Every year brings new dealmaking challenges and complexities. Below are some things that I expect the Pryor Cashman group may be tackling in 2025 as we continue to lead the media and entertainment business with respect to sophisticated transmedia and cross-platform dealmaking.
As a general matter, I expect the U.S. entertainment law market to be further bifurcated and stratified between cheaper boutiques focused on film and TV production, and larger firms with the ability to operate across entertainment verticals and also handle issues relating to M&A, financing, international co-productions, complex rights, privacy, and regulatory compliance (we fall into the latter category). This makes the choice of law firm (and periodic review of law firm hiring) critical.
- AI Provisions
2024 was a year of stopgap generative AI solutions in entertainment rights and services agreements. Clearly, generative AI is not going away, and that will exacerbate fear and concern among talent and rightsholders alike. Accordingly, I expect we will have to tackle AI in more nuanced provisions, both with respect to the scope of permitted use and required remedial action in the event of misuse. - International Co-Productions
We did a large number of co-production and co-financing deals with Europe, Asia, and Latin America in 2024 – on behalf of bothU.S.-based and international studios and producers. I expect that to continue in 2025, particularly with streaming platforms continuing to invest in international content. Smart U.S. companies will look for opportunities to partner with local expertise, as well as forge partnerships with Asian content powerhouses. - Creator Businesses
Certain industry soothsayers are predicting that we will see a greater number of businesses co-owned by online "creators" who have large, established communities (and therefore the ability to sell and market directly to those followings). If the prediction regarding the rise of creator-generated or curated games and movies is correct, then expect to see this addressed contractually in a variety of ways. IPs, brands, and creators need to think proactively about opportunities in this arena. - UGC
We expect to continue to grow our work in the UGC space in 2025. Roblox reportedly has something like 380 million users, many of whom are under 18. Fortnite isn't far off. Generation Z and Generation Alpha innately relate to media and entertainment through the prism of these platforms – but a presence on these platforms creates a host of legal and business issues. Every single rightsholder needs to have a strategy and a detailed approach with respect to how users can interact with their IP and brands (as well as an IP enforcement philosophy). - Complex Rights
Entertainment IP is more valuable than ever. Every movie in the Top 20 at the global box office in 2024 was based on existing IP (between sequels, two book adaptations, and Wicked). We are also seeing manga, anime, and videogame IPs continue to grow in value – but those rightsholders are not prepared to cede ownership and control of their IP unconditionally to media conglomerates. Accordingly, rights dealmaking is becoming more nuanced and sophisticated. We did some extremely complex deals in 2024, and I expect more of the same (especially with respect to Asian rightsholders and/or videogame IP). The relative complexity of a rote book option deal and a complex IP deal are night and day. - Creative Integrity
As a related issue, I expect rightsholders to double down on creative protections to preserve the integrity of their brands and characters. This is in part because an inauthentic or poorly executed brand extension has the potential to harm the value of the underlying rights. We have been working with all of the major buyers to build protective but mutually workable processes, and I expect this work to continue. - Games
Games (principally videogames, but also tabletop games) will continue to prominently influence culture and impact dealmaking of all kinds. For many genres of underlying IP, granting all rights without understanding how the rightsholder will be compensated in the event of a gaming exploitation (whether standalone, or as an integration into the likes of Roblox, Minecraft, or Fortnite) is unacceptable. This requires the ability to work and communicate across industries. Expect gaming rights (and appropriate compensation) to come up more frequently in entertainment deals – and expose deficiencies in many entertainment law groups. - Live/Experiential
If 2020 was the year everyone cared about NFTs, 2024 was about location-based entertainment. Expect this to continue, especially if Netflix's endeavors are a success. I anticipate that we may be working with our real estate and insurance groups in connection with LBE installations in 2025. Issues include creative parameters, appropriate compensation, and – of course – risk allocation. - Publicity and Morals Clauses
Given the current Blake Lively/Justin Baldoni dispute relating to It Ends With Us, I might anticipate (even) more specific language being drafted to govern publicity, morals, non-disparagement, and use of outside PR firms. As Dyan Finguerra-DuCharme, Laure Sawaya, and I previously wrote about in Law360, AI is primed to complicate cases relating to alleged reputational damage further. - Estates and IP Libraries
If we see an uptick in M&A activities fueled by lower regulatory scrutiny under the new presidential administration, we may also see a rise in asset purchase deals for IP suitable for cross-platform exploitation. Similarly, we may see trusts and estates (and taxation) issues implicated as older creators look to pass on their libraries to the next generation.
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