The Role Of Contracts In The Entertainment Industry

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The entertainment field is very complex, most disputes between producers and unions are resolved by an arbitrator who will interpret the contract. If an arbitrator awards a remedy, a court may be called upon to enforce the award. Court enforcement is necessary in very few arbitration cases, especially in the international context (Bartlett). Disputes involving licensing contracts are often lengthy and complex and involve numerous parties. Most of the lawsuits involving union employees are resolved through arbitration, since union contracts have long resorted to this process to expedite the resolution of disputes (Bartlett).
In the entertainment field especially, employment contracts require more specialized knowledge in the entertainment field. …show more content…

The contracts in the entertainment industry take many forms, some recognizable to attorneys engaged in the drafting and litigation of contracts, and others requiring more specialized knowledge. Often the contracts contain an arbitration clause, making arbitrators with specific knowledge of the entertainment industry a vital part of the process of resolving disputes that invariably arise. (Bartlett) A typical contract between author and publisher grants the publisher the exclusive right to market the author’s title. This publishing contract consists of a royalty scheme through which publisher and author share revenues from sold copies. Due to the nature of advance contracting between creator and producer, the standard approach to use sales as a success measure can be misleading from the producer’s perspective (Beck). The contracts that govern TV program series differ considerably from the contracts that govern cinema films. In viewers ' eyes, the leading actors in a TV series become one with the characters that they play, and successful replacements are rare. From the moment an actor first reads for a role in a new sitcom, the actor is committed to an option contract that commonly runs for five years. When a successful program such as Seinfeld or Friends outlasts the standard contract duration, the star performer 's compensation is up for grabs. The option contract is accepted practice in TV broadcasting, but it clearly exacts its costs. Programs sometimes get cancelled because stalemates arise in renegotiating contracts

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