The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse cross-section of published articles, compelling news and stories, and original content curated and/or created by Arnall Golden Gregory LLP’s Entertainment & Sports industry team.
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton
AGG News
TikTok on the Clock: What Brands Should Consider Pending a Potential TikTok Ban
A potential ban of the popular social media app, TikTok, has been in the news for years, but recent events suggest that it may become reality for Americans in the coming weeks. On December 6, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the TikTok divest-or-ban law as constitutional, finding it does not violate the First Amendment. The law requires the Chinese-based parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, to divest from TikTok or face a ban on U.S. networks and app stores. The Court of Appeals acknowledged that the law implicates the First Amendment but held that the law “is part of a broader effort to counter a well-substantiated national security threat posed by the PRC.” If the law is not overturned, TikTok and ByteDance have claimed that the service will shut down in the U.S. by January 19, 2025.
(Source: Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, December 10, 2024)
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Industry News
Juan Soto, Mets Agree to Record $765 Million, 15-Year Deal
Coveted free agent Juan Soto has signed a record $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets, according to multiple reports. It’s the largest contract given out in professional sports history. Soto’s deal surpasses the total set by two-way star Shohei Ohtani last offseason, when he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers with $680 million of it deferred. Ohtani, a pitcher and DH who won his third MVP in 2024 despite only hitting as he recovered from offseason elbow surgery, retains the record for highest average annual value at $70 million per year.
(Source: Sportico, December 9, 2024)
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Hockey Music Rights Suit Should Be Silenced, AHL Says
A federal lawsuit accusing the American Hockey League and nine AHL teams of music theft is entirely off key, the AHL insists in a newly filed court document. The AHL on December 6 answered a complaint brought in September by Associated Production Music (APM), a production music company with a catalog that includes the famed theme songs for Monday Night Football and The People’s Court and more than 650,000 other tracks. APM accuses the AHL and teams of using licensed songs without APM’s permission or paying for a license. The complaint cites more than 230 videos on team-affiliated Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms that allegedly use copyrighted songs.
(Source: Sportico, December 9, 2024)
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Museums Without Vitrines: The Scottish Research Team Transforming the Way We View Art
In real life, the Lewis chess pieces are only a few inches high, and you can look but never touch them. In extended reality (XR), however, two pieces can now be seen at larger than human size and then, with a few taps of a joystick, shrunk down and twirled around your hand. Found in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, these ornate Medieval carvings in walrus tusk ivory are a highlight of the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. The warder biting down on his shield and the queen sitting on her throne are among the impressively high-fidelity, 3D digital models of museum objects that have been created for Museums in the Metaverse, an XR platform being developed by University of Glasgow researchers. Supported with £5.6m of “levelling up” funding from the UK government’s innovation agency, the platform will enable users to both view and curate hundreds of artefacts from participating collections.
(Source: The Art Newspaper, December 6, 2024)
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The NFL’s Biggest Superfans Won’t Work Another Day in Their Life
Jamie Pagliei says he might be the most photographed man in Philadelphia, if not the country, though few know his name. This Sunday, Pagliei will layer on silver and green face paint and arrive at Lincoln Financial Field as The Philly Sports Guy, where he will pose for up to 5,000 pictures with fans, by his estimate. Recognizing just how often his mug is captured and posted on social media, Pagliei has added three custom sponsor patches to his jersey this year—real estate for which he said he charges roughly $2,000 a month. Those deals are just one way Pagliei is turning his persona into a full-time gig. He’s nearing 400,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, participating in promotional deals with smaller sports properties, working with the same agent who represents multiple local athletes, and looking into getting his face trademarked so others can’t use it in their own advertising. And he’s not alone.
(Source: Sportico, December 5, 2024)
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‘Stereophonic’ Settles Lawsuit With Fleetwood Mac Producer
Producers of the Broadway play Stereophonic have settled a lawsuit brought by former Fleetwood Mac sound engineer and producer Ken Caillat. In the initial suit, filed in the Southern District Court of New York in October, Caillat and his co-author Steven Stiefel alleged that the script of Stereophonic took copyrighted material from their 2012 book Making Rumours to create the play, which won the 2024 Tony Award for best play. The parties have resolved the dispute “in principle” and said in a court filing earlier this week that two parties were working to finalize the settlement and get it in writing. The exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
(Source: The Hollywood Reporter, December 4, 2024)
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Ohtani in Court to Reclaim Baseball Cards From Mizuhara
Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani saw nearly $17 million stolen by interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who impersonated Ohtani when communicating with bank employees, used Ohtani’s password without authorization and altered security and notification protocols as part of a multiyear scheme fueled by Mizuhara’s need to pay off massive gambling debts. Odds are, Ohtani will never get his stolen money back. But at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Santa Ana, Calif., on Dec. 20—if not earlier—Ohtani’s legal team could convince a federal judge to award him a box containing collectible sports cards, cards found in two Panopply cases, plastic card protectors and other card-related items. Mizuhara surrendered these items to law enforcement as part of his guilty plea to bank fraud and tax fraud charges earlier this year.
(Source: Sportico, December 3, 2024)
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Gersh Buys Sports Agency to Fuel Expansion Plans
After scouring the market for potential deal opportunities, Gersh is ready to take a big swing. The Beverly Hills-based firm said Tuesday it is acquiring Madrid-based sports and entertainment agency You First in a major foray to establish a foothold in the lucrative pro athlete space. As part of the deal to buy the Juan Aísa-led representation and consulting firm, Gersh will double its employee headcount to around 600 staffers as it bolts on an agency that already operates in 13 countries and touts a client roster of around 1,000. The newly titled division, Gersh Sports, will be led by Steve Gersh, the grandson of the agency’s founder, Phil Gersh, while Aísa will join the board.
(Source: The Hollywood Reporter, December 3, 2024)
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Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.
—
Vincent van Gogh
