Law in Entertainment: Writing the Script for “The Industry”

For decades, the entertainment industry has shaped popular culture through storytelling in film, music, and television. But behind the scenes, legal rules structure who creates, who profits, and who controls the story. Yet many of these rules were built for an industry that no longer exists. Studios have given way to platforms. Independent creators now compete with global corporations. Market concentration, consolidation, and exclusive distribution deals increasingly shape not only competition, but whose voices reach audiences at all.

For our Spring 2026 issue, the Trojan Review asks how law should anticipate and respond to a rapidly changing entertainment industry. A strong note might analyze disputes in film, music, television, gaming, or digital media, or examine how legal frameworks shape creative labor and production. Whatever the focus, this issue treats entertainment law not as background scenery, but as an active force shaping modern culture.