Who Owns Your CEO's Podcast?
Your CEO has a podcast. The company pays for it, promotes it, and built a real audience around it. But if that executive left tomorrow, who actually owns the show? In this episode, Gordon Firemark, The Podcast Lawyer™, speaks directly to marketing leaders, company leadership, and the executives who end up as the face of a company podcast.
IP ownership. Whether the company cleanly owns the podcast's content and brand depends on whether the host is a genuine employee acting within the scope of their job, and whether any outside production agency's agreement actually assigns finished work to the company. A show name or brand that's never been properly protected is exactly the gap that turns a departure into a dispute.
Personal brand vs. company brand. An executive-hosted show builds the executive's personal reputation and visibility at the same time it builds the company's marketing asset. Where that line sits — what the executive can reference, reuse, or build on after leaving — needs to be an actual agreement, not an assumption either side makes quietly.
Employment and contractor status. Whether the host's role is clearly documented as part of their regular employment is the root question underneath ownership and personal-brand issues alike, and it cuts differently depending on which side is asking.
The episode closes with three direct questions every marketing team and company counsel should be able to answer in writing, before a departure or dispute forces the issue.
This is genuinely multi-party, high-stakes territory — not a do-it-yourself situation. If this applies to a show your company is running, feel free to reach out to schedule a consultation with me.
Legit Podcast Pro is hosted by Gordon Firemark, an entertainment and media attorney known as The Podcast Lawyer™, helping podcasters and the companies behind them protect what they're building with simple business and legal strategies they can put to use right now.
Schedule a consultation at https://thepodcastlawyer.com
