Avi Dahan entered the music business as a DJ, producer, and event promoter before interning at Columbia Records, Live Nation, and WME. That early exposure to labels, live events, and agencies shaped his decision to pursue music law. Today, he runs Dahan Law Group and the label Funkshway, working across legal strategy, artist development, and long-term career planning. In a conversation with EDM House Network, Dahan breaks down the work that happens before an artist reaches a stage like Coachella, and why contracts, royalties, and team structure matter as much as the music.

From the booth to the boardroom

Dahan's path into music law began with hands-on experience. He was DJing, producing, and promoting events before he ever considered law school. His internships across Columbia Records, Live Nation, and WME gave him a view of how labels, live promoters, and agencies operate. He went to law school because he saw that the people who understood contracts, rights, and leverage had a major impact on what happened to artists.

He practiced music law for seven years before launching Funkshway. During that time, he helped artists, producers, managers, and labels structure deals, protect their rights, and make strategic decisions. Funkshway became a natural extension of that work, allowing him to apply the knowledge he had gained as an attorney to building something of his own.

Two perspectives, one mission

Working as both a music attorney and a label founder has made Dahan more holistic in how he approaches artist careers. As a lawyer, he helps artists protect their rights, assemble the right team, and understand their leverage. As a label founder, he focuses on artist development: sound, identity, vision, audience, visuals, collaborations, and positioning.

His years DJing and being around dance music gave him an instinct for what a dance record should sound and feel like. Because he represents artists, writers, producers, and creative companies as a lawyer, he can connect developing DJs and artists to a broader creative community and help create meaningful collaborations. Once the music is right, he works to connect artists to DSP editors, marketing experts, DJs, platforms, and other partners who can help build exposure.

The work before the breakthrough

AYYBO and RØZ both recently made their Coachella debuts. AYYBO is connected to Funkshway, while RØZ is represented by Dahan Law Group. Dahan says those moments showed how much work happens before the public sees the breakthrough. When an artist gets to a stage like Coachella, people see the set, the crowd, the photos, and the videos. What they do not always see are the years of developing the music, refining the brand, building the team, and making strategic decisions before that moment arrives.

With AYYBO, Dahan and his team spent time before the first breakout records making sure the music felt massive and that the sound, visual identity, and overall brand were properly developed. From there, they continued building momentum through strategic collaborations and tasteful looks that elevated the identity, helped attract the right agent, and allowed AYYBO to start building a live community. As the sound and identity continued to develop, the show and overall experience developed too, building the brand step by step until it was ready for stages like Coachella.

Dahan has seen a similar process with RØZ from the legal and advisory side, emphasizing that the music matters, but so does the foundation around it: the team, the business, the live show, the identity, and the relationships.