The Business of Entertainment is a big business in Nigeria , Africa and the whole world at large . It is inseparable from the daily life and custom of millions of people across the Globe .


Music , Cinematograph films , Artistic Works and Literature among other fields of entertainment have made life easier and fun for people from different facets across the world , uniting them into achieving a common goal ; Being entertained.

Entertainment being a big business sure has its perks . The Flashy Cars , The Spotlight, The Paparazzi, The Showbiz and Glamour , The Business Aspect and other facets of entertainment to numerous to mention .

Entertainment Business is a Money Making Machine . I mean ; you can’t be rendering services that 90 percent of the world’s population show interest and partake in regularly and not be making cool cash .

But there’s the sad part .!!!

No matter how talented or skilled some people or entities are with the Entertainment services they provide , they will never really cash out or make financial gains from it . It is common place to see that a lot of professionals and entities in the entertainment industry are faced with numerous legal challenges, some are exploited financially and physically , some become depressed and others eventually quit or go out of business .

It is not talent they lack nor is it the skill or money , it is the lack of vital knowledge of industry norms and regulations , their intellectual property rights and pertinent entertainment law provisions that leads to a a steady decline in and eventual collapse of their career and business .

Alas , talent is never enough !!!

There is need for clear and adequate knowledge on how the entertainment industry works for creatives ,entertainment business professionals or entertainment entities that are interested in enjoying maximum rewards off their creative efforts and business investments in the entertainment industry in Nigeria .

This is where an Entertainment lawyer comes in .

WHAT IS ENTERTAINMENT LAW ?

Entertainment law has no universal definition .

The Black’s Law Dictionary defines Entertainment Law as “ The field of law dealing with the legal and business issues in the entertainment industry (such as film , music and theatre ) and involving the representation of artists and producers , the negotiation of contracts and the protection of intellectual property rights “.

Entertainment law can also be defined as the aspect of law that regulates , protects and interprets services , rights and acts inherent in the different facets of the entertainment industry .

To further buttress the above definition , Entertainment law can simply defined as all legal services that is associated with the entertainment industry i.e the entirety of legal provisions and services relevant to the entertainment industry .

As such , entertainment law covers music , comedy , film and television , broadcasts , fashion , tourism, sports , event management, photography , NFTs and many more aspects of entertainment.

WHO IS AN ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER ?


In very simple terms , An entertainment lawyer is a lawyer with expertise in Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property .

While a lot of people use the term interchangeably , it should be stated that intellectual property is just a significant part of entertainment law and should not be substituted with entertainment law . Entertainment law is broad and Intellectual property is a simply segment of it .

An entertainment lawyer should be someone that is creative and has passion for creativity. This is the edge and driving factor that will enable the entertainment lawyer deliver better results to clients as he or she can relate more with their issues and problems besieging their creative client or business .

Entertainment lawyers in Nigeria represent and protect the interests of creatives, companies , entertainment business professionals and other stakeholders in the many areas of the entertainment industry in Nigeria, such as film, television, new media, theater, branding , sports , licensing , print , publishing and music among others . They also advise these individuals and entities on legal matter and general industry Practice relating to these facets of the entertainment field.

DO I NEED AN ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER ?

If your services fall within the Entertainment Industry in Nigeria especially within the


Film and Television industry in Nigeria ( Nollywood )

Comedy industry in Nigeria

Music Industry in Nigeria

Print and Electronic media in Nigeria

Music production in Nigeria

Advertising in Nigeria

Broadcasting In Nigeria

Book Publishing in Nigeria

You need the services of an entertainment lawyer in Nigeria .

If you fall under the category of Recording Artistes , OAPs, Event Hosts, Dancers, Painters , Sculptors , Programmers , Videographers , Photographers, , Sound Engineers , Music producers, Artiste and Repertoire (A/R), SongWriters, Instrumentalists , Interpreters, Authors, Fashion designers, Spoken Words Artistes, NFT creators , Content Creators and Video directors etc in Nigeria , you need an entertainment lawyer in Nigeria .

If you are also a music business executive , Record Label Owner , Publishing company owner , Artiste Manager , Show Promoter , Artiste Agent or Personal assistant , Distribution company owner etc in Nigeria , you need an entertainment lawyer in Nigeria .

Lastly , For publishing companies , Record labels , Advertising agencies , PR agencies , Show Promotion companies , Management companies , Film Production Houses , Studio House , Book Publishers among others , the services of an entertainment lawyer in Nigeria is also required .

Wizkid, Davido , Burna Boy , Tekno, Tiwa Savage , Olamide , Simi, Yemi Alade, Ramsey Nouah , AY, RMD, Genevieve Nnaji, Omolola Jolade , Tacha , Mercy Eke, Tonto Dikeh , Donjazzy , Dbanj , Wande coal , Chris Brown, Rihanna , JayZ , Kanye West and a host of other entertainers all have an Entertainment lawyer on retainer to handle and perform all functions of an entertainment lawyer stated in this article .

Companies and Brands like X3M ideas , Mavins Record , Chocolate City, Project Fame , Naija Sings , Gulder Ultimate Search , BB Naija , DMW and numerous other Entertainment entities also have the services of an Entertainment lawyer included in their budget .

Happy New Year To You All . May the New Year Be Prosperous and Kind to Us

WHY DO I NEED AN ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER IN NIGERIA ?

The scope of work of an entertainment lawyer in NIgeria is extensive, but some of their most common duties and reasons why you need an entertainment lawyer in Nigeria includes:

Negotiations
Protection of Intellectual Property
Contracts and Agreements
Legal Advise
Sponsorship and Funding
Networking
Litigation

1. NEGOTIATIONS

Negotiations constitutes an essential item for any progressive creative or entertainment business in Nigeria. It is inevitable that negotiations come during interactions with prospective investors, fans or brands.

The entertainment lawyer is experienced in negotiations as it is a basic skill of practice as a lawyer. Rather than advocate or negotiate deals that can make or mar your career or business all by yourself with little to no knowledge of complex industry terms and clauses that can be open to multiple interpretations, the entertainment lawyer in Nigeria who is an expert can broker the terms for a project or service, and make sure that you get fair compensation for your contributions and your rights are properly exploited.

Negotiations are made to favour you either by reducing the obligations and liabilities on you or increasing the compensation for such services you render. The job of the entertainment lawyer in Nigeria is to ensure your interest is protected and what benefits you is properly negotiated.

2. PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Intellectual property, or IP, is big business. Intellectual Property as the name implies is the “property” created or derived from usage of the creator’s “Intellect” i.e., a creation from the mind of the creator.

As such, such creation is said to the property of the creator.

Intellectual property rights can then be defined as the rights vested in a creator over his intellectual creation and protected by the law thus preventing others from exploiting the creation without the creator’s due authorization. Some of these rights include the right to reproduction, right to translation and adaptation, right to broadcast and making available to the public, right of public performance, etc.

The intellectual property rights inherent in literary works, musical works, artistic works, cinematograph films and other aspect of creative works must be properly documented and protected from unauthorized third parties.

Your catalogue, Your books, your movies, your beats, and your creative works all have inherent rights that must be protected.

The entertainment lawyer in Nigeria will utilize appropriate mechanisms in form of contractual documents, registrations, automation, litigation, and other recognized legal means to ensure you enjoy the rewards of your creative work and you are protected from undue exploitation.

The entertainment industry is set up in a way that necessitates protection of your intellectual property from those who may want to buy it, reproduce it, license it—or infringe upon it with unauthorized use. An entertainment lawyer in Nigeria will supervise and ensure that a client’s intellectual property is handled properly and protected when copyright or trademark issues arise.

The intellectual property rights of creatives and entertainment professionals can be protected by the entertainment lawyer in Nigeria via trademark, Copyright registration, Patent registration, industrial design registration, trade secrets, or any other means that is suitable to each peculiar case and is in the best interest of the clients.

CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENT

The entertainment lawyer in Nigeria is also responsible for drafting talent agreements, split sheets, licensing agreements, recording deals, publishing deals, employment agreements, performance agreements and other necessary agreements for creatives and entertainment business professionals in the entertainment industry in Nigeria.

Contracts remain an essential feature in transactions and subsequent growth of creatives and entertainment business professionals. The Entertainment Lawyer in Nigeria ensures contracts and agreements that favour the client is drafted and also reviews the contract and agreement given to the client by third parties.

The Entertainment lawyer in Nigeria ensures you understand the contract you are signing and that you don’t sign the wrong contract or agreement. Whether it’s an artiste signing a recording deal or a film studio signing a employee agreement with actors or it’s a non disclosure agreement between a writer and a ghost writer, an entertainment lawyer is involved.

4. LEGAL ADVISE

General Legal advise on labour law, deals, documentation, registration, associations, intellectual property rights, and other areas of entertainment that will immensely contribute to the growth of your career as creative or business as an entertainment entity is also provided by your entertainment lawyer in Nigeria.

Your entertainment lawyer also enlightens you on your basic rights and knowledge of your intellectual property such that you can handle basic negotiations and understand the exploitation of your rights properly.

Knowledge is power and disseminating Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property knowledge to clients is one of the many functions of entertainment lawyers in Nigeria.

Entertainment lawyers also help creatives and entertainment entities in Nigeria seek funding and sponsorship by checking out regulations guiding same and providing subsequent recommendations on the next steps to take.

5. SPONSORSHIP AND FUNDING

As entertainment lawyers in Nigeria are conversant with the scene, they are prone to see a lot of the juicy opportunities in the entertainment industry first and are quick to recommend to their clients for immediate action or application.

6. NETWORKING


It is not what you know but who you know that matters at times . In this regard, an entertainment lawyer can be useful for making introductions for their clients to other prominent stakeholders in the entertainment industry like managers, agents, promoters , accountants, Licensing agencies , investors etc

Networking is perhaps one of the most important skills in the entertainment industry and having a lawyer aids in knowing who to network with or not in line with proper legal advise from the entertainment lawyer .

Having an entertainment lawyer in Nigeria means you also get to interact with their clients and network for growth . Clients can meet up in meetings , shows, parties or whenever a need for their services arise by the other clients of the entertainment lawyer in Nigeria .

7.LITIGATION


It is worthy of note that issues are bound to arise during transactions , deals and interactions with other creatives or businesses within the Entertainment industry . There are some issues that cannot be Effectively resolved with negotiation and mediation .As such , these issues get to the court of law and you will need the services of an Entertainment lawyer in Nigeria conversant with intellectual property law to have a headway in the suit .

Entertainment Law is a niche field and a regular lawyer cannot have proper insight on the issues like an entertainment lawyer will .An entertainment lawyer in Nigeria has all proper insights and knowledge to help you succeed in a lawsuit pertaining to intellectual property and entertainment in Nigeria.

WE HAVE A MANAGER , PA , AGENT , DO WE STILL NEED AN ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER IN NIGERIA ?


Creatives and entertainment business professionals often focus their efforts on getting representation through a manager , PA or agent as they believe that having a manager or agent can take the place of having an Entertainment lawyer in Nigeria .

The truth however is legal language and clauses can be quite tricky and there are some aspects of regulations in Nigeria pertaining to the entertainment industry that a manager , PA or agent cannot properly interpret or oversee . This is the duty of an entertainment lawyer and neither the PA , manager or agent have the legal expertise or experience of an entertainment lawyer in Nigeria to oversee pertinent legal dynamics in the entertainment industry of Nigeria .

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I HAVE A LAWYER, DO I STILL NEED AN ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER IN NIGERIA?

Let’s take a look at things this way. There are general doctors, and then there are specialty doctors.

If a lady goes to a doctor and the issues discovered are significantly related to her body, she is referred to a gynecologist. This is not because the doctor does not have working knowledge of what to administer to the lady but because the gynecologist has superior knowledge and that is their area of specialization. Same goes for a man with eye problem or a sick child on consultation with a doctor, the man will be referred to an ophthalmologist who is an expert in treatment of eyes and the child to Pediatricians who is an expert in child treatment.

Only specialists can effectively and efficiently tackle the health issue discovered more than the general doctors.

Same thing goes for lawyers and entertainment lawyers in Nigeria. While Lawyers have general knowledge of the issues, entertainment lawyers in Nigeria are the specialists in the entertainment field that can treat the issue more effectively and efficiently and it is advised they are contacted to handle all issues in the Entertainment industry for higher success rate.

SHOULD I RETAIN AN ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER IN NIGERIA?

After all , I only do one offs and I might not need the lawyer services every time ? This is the mindset of some creatives and Entertainment business professionals in Nigeria.

The big question is , would you rather have a family doctor that attends to all your issues within a budget agreed upon or would you prefer to pay a doctor every-time you have a medical issue regardless of the fluctuations in prices or medical services or drugs ?

Prevention they say is better than cure . Entertainment lawyers in Nigeria are not only needed when disputes or issues arise. Entertainment lawyers are in-fact retained so that issues don’t arise . They give proper legal advise and help you negotiate properly to prevent avoidable issues .

Having an entertainment lawyer in Nigeria on retainer is beneficial to creatives and entertainment entities because

a) it reduces the cost of the legal services on the client
b) enables faster dispensation of services
c) quicker access to the attorney
d) access to the client’s network of creatives and entertainment business professionals
e) proper communication of issues between parties as client is treated as priority .

Among other numerous benefits

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