Influencer marketing alone is projected to grow into a $15 billion industry next year. And digital creators are branching out into other revenue streams to make money.
Internet stars like Emma Chamberlain and Charli D'Amelio are launching direct-to-consumer product lines. Other creators are licensing their name and image to toy makers or negotiating deals with Netflix.
As digital creators eat up more attention in entertainment, law firms that once focused on representing TV and movie stars are now chasing after YouTubers and TikTokers.
"These clients are so multi-hyphenate, they're involved in so many different things," said Ryan Pastorek, an attorney at the law firm Hansen Jacobson, which represents Chamberlain and other top YouTube creators like Lilly Singh and Rhett & Link. "Each talent for the most part in this particular world is its own brand. And so from a brand perspective, you're building that out on a lot of different fronts, and all of these folks are marketing wizards."
Working with internet stars poses challenges.
Like traditional-media talent, social-media influencers rely on their lawyers and managers to avoid getting wrapped up in overly restrictive contracts. One area of negotiation is a "morals clause," which allows a brand or other business partner to walk away from a deal if an influencer's reputation is tarnished. Some image-conscious influencers demand a similar right if the brand they're working with gets bad press, according to Allison Fitzpatrick, a lawyer at Davis+Gilbert who works on influencer deals.
The Federal Trade Commission requires advertising and sponsored content to be disclosed, and lawyers help their influencer clients avoid breaking the rules. They also ensure that their creator clients don't give up the rights to photos, songs, videos, podcasts, fashion designs and other intellectual property that they create — or at least help ensure that clients know what they're getting into.
Marketing to children, which many influencers do, also has unique legal risks. For example, the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act puts limits on collecting information from children under 13.
To better understand how influencers are transforming entertainment law, Insider compiled a list of the leading law firms that represent digital creators across YouTube, Instagram, and other social-media platforms. We gathered nominations from readers and spoke to professionals in the influencer and legal industries, considering factors like a firm's clients, their deal list, and their reputation among talent managers and agents.
The top 13 law firms are listed in alphabetical order:
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