![Kendall Minter](https://www.billboard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Kendall-Minter-obit-billboard-1548.jpg?w=1024)
Courtesy of Minter & Associates
Update (December 14th): Kendall A. Minter’s memorial service will be held on Saturday (December 16). Click here to learn more about our services. There will also be a service It will be streamed live for those who cannot attend here..
veteran entertainment lawyer Kendall A. MinterA diverse array of past and present clients have passed away, including songwriter and producer Jermaine Dupri, Brian Michael Cox and D’Mile, MC Lyte, Kirk Franklin, Lena Horne and the Backstreet Boys. He passed away suddenly on December 6th in Atlanta due to complications. He was 71 years old.
Mr. Minter has been a longtime social advocate, representing politicians, religious leaders, churches, authors, athletes, and was general counsel and board member of the Living Legends Foundation. In 2015, Ms. Minter received her 32-year-old organization’s Chairman’s Award.
“Kendall and I have been friends and colleagues for over 30 years,” Living Legend said. David C. Linton In a statement released by the organization. “Kendall is one of the reasons the Living Legends Foundation has been sustained and continues to exist as one of the major and few black music organizations. We are still standing because of his guidance. During the transition from our old model to today’s model, he helped us maintain our organization through some turbulent times and provided us with stable and sound legal counsel. will be forever grateful for his service and leadership not only to the Living Legends Foundation, but the other Black organizations he helped build over the past 40 years, as well as his commitment to a long list of Black music and entertainment executives. He gave guidance and advice.”
Prior to his death, Mr. Minter was a consultant in the Entertainment & Sports practice group of the Greenspoon Marder law firm in Stone Mountain, Georgia. At Greenspoon Marder, she represented clients in the areas of entertainment, corporate, intellectual property, sports, and new media matters.
He also directed and maintained a 43-year law practice based in Atlanta, now known as Minter & Associates. Throughout that time, his past and present clients include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Miriam Makeba, Peter Tosh, Music Soulchild, Goodie Mob, Montel Jordan, Ashanti, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Teddy Riley, Heavy D & the Boys, and Radio. etc. were included. Pioneer Frankie Crocker, boxer Evander Holyfield, the Jamaican government, and the Central Park Five, now known as the Innocent Five.
Minter also co-founded and served as the first executive director of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA) and is a past president of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. He also served on the boards of Sound Exchange, Georgia Music Partners, and the DeKalb Entertainment Commission.
Born May 24, 1952, and raised in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York, Minter earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Cornell University in 1974 and a law degree from Cornell Law School in 1976. did. His first job out of law school was with an association. He is Fairchild Industries’ general counsel and corporate representative for broadcasting. Throughout his legal career, Minter practiced at law firms in Georgia, New York, and the District of Columbia. He launched his first private firm, the Kendall A. Minter Law Office, in 1980 and subsequently opened affiliated offices in Los Angeles and London.
Minter’s other accomplishments include writing the book Understanding and Negotiating 360 Ancillary Rights Deals: An Artist’s Guide to Negotiating 360 Record Deals. He was an adjunct professor in the School of Music and School of Law at Georgia State University, where he taught copyright and music publishing.