Access has always been the quiet divider in the music industry—the difference between those who create culture and those who own it. Talent opens doors, but understanding what’s being signed determines who walks through with leverage. This is the gap ““Hello Wilma” was built to close.
Founded by entertainment attorneys Shardé Simpson and Ciara Reed, co-founders of Simpson & Reed, Hello Wilma is a music-industry legal access platform designed to protect creators before opportunity becomes exploitation. It is early intervention, reframed for a generation navigating deals long before they have the power—or resources—to negotiate them.
Collectively, Simpson and Reed have worked with some of the most influential forces in music and entertainment, including Jay-Z, J. Cole, Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, H.E.R., and Chance the Rapper. Their current roster includes Rod Wave, Meek Mill, and Vic Mensa, while also serving as in-house counsel for Rod Wave’s Mainstay and advising companies including Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith’s Desi Trill and Omarion.
The creator economy has never been louder or more exposed. Artists and producers routinely enter binding agreements without fully understanding the long-term implications tied to ownership, publishing, royalties, credits, and intellectual property. By the time legal counsel enters the picture, leverage is often gone.
Hello Wilma exists precisely in that vulnerable window. Built as an early-intervention resource, the platform offers attorney-drafted producer agreements and practical legal education tailored to real-world music and entertainment deal structures. At launch, agreements are available for $50, with expanded bundled offerings planned. The goal is not to replace private legal counsel, but to ensure creators are protected before damage occurs.
“Too often, artists don’t lose opportunities because of talent,” Simpson says. “They lose ownership and income because they didn’t have access to legal guidance at the moment it mattered most.”
The platform is deeply informed by the founders’ own paths through the industry. Simpson began her career at Roc Nation, rising through A&R Administration and Business & Legal Affairs, where she negotiated agreements, registered master recordings, and worked on major-label projects. She later served as Vice President of Operations at Dream Chaser Records, the label founded by Meek Mill in partnership with Roc Nation.
Reed brings more than a decade of experience as a Billboard-recognized music attorney representing Grammy-winning and nominated artists, producers, and entertainment companies. Before practicing law, she worked in the industry as a child actress and earned her SAG-AFTRA card—giving her firsthand insight into life on the talent side of the business. Known for her detailed contract work and practical negotiation style, Reed balances her growing legal practice with motherhood, grounding her approach in both precision and empathy.
“The industry often treats legal protection as something that comes later,” Reed explains. “But for creators, later is usually too late.”
What makes Hello Wilma especially compelling is not just affordability—it is proximity. For the first time, independent creators have direct access to attorneys whose legal thinking has shaped some of the most influential careers and catalogs in modern music. What was once reserved for chart-topping artists and major-label boardrooms is now available at the earliest stages of a creative career.
Hello Wilma collapses distance. It removes the gatekeeping around knowledge, replaces silence with clarity, and reframes legal protection as a foundational tool rather than a luxury. In doing so, it signals a quiet but meaningful shift in power—one where creators no longer have to wait to be “big enough” to be protected.
In an industry built on momentum, Hello Wilma ensures creators move forward informed, protected, and in control.