Document Type

Blog Post

Publication Date

12-1-2024

Abstract

The entertainment, sports, and arts industry is a fast-paced and profitable field that draws in a wide range of stakeholders, such as producers, artists, labels, and agents. Contracts play a vital role in safeguarding the interests of all parties in the entertainment industry; they clarify the terms of agreement, protect intellectual property rights, and offer a framework for resolving disputes. Although the idea behind contracts sounds positive and secure for a client, there are darker portrayals of the arts and entertainment industries— or, for example, a record company— which may try to stifle a young artist’s creativity through deception in a record contract, subjecting them to a life they did not want. In this context, many young artists, often desperate to secure a record deal, will agree to almost anything, feeling reluctant to walk away from negotiations until they have signed a deal that ensures their dreams of becoming famous come true. That kind of eagerness, without the right kind of support from an agent, can lead to unfavorable terms that compromise the artist’s creative control and financial well-being. In 1963, The Beatles’ founded their company and were looking for a publisher to help with debuting their album. The band ended up selling their rights to their music to ATV Music. The Beatles were new to the artistic world, but years later Paul McCartney filed a lawsuit to claim the rights of his music back. Their story reflects the classic tale of the powerless artist who comes into a big industry with high dreams and too much trust and allows a company to capitalize on the artist’s lack of knowledge, exploiting them for big money.

The print edition of the issue has also been released. This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution website on December 1, 2024.

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