backline, Inc., a nonprofit that provides mental-health and wellness resources for music-industry professionals and their families.