Amid concerns over a weak market and the impact of streamers on the independent film industry, the 2020 Sundance Film Festival closed with the exhibition of several highly anticipated films, some record-breaking sales and the upsurge of important new deal makers. See below for some key trends that emerged from this year’s festival. Slower Initial

Imagine you’re sitting on the next big true crime hit. The nonfiction genre has ballooned in recent years across media, particularly in the podcasting space where production costs are relatively low and there are fewer gatekeepers to content distribution. Long gone are the days when the choice was among America’s Most Wanted, 20/20, Cold Case

Fair use is one of the most important – and most misunderstood – concepts in the area of copyright law. It is an important concept for anyone who is using content owned by third parties – which includes anyone who livestreams gaming, creates “let’s play” videos or otherwise uses gaming assets and branding. Unfortunately, there

Although podcasts have been around in one form or another since the early aughts, their ubiquity and popularity has skyrocketed in recent years.  Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Google, and Stitcher, among other platforms, have changed the game when it comes to distribution, variety, and access.  Wildly popular programs like Serial, Pod Save America, My Favorite Murder,

1. AB5 Brings Uncertainty: The new California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) became effective on January 1, 2020. Originally created to codify the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903 (Dynamex), and to address the increase of misclassification of workers as independent contractors, the

The videogame industry is now the most profitable individual sector of entertainment, having experienced exponential growth over the past forty years. Great games can quickly generate a large and unusually engaged fanbase, and as a result it could be argued that games will be the single biggest source of major entertainment brands for the foreseeable

The market for unscripted podcasts –from true crime, to sex and relationships, to sports and pop culture – is exploding. With top podcasts bringing in five figures in revenue per episode and opening the door to multiple ancillary opportunities including merchandise and live touring, what do podcast producers need to know to protect themselves and

Under the Writers Guild of America Theatrical and Television Basic Agreement (the “Basic Agreement”), credited writers for television motion pictures, including episodic programs, are entitled to receive compensation for the reuse of their work, also known as residuals. Television residuals were first negotiated by the Writers Guild of American (the “WGA”) in 1953, under the