Overview
The entertainment landscape is one built from consistent innovation and disruption. From the onset of content streaming to more recent trends such as the exploding creator economy, Manatt has helped clients stay ahead of the curve to navigate turbulence and take ownership of their personal brands since 1977. We are a creator first operation that moves and improves the market daily through our fierce representation and advocacy.
We are a creator-first operation that moves and improves the market daily through our fierce representation and advocacy. We represent:
- Iconic music artists, actors, writers, directors, producers, creators and executives across every medium of entertainment.
- Independent and growth-stage film and television studios.
- Independent record labels, music publishers and catalog owners.
- Athletes, teams and sports leagues.
- Gaming and interactive content companies.
- Brands, investors and funds partnering with creators.
“The firm offers expertise in all aspects of entertainment, including film, television, music and digital content transactions. The team is particularly experienced with negotiating complex financing deals, such as film slate financing. They represent prominent recording artists and songwriters as part of their respected talent practice.”
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
For nearly five decades, Manatt has represented the innovators who define entertainment. Founded in 1977 as one of the first full-service entertainment law practices in the country, we’ve helped shape how art becomes business—from the rise of record labels and film studios to the dawn of streaming and today’s creator economy.
Our attorneys and business strategists have guided clients through every shift in the industry, helping them seize opportunity amid constant evolution and reinvention.
Our team is recognized year after year by Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Chambers USA and The Legal 500 for excellence across film, music, television, digital media and sports. Clients choose us because we combine deep industry knowledge with sophisticated legal counsel and strategic insight, delivering solutions that are both pragmatic and forward-thinking.
Entertainment never stands still, and neither do we. As digital innovation redefines distribution, audience engagement and revenue models, Manatt helps clients seize the moment.
We work with creators who are building companies, brands that are moving into entertainment and investors fueling the next wave of media ventures. Our integrated model—combining legal, consulting and financial knowledge and experience—positions us to advise on every dimension of the creator economy.
As committed advocates of artists and creators, Manatt has developed a U.S. Music Streaming Royalty Calculator to empower creators to calculate their share of total royalties based on their contribution to a particular musical recording or composition. The U.S. Music Streaming Royalty Calculator draws from deep market experience and analysis into the data collected from direct source payors to offer accurate, up-to-date and easily accessible streaming revenue information.
Our entertainment lawyers handle the full spectrum of legal work and transactions across traditional and emerging media.
- Recorded music/songwriting, representing artists and independent labels and publishers
- Live performances, with representation for artists, promoters, venues and vendors
- Name, image and likeness
- Rights acquisitions and catalog sales, including for music, film and television
- Podcasting, with representation for talent and production companies and distributors
- Crisis management
- Scripted film and television, including development, talent and exploitation teams
- Documentaries and unscripted television for development, talent and exploitation
- Content creation, influencer and creator economy
- Book publishing, with representation for publishers, authors, subjects
- Fund formation and management
- Branding and sponsorship, with representation for both talent side and company side
- Advertising and marketing
- Intellectual property licensing, distribution and protection
- Government advocacy for artists and rights holders
- Artificial intelligence, blockchain, Web 3.0 and crypto
- Financing for independent projects
- Employment and labor
- Data privacy and security
- Interactive entertainment (gaming)
- Estate planning
- Government regulations and compliance
- Real estate, including for leasing, improving, purchasing, selling
- Impact (non-profit and foundation, formation and strategy)
Awards
