Traditionally, key stakeholders in the entertainment industry included talents, artists, talent agencies, advertising agencies, and sponsors. However, with the rise of social media platforms such as SNS and YouTube, and stricter regulations imposed by the Fair Trade Commission on talent agencies, these relationships have become more complex. Our firm provides legal services that carefully consider the positions and interests of each stakeholder.

Entertainment Agency

With the rise of social media and YouTube, talents and artists can now independently communicate with their audiences, shifting the power balance between talent agencies and performers. As a result, talent agencies can no longer maintain a clear advantage. Additionally, the Japan Fair Trade Commission has indicated that certain business practices and contractual structures in the entertainment industry may constitute an abuse of superior bargaining position under the Antimonopoly Act, potentially rendering some contractual relationships invalid. This has made it difficult for talent agencies to maintain traditional relationships with talents and artists. Furthermore, with increasing compliance awareness, sponsors and advertising agencies are closely scrutinizing both the misconduct of talents and how talent agencies handle such incidents.
Our firm serves as legal counsel to multiple talent agencies, providing legal advice tailored to these evolving relationships. We also have experience in crisis management, including media strategies for handling scandals involving talents, such as arrests or social media controversies.

Advertising Agencies

In recent years, there has been a shift toward new advertising methods, such as producer-driven advertisements using SNS. As compliance awareness grows, sponsors have taken a stricter stance on talent misconduct, placing advertising agencies in a challenging position as intermediaries between sponsors and talent agencies.
Our firm handles not only traditional image model contracts but also a large number of producer-driven SNS-based contract drafting and review cases.
We also have extensive experience representing advertising agencies in negotiations with talent agencies and sponsor companies when dealing with talent scandals.

Talents & Artists

With the rise of SNS and YouTube, many talents and artists are choosing to work independently, either by leaving their agencies or never affiliating with one from the start.
Talent agencies typically provide three key services to talents/artists: (1) business and marketing activities, (2) contract management, and (3) crisis response. The emergence of SNS and YouTube has made it easier for talents and artists to handle (1) business and marketing activities on their own. However, (2) contract management and (3) crisis response still require professional expertise.
Our firm serves as legal counsel for many independent talents, artists, and well-known YouTubers, providing legal support for entertainment activities, such as (2) contract execution and (3) crisis response, so that they can focus on their primary work