Eric Custer
Manatt
Partner
Eric Custer is an Entertainment Partner at Manatt, whose practice focuses on all aspects of the music industry, including contract negotiation and advising clients on intellectual property rights.
He has provided these services for bands, recording artists, producers, songwriters, record companies, music publishing companies, film production companies and more. Eric serves as general counsel for numerous artists, including Neil Young, the Brian Wilson Estate, Kenny Loggins, The Pixies, Joni Mitchell, Jefferson Airplane/Grace Slick and Christopher Cross. He is a leader in the music asset acquisitions space and has handled more than 250 transactions over the past decade, with deal values up to $1 billion, representing both buyers and sellers. Eric also has extensive experience in music copyright terminations/reversions. On the recording side, he has served termination notices covering more than 100 albums representing 25 different recording artists and has advised on major renegotiations with the original record labels. Eric was recently named one of the “Top Music Lawyers” by Billboard and one of Variety’s Dealmakers of the Year in 2025.