Faculty Profile: William Petree

Chip Petree opened the Nashville office of Ritholz Levy Fields in 2014 as a partner in the firm’s Entertainment Group after a decade heading up his own law practice, Petree Law.  As a practitioner specializing in transactional work in the music and entertainment industries, Chip represents a diverse group of individuals and companies in all areas of the entertainment industry, including #1 songwriters, critically acclaimed and chart-topping recording artists, record producers, independent music publishers, new media service providers, and on-air television talent. In addition to his own law practice, since its inception in 2004 Chip also served as General Manager for Copyright Exchange, LLC, a consulting and brokerage firm that specialized in the buying and selling of copyright catalogs.  Through his law practice and Copyright Exchange, Chip has closed over forty catalog sales worth over $100 million and has established himself as a leader and authority on the catalog market.

Chip began his career in as a lawyer in two boutique entertainment law practices in Nashville, and he has spent two years practicing technology law at a major international law firm in Silicon Valley.  Chip has also served in the in-house legal departments at the RIAA, BMG Entertainment and CBS Cable/MTV Networks, where he was primary counsel to CMT.

Chip is a 1993 graduate of Davidson College and a 1997 graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law. He is a member of NARAS/The Recording Academy, Academy of Country Music, AIMP, Country Music Association, Copyright Society of the South, Nashville Bar Association (and its Sports and Entertainment Law Committee), Leadership Music and SOLID.