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Federal Court Considers Blurry Lines Between Artist's Consultant and Business Manager
Business managers often provide a range of financial services to artists that go beyond the traditional bookkeeping and tax-preparation functions of an accountant. A business manager’s services may include, among others: strategizing how and when an artist receives revenues; preparing regular (e.g., monthly) financial flow statements that list income and expenditures; depositing and transferring bank and other funds; tour accounting; investment-planning and tax-planning advice; conducting and/or supervising royalty audits; and advising on estate planning.
What happens when a business manager gets involved in a dispute with one of the artist’s other advisers? A recent example is the litigation between the longtime business manager for rapper Nelly and a longtime consultant who has provided a range of services to the artist that include marketing and promotion, managing Nelly’s touring business and seeking endorsement deals.
In 2020, Nelly consultant Leslie King and his BUSIC Entertainment LLC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division, against business manager Michael Chaffin and his Three Commas LLC. The lawsuit accused the latter of defaming the plaintiffs and of tortious interference with contracts. King v. Chaffin, 3:24-cv-719.
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