Photo credit: Ronald Woan / CC from 2.0
Taylor Swift promotes a high-profile attorney to General Counsel of 13 Management. This is a rare change of personnel at their closely guarded Nashville-based company.
Taylor Swift promotes attorney Douglas Baldridge, a partner at the Washington, DC law firm Venable, to her new general counsel 13 management company and replaces Jay Schaudies who is retiring. This change in personnel is rare for the pop star’s closely guarded company, which is run in part by her parents, including her father, Scott Swift, who is a real estate agent.
The 33-year-old singer-songwriter is known for keeping her circle tight Business close. Swift typically takes an active role in her business activities rather than delegating them, such as not using a booking agent for the US leg of her ongoing Eras tour.
Baldridge is an experienced commercial litigator and serves as outside counsel for Swift. He successfully represented her in a high-profile sexual harassment lawsuit against a radio host in 2017. He also defended her against trademark infringement and dilution lawsuits in 2015 when Swift settled a dispute out of court with apparel company Blue Sphere.
As a past chair of Venable’s Washington litigation group, Baldridge has represented major US companies in the pharmaceutical, technology and consumer products industries, as well as entertainers and real estate developers. He is expected to complete his tenure at Venable in the coming weeks as he joins Swift’s team full-time.
Swift’s 13-year-old management conducts much of its business independently, but this change in personnel doesn’t mean the star is bringing her entire legal team in-house. According to a person directly familiar with the matter, Swift will use Venable’s services. Venable’s musical clientele also included Snoop Dogg and Barry Manilow.
Taylor Swift continues to work with noted music industry advocate Donald Passman of Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, who authored the book All You Need to Know About the Music Business.
As one of the biggest and most-attended contemporary superstars, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is expected to generate over $1 billion in concert ticket sales. This week, she became the first woman to have four different albums in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart simultaneously. With the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)a re-recording of her 2010 album, Swift also achieved her twelfth chart-topping debut — the most of any female artist.