The Dark Side of the Music Industry: When Artist Lawyers Quietly Work for the Labels
Let’s talk about a dirty little secret in the music industry.
No, not the usual “labels are evil” cliché.
Something deeper.
Something more subtle.
Something worse.
Because what happens when the very lawyers hired to protect artists…
…end up doing the dirty work for the labels?
Spoiler:
We’ve lived through it.
We handled an audit that led to major payouts for the artist.
The artist got what they deserved.
But we had to fight for what we earned.
The Setup: A High-Profile Audit, Big Promises, and Bigger Silence
We were brought in by a legal team representing a well-known band.
The mission: audit their YouTube income.
The artist gave the go-ahead, trusting their lawyers to handle the details.
Over three years - yes, three - we pushed through walls of silence and resistance.
Not because it normally takes that long. (It doesn’t.)
But because we uncovered structural blocks.
Delays, excuses, denials, diversions.
When a system is built to obscure the truth, it takes time to break through.
But we did it.
We delivered.
Money flowed. The artist won.
A massive recovery. A rightful share.
And then… silence.
The Reveal: We Were Hired - But Never Really Hired
Turns out, the band didn’t know we existed.
They weren’t told who did the actual work.
They weren’t told about the financial structure behind the audit.
They didn’t even know they had a deal in place.
The lawyers had “kind of” mentioned they were working on something related to YouTube revenues.
Maybe a disagreement with the label. Maybe something worth looking into.
Nothing too specific. Nothing formal.
Just a vague promise:
“There might be money on the table - are you okay if we look into it?”
Who says no to that, right?
But they never disclosed who was digging, how, or what was at stake.
They didn’t mention us.
They didn’t mention that we were building a full-scale audit - reconstructing monetization across hundreds of videos, over multiple years, tracking down missing YouTube payouts from one of the biggest players in the industry.
The artist thought this was just a side note.
But in reality, it was a multimillion-euro recovery process.
Led by us. Invisible. And unpaid.
Not Just Unpaid - Silenced
Here’s the kicker:
They didn’t just want to avoid paying us.
They wanted us erased.
Just as the money was about to be paid out, we were presented with something even more outrageous than the silence:
A contract.
Not a payment agreement.
But a gag order.
Wrapped in legal language, buried in the fine print of "settlement protocols" and "protective orders", was a clear message:
You're not just not getting paid. You're also not allowed to speak about this. Ever. Not even to help other artists.
The goal?
To lock all information – every discovery, every proof, every pattern – inside the audit.
Forever.
But it didn’t stop there.
Even future audits for the same artist would have been blocked from using any of the insights we uncovered.
Let that sink in.
The truth we had uncovered was to be buried - permanently - even if the artist needed it again.
And here's the best part:
They tried to label standard YouTube data - like views, monetization splits, CPM ranges - as "highly confidential".
Seriously?
This is information any single YouTuber aka. content creator and certified agency - outside the major label/ Vevo universe has access to.
It’s not nuclear codes. It’s basic business data.
They wanted to make it look like this whole thing was “sensitive” -
Not because it was private,
but because it was damning.
The Consequences: Deception with a Smile
This isn’t just about one case.
It’s about a system that allows this to happen.
A system where:
Artist representatives also play golf with label execs.
Conflicts of interest go unspoken.
Real work gets hidden.
Real wins get exploited.
So let’s ask the hard question: If even artist lawyers can secretly serve label interests - who’s really fighting for creators?
We are.
Why We’re Different - And Why That Matters
At FIRA, we don’t just audit numbers.
We audit the system.
We know where to look. We know how to push. And when it gets uncomfortable?
We don’t blink.
We’re not the kind of team you can brush aside.
We don’t do this for visibility. We do it for results.
And when the truth is on our side, we stand our ground.
We’ve worked with massive artists, behind the scenes.
We’ve secured major wins, silently.
And yes - when needed - we can go to court.
Not because we like drama.
But because justice sometimes needs pressure.
What Artists and Managers Should Learn from This
The artist?
They got paid. Fully. Fairly. Handsomely.
Because we made it happen.
Even though they didn’t know who we were at the start -
They felt the impact of our work in the end.
We weren’t fighting them.
We were fighting for them.
And when we realized we were being pushed out of the story, we stood up for ourselves - just like we stand up for every client.
So what’s the lesson?
Artists and managers:
Always demand transparency. Know who’s working for you. Ask the uncomfortable questions.Lawyers and gatekeepers:
Don’t play both sides. It will come to light.Audit firms:
Don’t stay silent when things get murky. If you have the truth - use it.
Our Promise: No Silence, No Settlements, No Secrets
We're not here to be liked by labels - like others do.
We’re here to restore balance.
To put money where it belongs - with the people who created the value in the first place.
This story isn’t just a case study.
It’s a warning.
A rallying cry.
And a reminder that audits aren’t the end - they’re the beginning of something bigger.
Because when we uncover the truth, we don’t walk away.
We follow through. Every time.
- - -
Based on real events. Names and details have been removed to preserve confidentiality. But the lessons - and the truth - are very real.
