Professionals in the entertainment industry like performing artists and music producers must follow the legal procedures that govern their profession in the form of entertainment industry agreements. The entertainment industry includes the fields of film and theater as well as dance, opera, fine art, music, television, literary publishing, and radio.  The laws and legal traditions pertaining to the entertainment industry are unique and cover the broader aspects of the protection of rights for intellectual property. 

The economy of the entertainment industry is very unstable and filled with uncertainty. Entertainment companies are continually forming, reforming, merging and often dissolving that adds to the uncertainty.  The factor of rapidly changing consumer tastes can either drive some artistic creations and artists to the zenith of success or plunge them into the deepest obscurity. To take care of the instability and protect the commercial interests of all parties, the entertainment industry heavily relies on complex contracts.

Any entity of the performing industry that has stakes in the commercial outcome of artistic creations would require the help of Entertainment lawyers who are experts in assisting recording companies, artists and musicians to enter into the first record deal or negotiate and re-negotiate entertainment contracts by ensuring the protection of their interests.  They collaborate with artists and performers to help them realize their potential to the fullest without worrying about the legalities.

Personal service agreements

An artist must seek the services of a company that helps them to manufacture, promote and distribute their products and enter into a deal that culminates in a contract or agreement in the form of Personal Service Agreement. This is the most basic contract of the entertainment industry and governed by statutes that bind upon the artists to work with one company for a defined period to produce the creations.  However, this often leads to litigation that restrict the artists from working for other companies as they remain tied to the company with which they have an agreement. The personal service agreement allows the companies to recover the costs and even enjoy profits in the long run, should the marketed product become a huge success.   

Option agreements

The lawyer must guide artists to ensure that they do not suffer from poorly drafted agreements. Musicians often sign an Option Agreement without ensuring to incorporate the exit clause that allows him or her to exit the agreement if the music company does not release their works despite keeping them contracted to work for that company only.

Contract for rights

This is another type of contract prevalent in the entertainment industry. The contract is applicable for using a certain creative property like a photo or song by way of transfer of license or copyright ownership.  Often the contract for rights comes along with the personal service agreement. The contract confers the right to the company to use the work of the artists as a commodity for hire and automatically enjoys the ownership of copyright.

The lawyer must protect the interest of clients by staying away from conflict of interests that can impair their ability to represent the client.