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$34.8 Billion Opportunity for Indian M&E Lawyers

March 9, 2020

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This article is written by Suman Chatterjee, Team LawSikho.

Netflix Inc. expanded by 700 percent due to local content and marketing endeavors that attracted a bigger active user base in 2018-19.

Twitter collaborated with 12 Indian video partners for live streaming of sports, news and entertainment events, including video highlights.

The Indian digital industry is expected to grow by 32% CAGR with market sizes of Rs 18,986 crores (or $2.93 billion) with higher internet penetration and more affordable data consumption rates.

And…

With a CAGR of 13.5%, the Indian media and entertainment (a.k.a M&E) industry is all set to grow to over 257,415 crores (or US$34.8 billion) by 2021 and Rs 307,000 crores (or, US$ 43.93 billion) by 2024.

Let’s just say that the Indian M&E industry is HUGE!

So is the opportunity for media and entertainment lawyers.

But amidst all the glitz and glamour, the media and entertainment industry is also fraught with illegal gray zones, and one unwanted slip can lead to high-end legal complications.

When the filmmakers of ‘Judgmental Hai Kya’ are sued over copyright issues by some European artist, who makes money? Of course, the M&E lawyers!

When ‘Padmavaat’ is banned by 4 states and a plea is submitted to the Supreme Court, who gets the front role? Of course, the M&E lawyers!

When a YouTube influencer’s ex-boyfriend goes on to create a knockoff of her persona, starting from her mannerisms to her music, who gets to laugh the biggest laugh? You guessed it: the M&E lawyers, of course!

These are just a few examples but the M&E industry entails a plethora of legal tasks to be taken care of by legal professionals—whether it is obtaining CBFC certification, defending a client in sedition or obscenity cases or advising on how to contain fake news on social media.

Whether:

you join a top-notch law firm that is big on stringent paperwork that disposes of the need to go to courts; or
you start up your own independent legal practice with sole focus on litigation (probably with Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt being your biggest clients!);

I would say that opportunities abound in media and entertainment law. In case you are wondering where exactly do those opportunities lie, here is where they are:

#1. Media and Entertainment law firms

While the number is few, a few big-scale nationalized law firms, which deal with media and entertainment law, exist in the hot and happening cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.

If you are interested in media and entertainment laws, top-tier law firms like Nisith Desai Associates, DSK Legal and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas that have separate departments handling media and entertainment cases (also known as TMT or Telecom, Media and Technology) might be of interest to you.

Spanning from contract drafting to mergers and acquisitions in the media sector to data protection and cyber forensics, the scope of learning would be big nonetheless.

Also, the initial paycheck is often over one lakh per month for freshers—not a shabby amount, right?

You can also join boutique law firms that are focused on the M&E industry like Banana IP, Naik Naik & Co, Phoenix Legal, etc. New ones are cropping up every day.

Your work will mostly revolve around either litigation or transactional practice. Joining a law firm might be the best way to dip your feet into a legal area, since you will be able to learn the tricks of the trade from your experienced seniors.

#2. Media & Entertainment Companies

Big video production companies like Viacom, Balaji Telefilms and Yashraj films need help with drafting celebrity contracts, promotional event agreements and dealing with local authorities for approvals for sets and shoots.

Starting from IP protection and monetization to licensing and distribution of music to preventing piracy, a media and entertainment lawyer has got his hands full for sure.

Then there are music production companies like T-Series, Saregama, Tips Industries, Times Music, etc. which look for legal talent in the media and entertainment industry. If we are talking about the production companies, how can we keep the distribution companies out of the equation?

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Eros International, Zee Entertainment, Star Group, PVR … the list goes on.

Add to them the print media companies like Bennet Coleman and HT Media, and you can see how there are literally thousands of organizations you can apply to as an in-house counsel right now.

What’s more, we still haven’t considered the freelance content creators and small production houses—the market is worth over 30 billion dollars and is HUGE.

Who said only engineers could have all the fun?!

All these companies have their own in-house legal departments to draft agreements and contracts, manage talents and staff, and protect the rights over a piece of content created. The in-house counsels are expected to understand business from a legal perspective and advise the company in their day-to-day functioning.

Do remember this though: it is a highly-demanding and niche area, and only those who not only excel in law but are also able to survive in a dynamic and fast working environment will be able to thrive.

#3. Independent Lawyers

You can always fly solo without attaching yourself to a law firm or media and entertainment company. (Do think long and hard enough before you take the jump though.)

You can be the next Harish Salve or Mukul Rohatgi fighting for the rights of the filmmakers of another ‘Padmaavat’ or you could be a Priyanka Khimani representing the likes of Lata Mangeshkar, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Shreya Ghoshal and Arijit Singh.

A substantial part of your waking hours would be spent in acquiring and maintaining clients.

It’s YOU who would have to sift through case laws day in and day out.

It’s YOU who would have to draft one contract after another.

It’s YOU who would be attending conferences every other evening.

It’s YOU who would have to get on LinkedIn and hunt down prospects.

It’s YOU who would be looking after finances and taxation.

It’s not easy but it can be fun once you get the hang of it.

But . . .

What if we could make it a bit easier for you?

Interested in media and entertainment laws?

We have the RIGHT course to help you acquire practical insights and actionable strategies that would help you break into and excel as an M&E lawyer.

Diploma in Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Laws

Here’s what you will learn (a sneak peek!):

How to handle prosecution for IP infringement for your clients;
How to develop an offensive and defensive patent portfolio strategy;
Structuring and drafting in-licensing and out-licensing deals;
Devising master strategies to prevent piracy and online leaks;
Preparing franchise agreements for online and offline ventures;
Procuring compulsory license and appraising intellectual property;
How to deal with GST and entertainment tax issues for media production and distribution;

and much more.

The course entitlements include:

Easy 24/7 online access to course material (printed hard copy included).

2 practical drafting exercises per week, with personal feedback.

One live online class per week, with doubt-clearing over WhatsApp, through a discussion board on the LMS and in live classes.

Free access to our paid members-only community.

CV enhancement and professional networking training.

100% internship and job assistance.

With 30-days full money back guarantee, you can try this exclusive course risk-free today.

Interested?

Read on for full details.

To your success,