Knowledge is power, and that is what this episode is all about. This week’s guest is Gordon Firemark, The Podcast Lawyer! He has been practicing media, entertainment, and business law since 1992.

I cannot tell you how many times people have come to me with legal questions, and I have the same answer every time… Go talk to Gordon!!

He is the host of a monthly podcast called “Entertainment Law Update” that has been running for 13 years. Talk about a podcasting pioneer!

When Gordon first started his podcast and business, he was looking for reliable resources about the law pertaining to podcasting and found nothing, so he wrote a book called “The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide”.

Through writing this book, he became an expert in the field and started helping other podcasters stay on the legal straight and narrow to protect their assets.

He is also “The Theater Lawyer”. While the pandemic shut down movies and in-person theater events, podcasts popped up everywhere, so he was covered because he is in two niches. He dives deep into *why* you should niche down and how it *does* help you!

Gordon’s clients are business owners, podcast hosts, and small podcast networks. As a creative, you need to protect what you are working so hard for. So many entrepreneurs think about investing in a business coach, mindset coach, money coach, but are you protecting what you are working so hard for? Or are you waiting until you NEED a lawyer, and at that point, it is probably too late.

Building a business is like building a house, solidifying your structure. In that structure, you should cover the legal aspects and get a lawyer on your team. You should have contracts, client onboarding, and a strong understanding of who owns what, in terms of creativity, especially intellectual property if you have freelancers or a team working with you.

Here is the order: build your structure, create your content, build the fence aka get a trademark

Topics in this episode:
Niching down as a lawyer
The Laws that apply to podcasting
How to protect yourself
How to Trademark your business
Gordon’s Free Podcast Release Form, built to protect you


Your Challenge this week:
Think Legit, have the right and professional mindset from the beginning.
Plan Legit, create a business plan, and plan for roadblocks and hurdles.
Behave Legit, behave like a professional, like getting your legal stuff in order, get your contracts, and act like a business.

Connect with Gordon Firemark:
Podcast Release Form: https://www.gordonfiremark.com/PodcastRelease
Guest Release Form: https://www.gordonfiremark.com/guestrelease
Gordon Firemark’s Website: https://www.gordonfiremark.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gfiremark
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gordonfiremark/
The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide: https://www.amazon.com/Podcast-Media-Producers-Survival-paperback/dp/1387057596

Connect with me, Hayleigh Hayhurst:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/espressopodcastproduction/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/espressogrowth
Website: https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com/

Music: John Kiernan. www.johnkiernanmusic.com