About Maggie

Maggie Chibidakis is a transactional music and entertainment attorney who represents artists, producers, record labels, production companies, and other entertainment professionals across the music, film, and television industries. Her practice focuses on drafting and negotiating agreements and advising clients and industry partners on copyright, licensing, contract interpretation and disputes.

Maggie’s current legal practice at the Law Offices of David A. Helfant encompasses a broad range of music and entertainment matters. She drafts and negotiates licensing, songwriter, producer, side artist, independent contractor, recording, publishing, shopping, production, and other agreements across the film, television, and music industries. She advises clients on copyright, licensing, right of publicity, contract interpretation and disputes, and pre-litigation strategy and settlements. Her work also includes copyright and intellectual property enforcement and defense, royalty disputes, and breach of contract matters. She is also a junior manager at Arpeggio Entertainment, supporting management of various artists and talent.

Her work also extends to managing artist, writer, and producer catalogs and acquisitions, including establishing and managing chain of title, conducting preliminary due diligence, and drafting and negotiating related documents, including NDAs and Asset Purchase Agreements. In film and television, Maggie supports producers with music supervision, including song selection, licensing, clearance, rights, and other deliverables for film, television, and other media projects.

Maggie is active in music industry education and professional organizations. She mentors students at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and Southwestern Law School and has been working closely with the CSUN Music Department on the development and modernization of music industry curriculum. She has also participated as a speaker addressing careers in music and entertainment law, including a Women in Music panel hosted by CSUN’s Music and Entertainment Student Association (MESA)

She is an active member of the California Copyright Conference, and the Beverly Hills Bar Association. She recently joined the Scholarship Committee of the California Copyright Conference, where she contributes to the organization’s work supporting copyright education and the music and entertainment community.

Maggie has been a musician for more than 15 years. She began playing saxophone at a young age, and would go on to perform in high school and college in numerous ensembles throughout the Los Angeles area, including jazz combos, orchestras, and wind ensembles such as the Los Angeles Symphonic Winds. Her background as a musician gives her a practical, artist-informed perspective on entertainment law and informs her work with clients throughout the music industry.

Maggie on Music

I created MaggieOnMusic.com as a space for emerging artists and industry professionals finding their way through the music business, while exploring the intersection of law, business, and music through the perspective of one lawyer/ musician/industry professional who’s finding her way too. As a way to extend my ongoing mentorship and education efforts, I created this site to share my own practical observations, legal analysis, and personal perspectives on the issues affecting artists and entertainment professionals.

The site reflects just one lawyer’s broader interest, in making the legal and business side of the music industry more accessible in such an increasingly complex industry.

I hope you find something within it.