# Royalty Retrieval

Bradley Southerton is an accountant and royalty retrieval specialist who has been involved in the entertainment business throughout his life.

He is a resident of Traverse City, Michigan who works with clients remotely throughout the United States. Southerton has earned his Bachelor of Science in Business degree at Ferris State University, where he majored in Music Industry Management and his Master of Accounting and Financial Management degree from Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago. As of 2018, Southerton has successfully completed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exams and is CPA Certified in the State of Illinois.

In 2007, Southerton moved to Chicago and obtained a position working as a Paralegal at Jay B. Ross & Associates, PC, a prominent entertainment law firm specializing in music publishing, contractual agreements, royalty retrieval, right of publicity, negotiations, copyrights, wills and estates, personal injury, and corporations.

There, he worked directly with the owner, Jay B. Ross, who shared his over forty years of experience. Ross was a pioneer in the entertainment law and represented scores of music legends and/or their heirs and advisers, including James Brown, Muddy Waters, Woody Guthrie’s estate, Ray Charles’ family, Koko Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Jello Biafra, and many, many more.

In less than six months at Ross’ office, Southerton was promoted to the position of Office Manager and put in charge of the firm’s Royalty Retrieval Division. In this role, he built a foundation of operations and processes which enabled growth and built the firm’s client base for royalty collections from approximately thirty to well over four hundred in a seven-year period.

Southerton has had years of experience in advising and contracting with clients relative to monetary collections on their intellectual property. To which, two of his greatest career highlights involved providing consulting work for Joe Jackson on royalties due the Jackson 5 and assisting judges appointed by the State of Georgia on royalty payment research for the estate of James Brown.

Southerton has worked on behalf of featured recording artists (musicians and comedians), songwriters, sound recording copyright owners (record labels), publishing companies, and their respective heirs and beneficiaries. As a professional accountant and entertainment consultant, he is always eager to offer advice and assist those in need of his services.

All monies Southerton collects on a client’s behalf are done so on a contingent fee basis. If he is unable to find any additional monies for clients, that they were not collecting prior to his involvement, no fee is charged.

Southerton’s expertise is in knowing where to look and the detailed procedures and due diligence involved in order to assert a client’s legal rights to collect their monies due. All work performed on behalf of clients is done so based on either contract law, statutory law, or both.

In addition to royalty retrieval experience, Southerton has spoken at numerous engagements relative to the entertainment business including, Ferris State University as a Music Industry Management Alumni Panelist, a press conference for the Chicago Music Awards as a guest speaker to announce music category finalists, and the Music Industry Workshop, a Chicago Area Vocational School at Studio Chicago, where he supplied flowcharts he had created in order to illustrate the cash flows of the music business. Following this lecture, Southerton’s flowcharts were incorporated as part of the course curriculum by the instructor.

He is also active in the entertainment community and has been a Grammy Awards Voting Member through the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) since 2010.

Southerton has worked with clients in royalty collections for all of the following featured artists…

• 4 PM
• Albertina Walker
• Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah
• American Breed
• Andrew Tibbs
• Anna Maria Alberghetti
• Anthony Watson
• Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup
• Artie “Blues Boy” White
• The Artistics
• Barbara Acklin
• The Barrett Sisters
• Bessie Smith
• Betty Everett
• Big Bill Broonzy
• Big Joe Turner
• Big Mama Thornton
• Big Walter Horton
• Billy Terrell
• Bishop Joe Simon
• Blind Lemon Jefferson
• Bobby Byrd
• Bobby Simms
• Bonnie Pointer
• Bootsy Collins
• Boss Ross Publishing, Inc.
• Bukka White
• Canned Heat
• The Caravans
• Carl Davis
• Cash McCall
• Casper
• Channel 3
• The Chi-Lites
• Chi-Sound Records
• Chip E
• Cicero Blake
• CJ Records
• Clara Ward
• DJ International Records
• DJ Ping
• Donnie Bowser
• The Dorothy Norwood Singers
• Dorothy Prince
• The Douglas Singers
• The Drakes
• Dusty Brown
• Earl Hooker
• Eddie C. Campbell
• Eddie Rolling
• Eddie Taylor
• Eddy Clearwater
• The El Doradoes
• Emo Philips
• Enuff Z’nuff
• Eric Dolphy
• Esquires, The
• Ethel Waters
• Evelyn “Champagne” King
• Farley Jackmaster Funk
• Five Du Tones
• Fred McDowell
• Furry Lewis
• Gary & the Knight Lites
• Gary Criss
• Gladys McFadden and The Loving Sisters
• The Glass Bottle
• Harry Dennis
• The Heavenly King Juniors
• Holly Maxwell
• Hollywood Scotty
• Howlin’ Wolf
• Inez Andrews
• Ivor Broderick
• The J.B.’s
• Jackie Ross
• Jackie Wilson
• James “Pookie” Hudson
• Joe Smooth
• Joe Tex
• Joe Williams
• John Bruce Yeh
• Johnnie Taylor
• Johnny Adams
• Johnny Frigo
• Johnny Moore
• Jon Hendricks
• The Jones Girls
• Judy Tenuta
• Junior Wells
• Kahil El’Zabar
• Keeling Beckford
• Keith Nunnally
• Kenneth Wright
• Kevin Irving
• Khary
• Koko Taylor
• Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
• LaWanda Page
• Leadbelly
• The Legendary Soul Stirrers
• Lennie LaCour
• Lezli Valentine
• Linda Hopkins
• Little Walter
• Lou Carter
• Lou Pride
• Louie Lymon & the Teenchords
• Louis Jordan
• Louis Smith
• Love Tribe
• Ma Rainey
• Magic Sam
• The Magnificents
• The Main Ingredient
• Marcus Mixx
• Marshall Thompson
• Mississippi Fred McDowell
• Mississippi John Hurt
• Mitty Collier
• Moms Mabley
• Notations, The
• Otis Spann
• Persuaders, The
• Peter Black
• Piano C. Red
• The Pilgrim Jubilee Singers
• Playhouse Records, Inc.
• The Pointer Sisters
• Prince Records
• The Prophet
• Public Announcement
• The Radiants
• Ral Donner
• Ramp
• Raul Del Real
• Ray Charles
• Ray Pollard
• Reverend Maceo Woods
• Reverend Milton Brunson
• Richard Rogers
• Rick Saucedo
• Robert Lockwood Jr.
• Roberta Martin
• Roberto “Rico” Pizarro
• Rockin House Records
• Rocky Jones
• Rodney Bakerr
• Romance
• Ronald Anderson
• Roosevelt Sykes
• Rotary Connection
• Rufus
• Sax Preacher
• Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
• Screamin’ Rachael
• Sonte Vales
• The Soul Stirrers
• Soul Twisters
• Soulfly
• The Spaniels
• Sparkle
• Spike Dappa
• Steelers, The
• Sterling Void
• Stuffy Shmitt
• Subway
• Sugar Blue
• Sunnyland Slim
• Swan Silvertones
• Sweet Inspirations
• Sydney Joe Qualls
• Syl Johnson
• T-Bone Walker
• Ted Ansani
• The Teenagers
• Thee Midniters
• Theresa Davis
• Three Dog Night
• Tom Daniel Jr.
• Tom Dreesen
• TOMA Records
• Top Star Records
• Trends, The
• Tyrone Davis
• V.I.C.
• Vern English
• Victor P. Mitchell
• Vince Willis
• Walter Phillips
• WBLT, LLC
• White Knight
• Wild House
• Willie Dixon
• Willie Kent