Recent Industry Liabilities & Rulings

Creating a successful business plan requires many things, but some of the most important elements include all of the legal concerns and financial liabilities that have the potential to negatively affect future investors. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with third parties, non-compete agreements, conflicts of interest, privacy concerns, and the protection of one’s trade secrets fall under industry liabilities. As a part of the curriculum in the Advanced Entertainment Law course, students are required to analyze legal liabilities associated with their business plan. To begin such an analysis, three recent court cases were identified to help understand the impact they had on the entertainment industry. The first case involves the New York Yankees v. Stubhub concerning on-going ticket scalping. The second case takes a look at the Trade Union of Russian Citizens v. Madonna, seeking damages after the singer’s pro-gay rights speech. The third case will touch on Comcast’s recent win for the anti-trust appeal from the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to the New York Post, the Yankees are argued that the pick-up location represents the “completion of sale” of online ticket purchases and violates their 1,500-feet rule already in place. The Yankees also have complaints concerning Stubhub’s unrestricted online market allows speculators to push resale ticket prices below face value. This undercuts the Yankee’s prices and drives down future attendance. My opinion has always been that Stubhub is a ruthless scalping system that is truly un-honorable to the live concert and event business. Selling tickets under face value so close to the event venue is infringing upon the venue’s rights.

The second court case that impacts the live concert and event industry relates to Madonna and her recent involvement with the Trade Union of Russian Citizens. In this case, The Huffington Post reports that the lawsuit against Madonna for allegedly traumatizing minors by speaking up for gay rights during a concert was dismissed. The Moskovsky district court in St. Petersburg dismissed the $10.7 million dollars that the Trade Union of Russian Citizens sought for allegedly exposing youths to “homosexual propaganda.” This case impacts the live concert industry because it ties in directly with freedom of speech in our country, and what that can be interpreted in another country like Russia.

The third case to review involves Comcast and their anti-trust appeal that passed recently. On March 27, 2013 The Hollywood Reporter published the Comcast victory against a class-action lawsuit that challenged how it has allegedly monopolized the Philadelphia cable market. Throughout Comcast’s business dealings they managed to acquire competitor cable provider systems in the region in exchange for systems outside the region (Gardner, 2013). What this means is that Comcast made dealings that bolstered its local market share, resulting in an estimated 60% of pay-TV subscribers in Philadelphia. My opinion of this case is that it is not a full-fledged monopoly, but an enterprise. This case leaves an impact on the entertainment industry because it demonstrates a new way for corporations to expand and offer new ways of trading services and connections.