Negotiation Tips for the Entertainment Business

There are many aspects must be considered when dealing with negotiation in the entertainment business. Publishing and Intellectual Property are two of the most important areas to understand. When dealing with publishing for music, movies, books, and other forms of intellectual property, seeking legal advice is crucial. Many decisions are involved with licensing, and contracts. That is why independent artist, filmmakers, and musicians must learn how to become the businessman to maximize revenue. Even though most artists prefer focusing on their creativity, artist endeavors are extremely risky, especially at the negotiation table. While dealing with negotiations, we have to remember to be aggressive, persistent, focused, committed, and creative without coming across as annoying.

Four of the key steps in planning model for negotiation model begins with having a strategy. Creating a strategy involves research. We must understand the situation in which we are involved. The more that we understand the situation, the more successful our strategy plan will be. Second is style, we have to be able to create a style that does not offend the other party, and still maintains a strong presence at the negotiation table. Next, we need to have a list of affective questions. Once the other party member realizes that you have questions that pertain to the information discussed, it gives them a better impression of your knowledge and inquisitiveness. The fourth strategy to understand is when to create a block. A block give you more time for questioning, and later scheduled sessions. If you are working with a legal representative, they will create strategies for blocks and share the information with you. You must also have plan incase the other party member has a block as well.

One must keep in mind, that there are no defined steps to take when entering the entertainment business. This is why it is extremely important to fully understand the deals, legalities and contracts. If a filmmaker does not understand the deal with the distributor, then they could ultimately watch their film flourish and not see any profit. Most distributors are smart and perceptive and understand the legal side of the business more than a filmmaker does. It is vital for a new filmmaker or writer to research the background of the distributor before entering a negotiation. It is also important to search the contract for fees and out clauses that are heavily in the favor of the distributor. Pay attention to the maximums for advertisement, and the length of the contract. Try to make your contract for two years with automatic extensions as long as they make a certain return on investment. Do not fall for the normality.

Preparing an opening statement in a negotiation is crucial. Having an opening statement allows you to persuade the other party member to see the situation from your perspective. The elements of a persuasive negotiation argument are being detailed, multidimensional, balanced, focused, and appropriately emotional. Once you possess these elements, you are able to exhibit passion, truthfulness in your statements. In addition, the other members recognized how prepared you are on the law, and are better able to respect your perspective. As long as you remain intelligent with your negotiation, you should maintain a comfortable position. Remember to separate the problem from the people by using objective criteria’s, concentrate on maintaining mutual benefits, and always abide by the BATNA. You can find these examples explained within the following web links I have provided.