Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

I. Introduction

Whether putting on the television provides background noise at the dinner table or going to the movie theater forces a couple to be quiet for a few hours, individuals can use entertainment to mediate conflicts in their everyday lives. The entertainment industry should take note of this and adopt this practice of finding creative ways to solve intricate disputes. Currently, the entertainment industry is sustained by creativity and innovation, yet plagued with frequent disputes over time-sensitive issues. Whether the dispute involves a film, television or music contract, a production issue, or even a band break-up, the need for an alternative to the already “alternative” forms of dispute resolution is apparent. If the parties involved in a dispute resort to an adversarial process, the project in question may come to a screeching halt. The threat of litigation or even binding arbitration is often enough to interrupt the viability of a project.1 These issues coupled with the frequency of deal agreements in the entertainment industry make mediation particularly applicable to entertainment disputes.

The prevalence of “deals” in the entertainment industry is at the root of the frequent dispute problem. Deals are often signed in haste and may lack precision or even a written instrument.2 Therefore, artists spend ample time arguing over the terms of the deal.3 This arguing may lead to an artist walking away rom a project instead of working out an explanation for vague deal terms. Resorting to mediation, as opposed to immediate deal dissolution, can insure that the parties have an opportunity, before a neutral mediator, to reach a settlement favorable to both sides.