A 11270: Enacts the "advancing rights for talent, independence, services and tenure (ARTIST) act" in relation to personal services contracts between artists and companies.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 11270  IN ASSEMBLY May 4, 2026 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. VALDEZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development AN ACT to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to enact- ing the "advancing rights for talent, independence, services and tenure (ARTIST) act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "advancing rights for talent, independence, services and tenure 3 (ARTIST) act". 4 § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares that: 5 (a) New York's music industry contributes nearly twenty-five billion 6 dollars annually to the state's economy, supports tens of thousands of 7 jobs across recording, publishing, live performance, and distribution, 8 and ranks second among all states in music industry gross domestic prod- 9 uct behind only California. New York is home to one of the nation's 10 largest concentrations of recording artists, songwriters, composers, and 11 music producers. The companies that acquire, distribute, and commercial- 12 ly exploit their recordings and compositions depend entirely on the 13 creative labor of those individuals for their commercial value. Yet 14 standard recording and publishing contracts function to transfer 15 substantially all long-term economic value to companies while leaving 16 artists to bear the full risk of commercial failure. 17 (b) The state's arts and cultural affairs law already recognizes the 18 need to protect artists from long-term exploitation, prohibiting indefi- 19 nite personal services contracts for performers under the age of eigh- 20 teen. This act extends those protections to adult artists, closing a 21 gap in the existing law that has left New York's creative workforce 22 vulnerable to indefinite and one-sided contractual arrangements. 23 (c) The mechanisms through which this exploitation occurs include 24 unilateral option periods that restrict the artist at the company's 25 discretion; minimum commitment structures that condition the artist's 26 right to leave on delivery requirements the company controls; and exclu- 27 sivity provisions that prevent artists from developing alternative EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD15397-03-6 
 A. 11270 2 1 professional relationships. These arrangements are not the product of 2 arm's-length bargaining. A small number of entities control the distrib- 3 ution infrastructure through which creative work reaches audiences at 4 scale. 5 (d) The legislature therefore finds it necessary to establish reason- 6 able limits on the length of creative contracts and to provide artists 7 with fairer terms regarding compensation and ownership of their work. 8 The purpose of this act is to modernize New York's arts and cultural 9 affairs law, promote career mobility and strengthen the stability of the 10 state's creative economy. 11 § 3. The arts and cultural affairs law is amended by adding a new 12 title L-1 to read as follows: 13 TITLE L-1 14 ADVANCING RIGHTS FOR TALENT, INDEPENDENCE, SERVICES AND TENURE 15 (ARTIST) ACT 16 ARTICLE 36 17 ADVANCING RIGHTS FOR TALENT, INDEPENDENCE, SERVICES AND TENURE 18 (ARTIST) ACT 19 Section 36.01. Definitions. 20 36.03. Exclusions. 21 36.05. Anti-circumvention. 22 36.07. Maximum duration. 23 36.09. Post-termination rights. 24 36.11. Change in ownership or leadership. 25 36.13. Effect of noncompliant provisions. 26 36.15. Administrative enforcement. 27 36.17. Private right of action. 28 36.19. Non-waiver. 29 36.21. Relationship to federal law. 30 36.23. Transitional provisions. 31 36.25. Severability. 32 § 36.01. Definitions. As used in this article: 33 1. "Artist" means any natural person who renders personal services as 34 a recording artist, vocalist, musician, songwriter, composer, or music 35 producer in connection with the creation, performance, or recording of 36 musical works or sound recordings, including original music created for 37 distribution through streaming services, social media platforms, or 38 other digital channels, and whose services are rendered primarily for 39 the purpose of producing or contributing to such works. 40 2. (a) "Personal services contract" means any agreement, or combina- 41 tion of related agreements, under which an artist is obligated to render 42 creative or performing services, or to exclusively make available such 43 artist's creative or performing services, to or for the benefit of any 44 other party, where: 45 (i) such services are non-delegable and are sought by the other party 46 primarily because of the identity, reputation, or unique creative or 47 performing attributes of such artist; 48 (ii) such agreement contains any provision that restricts such 49 artist's ability to render creative or performing services for any other 50 party during the term; and 51 (iii) the duration of such artist's obligations, including all unilat- 52 eral options to extend, renew, or continue the agreement exercisable by 53 any party other than such artist, all provisions conditioning termi- 54 nation on the delivery or completion of a defined body of work or number 55 of recordings, and all provisions restricting such artist's ability to 
 A. 11270 3 1 render services for any other party following expiration of the stated 2 term, exceeds or may exceed one year. 3 (b) Two or more agreements between the same parties, or between an 4 artist and parties acting in concert, that together impose on such 5 artist obligations or restrictions equivalent to those described above 6 shall be treated as a single personal services contract. An agreement 7 shall not fail to constitute a personal services contract solely because 8 the artist contracts through a corporation, limited liability company, 9 or other entity, provided that such artist is the sole or primary bene- 10 ficial owner of such entity and such entity was formed primarily for the 11 purpose of rendering such artist's services. 12 3. "Company" means any person other than a natural person, and any 13 natural person acting in a commercial capacity in the business of 14 acquiring, producing, distributing, licensing, managing, or otherwise 15 commercially exploiting recordings, compositions, or other musical 16 works, that is a party to or the beneficiary of a personal services 17 contract with an artist, and includes: 18 (a) any entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, 19 or is under common control with the contracting party, where "control" 20 means the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and 21 policies of an entity, whether through voting securities, contract, or 22 the power to appoint a majority of the governing body. All personal 23 services contracts between an artist and affiliated entities shall be 24 treated as a single personal services contract with a single company for 25 purposes of calculating duration under this article; 26 (b) any entity to which a company assigns, transfers, or otherwise 27 conveys its rights or obligations under a personal services contract, 28 whether voluntarily or by operation of law. No such conveyance shall 29 extend the permissible duration of the artist's obligations beyond the 30 limits established by this article; 31 (c) any entity or natural person that, although not a formal party to 32 the personal services contract, directly receives, exploits, or commer- 33 cially benefits from the artist's services, where the formal contracting 34 party is acting primarily as an agent, intermediary, or pass-through 35 vehicle for the benefit of such entity or person. In determining whether 36 an entity is a beneficial counterparty, a court shall consider the 37 degree to which the entity controls the material terms of the artist's 38 engagement; whether the entity has practical authority to approve, 39 reject, or withhold release of the artist's work product; the economic 40 relationship between the formal contracting party and the entity; and 41 any course of dealing between the parties; and 42 (d) any entity that enters into a joint venture, co-production agree- 43 ment, co-publishing arrangement, or similar collaborative commercial 44 structure with the contracting party, to the extent that such entity 45 acquires rights in or derives commercial benefit from the artist's 46 services rendered under the personal services contract. 47 4. "Commercial neglect" means the occurrence of any of the following 48 for a continuous period of twelve consecutive months with respect to 49 recordings or compositions created by the artist under the personal 50 services contract, other than by reason of a legal dispute between the 51 artist and the company directly concerning the affected works, or a 52 force majeure event that generally prevented commercial music distrib- 53 ution during the relevant period: 54 (a) any recording by the artist that has been delivered to and 55 accepted by the company as satisfying the applicable contractual deliv- 56 ery standard remains commercially unreleased; or 
 A. 11270 4 1 (b) the company's total expenditure on promotion, marketing, and 2 distribution of the artist's recordings during the twelve-month period 3 falls below fifty percent of the average annual promotional expenditure 4 made by the company on behalf of the same artist during the two years 5 immediately preceding the period in question, as documented in the 6 company's financial records. Where the personal services contract has 7 been in effect for less than two years at the time the relevant period 8 begins, the baseline shall be the average annual promotional expenditure 9 during the entire period the contract has been in effect. The burden of 10 producing evidence of promotional expenditure levels for both the rele- 11 vant period and the baseline period shall rest with the company. 12 § 36.03. Exclusions. The provisions of this article shall not apply 13 to: 14 1. Any agreement that creates an at-will employment relationship 15 terminable by either party without cause upon reasonable notice, 16 provided that no provision of the agreement restricts the artist's abil- 17 ity to render creative or performing services for any other party 18 following termination; 19 2. Any term or condition of employment specifically governed by a 20 collective bargaining agreement between an employer and a bona fide 21 labor organization representing artists. Nothing in this subdivision 22 shall preclude an individual artist from invoking the protections of 23 this article with respect to any term or condition not specifically 24 addressed by the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Where the 25 applicability of a collective bargaining agreement to a specific claim 26 under this article is genuinely disputed, proceedings under this article 27 shall be stayed only pending resolution of that question, and only where 28 the company demonstrates that resolution is necessary to adjudicate the 29 claim; 30 3. Any agreement between an artist and a licensed talent agent or 31 artist manager, provided that: 32 (a) such agreement does not require the artist to render creative or 33 performing services directly to or for the benefit of the agent or 34 manager; 35 (b) the agent or manager's compensation is limited to a percentage of 36 the artist's earnings from third-party engagements; and 37 (c) such agreement does not assign, transfer, or exclusively license 38 to the agent or manager any intellectual property rights in the artist's 39 creative works, whether existing or to be created; 40 4. An agreement solely between an artist and such artist's own wholly 41 owned personal services entity, entered into for tax or liability 42 purposes, which shall not constitute a personal services contract for 43 purposes of this article. An agreement between an artist's personal 44 services entity and a third-party company shall not be excluded from the 45 protections of this article solely by reason of the artist's use of such 46 an entity; 47 5. Any agreement between an artist and a unit of state or local 48 government, public benefit corporation, or public educational institu- 49 tion for the performance of a specific public engagement or series of 50 engagements, provided that the agreement contains no exclusivity 51 provision restricting the artist's ability to render services for any 52 other party; or 53 6. Any agreement between two or more artists for the purpose of creat- 54 ing, performing, or producing a collaborative work, including partner- 55 ship agreements, band agreements, and co-writing agreements, provided 
 A. 11270 5 1 that no party is primarily in the business of acquiring, exploiting, or 2 commercially distributing the creative output of others. 3 § 36.05. Anti-circumvention. No arrangement, structure or series of 4 transactions shall be given effect for purposes of this article if the 5 primary purpose of such arrangement, structure or series of transactions 6 is to evade the protections of this article, including the disaggre- 7 gation of a single commercial relationship into multiple contracts with 8 multiple formally distinct entities to avoid the duration limits or 9 reversion rights established in this article. 10 § 36.07. Maximum duration. 1. No company shall enforce, and no court 11 shall give effect to, any obligation of an artist under a personal 12 services contract, or any combination of related personal services 13 contracts treated as a single agreement under this article, for a period 14 exceeding seven years from the date on which such artist first renders 15 services. 16 2. For purposes of calculating such seven-year period: 17 (a) the period commences on the date the artist first renders 18 services, regardless of the date of execution; 19 (b) periods during which the artist's obligations are tolled, 20 suspended, or extended by any force majeure clause, suspension clause, 21 cure period, or similar provision shall be included in the calculation 22 and shall not extend the permissible duration beyond seven years, except 23 where such tolling or suspension is at the election of the artist; 24 (c) all unilateral option periods exercisable by any party other than 25 the artist, and all periods during which the artist's obligations 26 continue by virtue of a minimum commitment or delivery requirement that 27 has not been satisfied, shall be included, provided that where a company 28 withholds approval of delivery in bad faith or without commercially 29 reasonable justification, the period of such withholding shall count 30 against the seven-year limit regardless of whether the minimum commit- 31 ment has been formally satisfied. Once an artist establishes that a 32 delivered recording satisfies the applicable contractual delivery stand- 33 ard, the burden shall shift to the company to demonstrate by a prepon- 34 derance of the evidence that any withholding of approval was made in 35 good faith and for commercially reasonable reasons documented contempo- 36 raneously with the rejection; and 37 (d) where the contract conditions the artist's right to terminate on 38 completion of a defined body of work, the seven-year period runs from 39 the date services first commenced, and the artist's obligations termi- 40 nate upon the earlier of fulfillment of the minimum commitment or expi- 41 ration of the seven-year period. 42 3. Nothing in this section requires a company to exercise any option 43 or extend any agreement, or entitles an artist to compensation beyond 44 that provided in the contract for services actually rendered. 45 § 36.09. Post-termination rights. 1. Notice of assignment. A company 46 shall provide an artist with written notice of any assignment or trans- 47 fer of such company's rights in works created under a personal services 48 contract no later than thirty days after the event. Such obligation 49 survives termination of the personal services contract for as long as 50 such company or any successor holds rights in such artist's work, and 51 applies equally to any successor or assign of such company. 52 2. Reversion upon commercial neglect. Upon commercial neglect of any 53 creative work created under a personal services contract, an artist may 54 notify a company in writing demanding that such company either: (a) 55 recommence active commercial exploitation of the work within ninety days 56 by satisfying at least one of the benchmarks set forth in subdivision 
 A. 11270 6 1 four of section 36.01 of this article; or (b) transfer to such artist 2 all rights in the work held by such company. If such company fails to 3 remedy the commercial neglect within ninety days, all rights in the work 4 shall revert automatically to such artist without further action or 5 consideration. Such right of reversion is exercisable at any time 6 following the occurrence of commercial neglect, regardless of whether 7 the personal services contract has terminated, and applies equally to 8 any successor or assign of such company. 9 3. Minimum standards. The rights established by this section are mini- 10 mum standards. A personal services contract may provide for post-termi- 11 nation rights more favorable to an artist than those established herein, 12 but no personal services contract may reduce, limit, condition, or elim- 13 inate any right established by this section. 14 § 36.11. Change in ownership or leadership. 1. Definitions. For 15 purposes of this section the following terms shall have the following 16 meanings: 17 (a) "Change of control" means any transaction or series of related 18 transactions resulting in: (i) the acquisition by any person or entity, 19 or group of persons or entities acting in concert, of more than fifty 20 percent of the voting securities or ownership interests of the company; 21 (ii) the sale, transfer, or other disposition of all or substantially 22 all of the assets of the company to a third party; or (iii) the merger, 23 consolidation, or reorganization of the company with or into another 24 entity such that the existing equity holders of the company hold less 25 than fifty percent of the voting securities of the surviving entity. 26 (b) "Executive departure" means the departure, removal, or reassign- 27 ment of any officer of the company at the level of chief executive offi- 28 cer, president, chief operating officer, or equivalent, or any officer 29 at the level of executive vice president or above, who held direct and 30 final decision-making authority over the release, promotion, and 31 distribution of the artist's recordings under the personal services 32 contract. An individual holds direct and final decision-making authori- 33 ty for purposes of this definition only if such individual had the power 34 to approve or veto commercial release decisions affecting the artist's 35 recordings without obtaining approval from a superior within the compa- 36 ny. The departure of an individual whose authority was subject to over- 37 ride, whose role was primarily supervisory, advisory, or coordinative, 38 or who served primarily as a point of contact between the artist and the 39 company, shall not constitute an executive departure. 40 (c) "Commercial neglect following a triggering event" means the occur- 41 rence of commercial neglect as defined in subdivision four of section 42 36.01 of this article during the twelve-month period following a change 43 of control or executive departure. Upon the occurrence of commercial 44 neglect following a triggering event, the company shall have ninety days 45 from written notice by the artist to remedy the commercial neglect by 46 satisfying at least one of the benchmarks set forth in subdivision four 47 of section 36.01 of this article before the artist may exercise the 48 right of election under subdivision two of this section. 49 2. Artist's right of election. Upon the occurrence of a change of 50 control or executive departure that results in commercial neglect 51 following a triggering event, the artist may, by written notice to the 52 company delivered no later than ninety days after such artist knew or 53 reasonably should have known of such commercial neglect following a 54 triggering event, elect one of the following: 55 (a) The artist may elect to terminate the personal services contract 56 effective thirty days after delivery of the notice. Termination under 
 A. 11270 7 1 this paragraph shall not constitute a breach of contract, shall not 2 trigger any penalty, clawback, accelerated repayment, or forfeiture 3 provision in the contract. Following termination under this paragraph, 4 the company's right to recoup any unrecouped advance balance shall be 5 limited to royalties accruing from recordings created and delivered 6 during the active term of the personal services contract; no royalties, 7 earnings, or other compensation derived from any other source shall be 8 applied to any unrecouped balance arising under the terminated contract. 9 All other post-termination rights under section 36.09 of this article 10 apply accordingly; or 11 (b) The artist may elect to initiate negotiation with the company for 12 transfer to such artist of all or specified rights in works created 13 under the personal services contract. Upon such artist's election under 14 this paragraph, the parties shall negotiate in good faith for a period 15 of sixty days. If the parties do not reach agreement within sixty days, 16 such artist may, within thirty days of the expiration of the negotiation 17 period, convert the election to an early termination under paragraph (a) 18 of this subdivision, with the effective date of termination being thirty 19 days after such conversion notice. 20 3. Preservation of accrued rights. An early termination under para- 21 graph (a) of subdivision two of this section shall not affect: (a) the 22 artist's right to receive royalties and other compensation accrued from 23 works created during the active term of the contract; (b) the company's 24 right to continue exploiting works already commercially released prior 25 to the effective date of termination, subject to the continuing obli- 26 gation to account and pay royalties; or (c) any reversion right under 27 section 36.09 of this article that has accrued or that accrues following 28 termination. 29 4. Non-waiver. The rights established by this section may not be 30 waived or conditioned by any provision of a personal services contract, 31 including any provision requiring the artist to consent in advance to 32 any change of control or executive departure. An artist's consent to a 33 specific transaction, given in writing after such artist has received 34 notice of the specific terms of such transaction, shall not constitute a 35 waiver of rights with respect to any subsequent change of control or 36 executive departure. 37 § 36.13. Effect of noncompliant provisions. 1. Any provision of a 38 personal services contract that purports to bind an artist to obli- 39 gations extending beyond the seven-year period established by this arti- 40 cle, or that purports to waive, limit, or condition such artist's right 41 to terminate such obligations after expiration of such period, is void 42 and unenforceable as against such artist to the extent of such excess 43 and shall be severed from the remainder of such contract. 44 2. Any provision that purports to penalize an artist for exercising 45 rights under this article, including provisions imposing liquidated 46 damages, clawback obligations, accelerated repayment of advances or 47 forfeiture of accrued royalties, is void and unenforceable. 48 3. Any assignment or transfer of rights under a personal services 49 contract that purports to extend an artist's obligations beyond the 50 seven-year period, whether by resetting the duration calculation or 51 otherwise, is void and unenforceable as against such artist to the 52 extent of such extension. 53 4. (a) Upon termination of a personal services contract under this 54 article, whether by expiration of the seven-year period, exercise of 55 reversion rights under section 36.09 of this article, early termination 56 under paragraph (a) of subdivision two of section 36.11 of this article, 
 A. 11270 8 1 or any other means, the company's right to recoup any unrecouped advance 2 balance shall, following the termination date, be limited solely to 3 royalties accruing from recordings created and delivered by the artist 4 during the active term of the terminated personal services contract. No 5 royalties, earnings, or other compensation derived from any other 6 source, including recordings created after the termination date, 7 contracts with any other party, or any other professional activity of 8 the artist, shall be applied, withheld, redirected, or offset against 9 any unrecouped advance balance arising under the terminated personal 10 services contract. Royalties accruing from in-term recordings after the 11 termination date shall continue to be applied to any unrecouped balance 12 only until such balance reaches zero, at which point all such royalties 13 shall be paid to the artist without deduction. The artist may expressly 14 authorize continued recoupment from other sources in a written agreement 15 entered into after the termination date and not as a condition of any 16 new contractual relationship. 17 (b) Within sixty days of the termination date, the company shall 18 provide the artist with a written itemized statement of account setting 19 forth: (i) the total amount of advances paid to such artist under the 20 personal services contract; (ii) the total amount recouped as of the 21 termination date; (iii) the outstanding unrecouped balance, if any; and 22 (iv) an itemized accounting of all deductions applied to such artist's 23 account during the term of the contract, including the contractual basis 24 for each category of deduction. Failure to provide such statement within 25 sixty days shall create a rebuttable presumption that the unrecouped 26 balance as of the termination date is zero. 27 (c) Any provision of a personal services contract, or any separate 28 agreement entered into as a condition of a new contractual relationship, 29 purporting to authorize the application of post-termination earnings to 30 a pre-termination unrecouped balance in contravention of paragraph (a) 31 of this subdivision is void and unenforceable. 32 5. This article shall be construed liberally in favor of artists. 33 § 36.15. Administrative enforcement. 1. The commissioner of labor is 34 authorized and directed to enforce the provisions of this article and 35 shall have the authority to: 36 (a) receive and investigate complaints from artists alleging 37 violations; 38 (b) conduct investigations on such commissioner's own initiative; 39 (c) issue subpoenas requiring attendance of witnesses and production 40 of books and records; 41 (d) issue compliance orders requiring companies to cease violations 42 and take affirmative remedial action; 43 (e) impose civil penalties of up to ten thousand dollars per violation 44 per affected artist, and up to twenty-five thousand dollars for repeated 45 or willful violations; and 46 (f) bring civil actions on behalf of one or more artists to enforce 47 this article or recover amounts due. 48 2. The commissioner of labor shall adopt rules and regulations neces- 49 sary to implement this article and shall publish an annual report on 50 enforcement, including number of complaints received, outcomes, and 51 amounts recovered. 52 3. The commissioner of labor's exercise or non-exercise of enforcement 53 authority shall not be a precondition to any private right of action 54 under section 36.17 of this article. 55 4. An artist who files a complaint under this article shall be 56 protected from retaliation. Any adverse action taken by a company 
 A. 11270 9 1 against an artist within one year of the filing of a complaint creates a 2 rebuttable presumption of retaliation. A company found to have retali- 3 ated shall be liable for treble damages and attorneys' fees. 4 § 36.17. Private right of action. 1. An artist whose rights under this 5 article have been violated, or who is threatened with enforcement of a 6 personal services contract in violation of this article, may bring a 7 civil action for: 8 (a) a declaratory judgment that such artist's obligations have termi- 9 nated or are unenforceable under this article, or that reversion rights 10 have accrued under section 36.09 of this article; 11 (b) injunctive relief, including relief prohibiting the company from 12 initiating or continuing any legal proceeding to compel such artist's 13 performance under an agreement that has terminated under this article, 14 from exploiting works as to which reversion rights have accrued, or from 15 retaliating against such artist for exercising rights under this arti- 16 cle; 17 (c) compensatory damages, including damages for lost professional 18 opportunities, coerced renegotiation, the value of rights surrendered 19 under duress, and the value of services rendered after expiration of the 20 seven-year period; 21 (d) disgorgement of profits derived from such artist's services 22 rendered after expiration of the seven-year period, or from exploitation 23 of works as to which reversion rights have accrued under section 36.09 24 of this article; and 25 (e) attorneys' fees and costs, calculated at the prevailing market 26 rate for comparable legal services without reduction on account of the 27 ratio of fees to damages recovered, without presumption against a full 28 lodestar award, and with consideration of the contingent nature of the 29 representation where applicable. 30 2. In any action brought by a company to enforce a personal services 31 contract, the artist may assert this article as a complete defense to 32 any claim for specific performance, injunctive relief, or other equita- 33 ble remedy compelling such artist's continued service. 34 3. The remedies provided by this article are cumulative and shall not 35 limit any other remedy available to an artist under any other provision 36 of law. 37 4. An action under this article shall be commenced within five years 38 of the date the artist knew or reasonably should have known of the 39 violation. The limitations period shall be tolled: (a) for any period 40 during which the company's conduct, including litigation threats, 41 induced the artist to refrain from asserting rights under this article; 42 and (b) for any period during which a non-disclosure or confidentiality 43 obligation prevented the artist from disclosing the facts giving rise to 44 the claim. 45 5. No provision of a personal services contract purporting to shorten 46 the limitations period for claims under this article or to apply the law 47 of any jurisdiction other than New York to such claims shall be enforce- 48 able against an artist domiciled in or rendering a substantial portion 49 of services in this state. The commissioner of labor, when acting 50 pursuant to section 36.15 of this article, is not subject to any arbi- 51 tration clause contained in a personal services contract and may bring 52 enforcement actions in any court of competent jurisdiction regardless of 53 any such clause. 54 § 36.19. Non-waiver. 1. The rights and protections established by this 55 article are non-waivable. No provision of any personal services 56 contract, and no separate agreement, release, or covenant, whether 
 A. 11270 10 1 entered into before or after commencement of services, shall be effec- 2 tive to waive, limit, diminish, or condition any right or protection 3 afforded to an artist under this article. 4 2. No choice-of-law provision shall be effective to deprive an artist 5 domiciled in this state, or who renders a substantial portion of 6 services in this state, of the protections of this article. 7 3. Nothing in this article prohibits the arbitration of claims arising 8 under this article. Any arbitration clause in a personal services 9 contract is subject to New York's general law of unconscionability. A 10 company's material financial interest in, or ongoing commercial 11 relationship with, a designated arbitration forum constitutes evident 12 partiality within the meaning of 9 U.S.C. § 10(a)(2), and any award 13 issued by such a forum shall be subject to vacatur on that ground. 14 4. The fact that an artist received legal counsel or was represented 15 by an agent, manager, or attorney in connection with the negotiation of 16 a personal services contract is not a waiver of any right under this 17 article and is not a defense to any action brought under this article. 18 § 36.21. Relationship to federal law. 1. Copyright preemption. This 19 article governs the commercial relationship between artists and compa- 20 nies as a matter of labor and contract law and does not create any right 21 equivalent to the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright 22 as specified in 17 U.S.C. § 106. Where a claim under this article 23 requires resolution of a question of copyright ownership or infringe- 24 ment, such question shall be resolved in accordance with applicable 25 federal copyright law, and the state law claim shall proceed only to the 26 extent it raises rights qualitatively different from those protected by 27 the copyright act. 28 2. Federal labor law. Where a claim under this article is preempted by 29 the national labor relations act, the affected claim shall be stayed or 30 dismissed without prejudice to renewal in the appropriate federal forum. 31 The determination of whether a claim is preempted shall be made by the 32 court before which the action is pending, without presumption in favor 33 of preemption. 34 § 36.23. Transitional provisions. 1. Any renewal or extension of a 35 personal services contract occurring on or after the effective date of 36 this article shall be treated as a new personal services contract 37 subject to the provisions of this article regardless of when the 38 original personal services contract was entered into, and the seven-year 39 period under section 36.07 of this article shall be calculated from the 40 date the artist first renders services under such renewal or extension. 41 2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to revive any obligation 42 under a personal services contract that terminated by its own terms 43 prior to the effective date of this article. 44 § 36.25. Severability. If any provision of this article, or the appli- 45 cation thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid or uncon- 46 stitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect 47 other provisions or applications of this article that can be given 48 effect without the invalid or unconstitutional provision or application, 49 and to such end the provisions of this article shall be severable. 50 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 51 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all 52 personal services contracts entered into, renewed or extended on or 53 after such date.