Willie Ryan

Willie Ryan is an Irish music lawyer and qualified Irish barrister specializing in music and entertainment law. He represents a wide range of artists and companies, including Hozier, Johnny McDaid, Noel Hogan of The Cranberries, Kingfishr and Amble. Primarily an artist lawyer, Willie advises clients on every aspect of the music industry, from management and producer agreements to recording and publishing deals.

Willie also has extensive experience in music-related litigation, particularly high-profile copyright infringement disputes. He was part of the legal team in the landmark Ed Sheeran "Shape of You" trial in the UK and has advised on other major cases, including the One Direction "Night Changes" dispute. He has also worked on numerous multi-jurisdictional copyright and infringement matters involving international catalogues and rights holders.

Alongside his music practice, Willie is a highly experienced defamation and production lawyer, advising on high-profile television, radio and podcast productions. He is a defamation advisor to RTÉ and has worked on more than 20 seasons of Callan Kicks the Year. He is production lawyer to The 2 Johnnies and advises Blindboy on his broadcast and podcast output. His film and television work includes legal roles on critically acclaimed projects such as Kneecap and the Academy Award-nominated An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl).

Willie is co-founder of INNI, an Icelandic publisher and label, and of the SoundWaves music and podcast conference. He is also producer of the Subterranean Sessions television music series. He sits on the Copyright Law Review Committee, is a board member of AIM Ireland (Association of Independent Music), and lectures regularly at third-level institutions across Ireland. He has been a guest speaker at international music and law conferences including Eurosonic, Mondo.NYC and Output. He also manages rising artist Moncrieff.