Originally from:

AAA Handbook on Commercial Arbitration, Third Edition

CHAPTER 25

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! ARBITRATION IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

Linda Bartlett

I. Introduction

Productions in the entertainment industry vary depending upon the art, the artists, the medium, the venue, the financing and the distribution and marketing of the initial and collateral products. Because no one chapter can address such a complex and varied industry, this chapter provides only an overview of how the industry generally operates, a description of the types of contracts that provide the basis for its operation, and the role arbitration plays in the domestic and international adjudication of disputes that may arise.

II. The Setting

All programming, whether live or pre-recorded, involves many different phases including project development, packaging, pre-production, production, post-production, marketing, distribution and exhibition. Some players participate in all of these phases and others have cameo roles, depending upon the needs of the production. Many contracts define the relationship of the players to one another and to the production itself. Often they 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. The contracts provide the setting upon which all other actions take place.