Slaying the Starving Artist Paradigm and Teaching Professionalism in the Entertainment Business: The Entertainment Law and Professionalism Clinic

Cheryl L. Slay
Belmont University

Abstract

Describes the Entertainment Law and Professionalism Clinic, an initiative designed to expose students to the practice of professionalism while serving their entertainment industry legal needs. The Clinic moves instruction outside the boundaries of the classroom by requiring students to exercise self-directed judgments about the use of business advisers. The first part of the article discusses general notions of professionalism and proposes a definition that may be applicable to training a corps of entertainment business professionals through a service project approach. Part two describes how the Clinic, currently in use at Belmont University, was developed from author’s observations and student interactions as a teaching practitioner of law to: (1) serve student business and legal needs by providing cost-free legal advice; (2) teach students how, when, and whether to seek professional advisers and use the members of an advisory team; and (3) teach and promote professionalism in the entertainment industry outside the classroom. An exhaustive study of professionalism is outside the scope of this article; rather, the author examines the contours of professionalism within the framework of the Clinic, and to summarize insights from its implementation and underlying principles.

Keywords: music industry curriculum, entertainment law, entertainment law clinic, professionalism, business advisors, entertainment advisors

Slay, Cheryl L. “Slaying the Starving Artist Paradigm and Teaching Professionalism in the Entertainment Business: The Entertainment Law and Professionalism Clinic.” Journal of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association 12, no. 1 (2012): 195-208. https://doi.org/10.25101/12.8