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Hayley Silvertown is a senior associate in the Corporate & Financial Services Department and Music and Digital Media Practice, whose practice operates at the intersection of music, media and technology. She advises music and technology companies, entrepreneurs, brands, streaming services, fitness companies and podcast companies on a wide-range of transactional matters.

Hayley regularly represents and provides strategic business and legal guidance to her clients on both catalog acquisitions and sales of music copyrights, trademarks, and related rights, as well as innovative and complex licensing structures related to the exploitation of content and music on new digital mediums, including, podcasting, virtual and augmented reality and immersive experiences, Web3 and other streaming platforms.  Hayley drafts and negotiates content development, production, licensing and distribution agreements, sponsorship and celebrity endorsement agreements, synchronization licenses, live touring agreements, recording and publishing agreements, talent services agreements and production services agreements. 

 

Experience

Hayley has advised on the following selected significant matters:*

  • Primary Wave Music in a partnership agreement with legendary group, Village People.
  • Jeremy Renner in connection with his acquisition of an ownership interest in Sweet Grass Vodka
  • Acquisition of the music publishing company and personal catalog of multi-Grammy and Country Award-winning singer-songwriter and structuring of a go-forward joint venture for songwriter co-pub deals and administration.  
  • Outside music counsel to virtual reality concert platform, handling all aspects of development, production, licensing, and distribution, talent services and label agreements for immersive VR concerts with recordings artists of all genres. 
  • Represented SPIN in its partnership with 101 Studios to develop and produce film, television and podcast projects based on SPIN’s intellectual property and music magazine library;
  • Advised Shamrock Capital Advisors on the entertainment and content aspects of its investments in Boardwalk Pictures and Religion of Sports;
  • Represented various companies and funds in connection with numerous purchases and sales of major music catalogs, including the acquisitions of the catalogs of Brad Paisley, Chris Dubois and Iggy Azaela;
  • Represented several Grammy-nominated artists and songwriters in connection with the sale of their music catalogues and/or related royalty streams;
  • Represented TikTok in connection with numerous content and promotional partnerships with Red Bull Media, Live Nation, Canada Soccer, Toronto International Film Festival, MLSE and VidCon, pursuant to which the parties collaborated on various content and event initiatives for exclusive distribution on TikTok;
  • Advise Xponential Fitness in connection with all music-related and content licensing transactions;
  • Advised Sony Pictures in its acquisition of Industrial Media, including, with respect to its American Idol portfolio;
  • Represented ICM Partners’ music clients in connection with the negotiation of domestic and international touring and live performance agreements;
  • Represented artists, songwriters and music licensees in connection with all aspects of music industry business, including, artist recording and 360 deals, co-publishing and distribution deals; and
  • Represent companies in the negotiation of agreements with music creators, social media influencers, and other talent for marketing campaigns and the creation of branded content partnerships.
*Hayley advised on some of these matters prior to joining Willkie in 2022.

 

Credentials

Education


UCLA School of Law, LL.M., 2019 University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, LL.M., 2015 University of London, LLB, 2014 Western University, B.A., 2012

Bar Admissions


California Ontario