Weekly Column: Why Consent Is Entertainment's Most Valuable Asset

In this week’s column, California Sports Lawyer® CEO and Managing Attorney Jeremy M. Evans discusses why consent has become one of the most valuable commercial assets in entertainment, media, and sports, and why contracts, technology, and trust will shape its future.

Consent is the foundation that content is being built upon.

You can read the full column below. (Past columns can be found, here).

It was once that consent in the entertainment business was an afterthought in the viewing, advertising, and distribution of content. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), parental guidance, and cost controls were once the only thing standing between what people watched. Much of that is still true today, but with the expansion in streaming platforms there are now many options to reach people and with it rules and responsibilities for consent.

Requirements for consent in advertising also became more important when legislation and streaming and social media platforms gave people more control and choice in what to watch. Consent, however, is two-sided, separated by money and actual consent. Simply put, what someone pays and what someone chooses in their settings and preferences.

Entertainment, media, and sports have always depended on consent. Today, consent is no longer simply a legal requirement. It is becoming one of the most valuable commercial assets because every new technology makes it easier to use, recreate, distribute, and monetize another person’s work, likeness, voice, or identity. Entertainment, media, and sports companies are competing for content and the rights to use it and consent to reach audiences.

Meta’s AI dispute illustrates the challenge for the entertainment business today. The powerful generative artificial intelligence tools now allow lay people to create content, which is great, but also potentially harmful to copyright owners. Meta's proposed Instagram tool raised concerns that it could facilitate unauthorized uses of copyrighted works by allowing AI-generated content to resemble or incorporate protected material without appropriate licensing or another legal defense. Legally, the aforementioned is not a strong legal foundation and almost certainly infringement without licensing or some other defense.

AI is accelerating the conversation by making consent for use and reach even more important. AI simply makes it easier to both create content and reach people. Therefore, the companies that build trust through consent, clear disclosure, and approval will gain a long-term competitive advantage. Fortune favors the bold, but also the honest, consistent, and truthful.

The trend in consent extends well beyond AI. Consent applies to athletes and sports properties, specifically NIL licensing. Publicity rights, music catalogs, digital replicas, creator economy agreements, and sports media rights are increasingly subject to AI recreation and require clear consent for their use. Consent is the foundation that content is being built upon.

Contracts and digital terms and conditions have become even more important in the consent age of content. Contracts will increasingly need to define what parties have consented to, and for how long, and what happens when a dispute arises. Future agreements should address AI training, digital replicas, voice, image, data, and future technologies. Companies will not be able to rely on the “everyone else is doing it” justification as the courts and law catch up with technological advancements. Technological advancements are great for innovation, but eventually modernization is met with reality in use and the law.

Companies creating the greatest long-term value will not necessarily be those with the best technology. The most successful entertainment and sports companies will be the ones that earn, negotiate, protect, and clearly define consent. Consent is no longer simply about avoiding liability. It is increasingly becoming one of the most valuable commercial assets in entertainment, media, and sports.

About Jeremy M. Evans:

Jeremy M. Evans is the Chief Entrepreneur Officer, Founder & Managing Attorney at California Sports Lawyer®, representing entertainment, media, and sports clients in contractual, intellectual property, and dealmaking matters. An award-winning attorney and industry leader, Evans is based in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California. He can be reached at Jeremy@CSLlegal.com. www.CSLlegal.com.