David Jacobs
Founding partner

Jacobs Law Group

The Grubman veteran hung up his own business in November 2024 and quickly established himself by closing a blockbuster nine-figure record deal for country superstar Zach Bryan. The firm has grown rapidly, now with 10 employees and a roster that also includes Geese and his singer Cameron Winter, Pusha T and Clipse, Young Thug, Lil Nas X, Kali Uchis, Blood Orange and rising stars Ethel Cain, Adela and Jim Legxacy.

What achievement are you most proud of in the past year?
“Build the kind of company I wanted to exist in the music business: one that is relentlessly artist-first, driven by taste, uncompromising in its integrity, tremendously effective in its advocacy, and genuinely committed to helping advance the culture. Our business can create enormous pressure to prioritize short-term victories over long-term careers. I’m proud to have built a team that believes great artists deserve patience, conviction, and representation that’s as ambitious as the art itself.

“On a personal level, as a lifelong New Yorker who grew up obsessed with alternative music, I’m incredibly proud to play a small role in helping Geese and Cameron Winter emerge onto the global stage, one of the most exciting New York stories in a generation. Helping truly original artists break through without compromising who they are is one of the most rewarding parts of this profession.”

What is the biggest threat to the music industry right now?
“It’s easy to say that AI will remain an existential concern forever. But honestly, I’m much more concerned about the continued commodification of art itself and great albums, artists and careers being reduced to an endless stream of fragmented content optimized as social media fodder for algorithms and short attention spans; it’s brutal. The music industry has always thrived when it invests in vision, originality and cultural impact. We should build ecosystems that reward artists for creating meaningful bodies of “Work, don’t force them to compete in an infinite content cycle. “Most of the important music in history would never have survived today’s demand for constant engagement and clickbait.”

What can music lawyers do to make the industry, as well as the world, a better place?
“Maintain integrity, particularly when there are incentives not to, and have the courage to think long term. Great art of any kind is rarely developed on an industry’s preferred timeline.

“Music lawyers sit at the intersection of art and commerce, but our job is not simply to transact—it’s to help artists build meaningful, sustainable careers and protect the things that make them unique. We’re in the business of culture, and if we consistently prioritize culture over commodification, the business tends to take care of itself.

“The best careers in music are not built through a single deal. They are built through hundreds of decisions made with patience, discipline, conviction and unwavering faith in the artist.”