Entertainment Law Degree

Are you ready for Show - Business?

Let’s tackle these questions one by one. By the end of this page, we will hopefully have answered them all.

What is Entertainment Law?

Entertainment law, or media law, focuses on providing legal services to the entertainment industry. Given the size of the entertainment industry today, it is not surprising that the need for this specialization of law arose. This field overlaps with areas of intellectual property law, specifically trademark and copyright law. Other areas include the regulation of the entertainment industry, as well as labor, constitutional, administrative and antitrust law as it relates to the entertainment industry.

What can I do with an Entertainment Law Degree?

Much of the work revolves around drafting contracts, negotiation and mediation between artists, writers, producers, directors, agents, studios and record companies.

You could be helping an actor negotiate a contact with a studio, filing suit over a pirated film, ensuring that stuntmen have adequate medical coverage, dealing with union contract negotiations, assisting a records artist with financial decision, tax issues and marketing deals as well as helping artists secure the rights to use music that other artists have written ensuring copyright laws are observed. Some situations may lead to litigation and court appearance, but those are few and far between.

The practice of entertainment law can be delineated into film, music, television, theater, multimedia publishing and visual arts and design. All of these areas differ in the types of activities; have their own trade unions, rules and customs.

Entertainment Law Degree Programs

Entertainment law degree programs provide students with a strong foundation in copyright, trademark and unfair completion law. This knowledge is critical in representing entertainers, motion picture and television companies and other entertainment related organization.

Course include intellectual property, copyright, trademark and unfair competition law, tax, labor law, antitrust, negotiation, business transactions, communications law and policy, and first amendment.

Entertainment Law Career – Where to Start?

In order to start on the road toward an entertainment law career, you have to enroll in law school. From our research we have found that it is always better to go to a really good law school, no matter if it has an entertainment law degree program or not. The courses you will need to take to prepare yourself for a practice in entertainment law are available at almost any law school thus there is no need to attend a specialized program.

Attending a quality law school is step one. Step two is attending a law school in the vicinity of where you want to practice. This will give you an advantage as it will allow you to network as well as obtain internships or clerkship that could lead to your first job.

Most entertainment lawyers are located in New York and Las Angeles, the capitals of the entertainment industry. However, if you want to specialize in music then Nashville is a great location. If you prefer multimedia, then Seattle or Silicon Valley are good choices.

Working as an intern or law clerk in a production company, studio or law firm, in New York or Las Angeles will make entry into the movie or television industry easier. You will gain the needed experience but more importantly you will gain relationships that will help you enter into the entertainment law profession.

Attending law conferences and joining bar associations are additional ways to network. Keep in mind that entertainment law is a small field with limited openings. Much of what an entertainment lawyer does is learned on the job, this is why experience is so critical for this specialization of the law.

Bottom line, be patient! You are not going to become a top entertainment lawyer right out of law school, any more then you are going to become a top surgeon right out of medical school. Gain experience, establish good networks and work toward breaking into the entertainment law profession.

Entertainment Law Degree – Can I get it Online?

You can obtain any degree you can think of online. The number of online degree programs is growing rapidly and there is very little you can’t do online. The question is, should you obtain your entertainment law degree online?

Only you know the answer to that question. There are many benefits of online education programs. Flexibility, the ability to work full-time while going to school, the ability to work at your own pace and your own time are all appealing. However, if you lack self motivation, don’t like spending time alone, can’t work from home or crave social interaction with peers/faculty, then online education may not be a good choice for you.

The best way to find out if an online entertainment law degree program is for you is to try out a couple of online courses and see how you like it. If you are still in college or are just starting to apply – make sure you take one or two online classes. Many high schools today provide online courses as well – experiment with this mode of learning.

If it turns out you like online learning, research a number of online universities, request detailed program information from them (it’s free) and make an educated decision. If you decide you hate online learning, research a number of campus colleges and universities, request detailed program information and make an educated decision.