Hollywood's Creator Deals Put IP Ownership at Risk, Execs Warn

Hollywood's rush to sign creators is increasingly putting their intellectual property at risk, according to agency executives, creators and a creator economy lawyer who spoke with Digiday after Advertising Week New York.

The core question aired across several panels at the Manhattan event: do these partnerships help creators build IP they control, or do they mainly hand studios, streamers and brands access to their audiences? The financing structures, distribution terms and IP ownership clauses buried in creator-led deals determine the answer.

Digiday interviewed three agency and media executives, two creators and one creator economy lawyer about how these deals are financed, who owns the resulting IP, and what makes partnerships work for both sides. Their verdict was mixed at best.

What is the warning for creators?

The experts flagged a familiar pattern: Hollywood's attempt to replicate breakout creator-led hits could backfire. The specific concern is a spate of poor-quality, under-developed creator-led projects arriving over the next few years, as studios chase the success of titles like Obsession and Backrooms without committing to proper development.

That risk compounds the IP problem. A rushed project with weak terms can cost a creator both the asset and the audience goodwill behind it.

How did we get here?

Akshay Mehta, CEO of the Whalar Group's creator-led Lighthouse Studios, has seen the dynamic before. He worked with Awesomeness Films almost a decade ago, when production companies and studios first experimented with the creator economy.

"At the time, studios were solely focused on renting or buying creators' existing audiences for a movie, rather than building a long-term media brand with them," Mehta said.

A decade later, creator-led content is being pitched across the entire entertainment spectrum — from television to micro dramas and even theater. Whether the deal terms have matured as fast as the format's spread remains the open question the Advertising Week panels could not fully settle.

What should practitioners watch?

For creators weighing studio, streamer or brand partnerships, the reported concerns suggest three pressure points:

• IP ownership language in the deal, not just upfront fees
• Whether the partner intends to build a long-term media brand or simply rent an audience
• Development commitment, given the predicted wave of under-developed projects

The executives, creators and lawyer interviewed by Digiday agreed on what makes partnerships durable for both brands and creators — but the reported risk remains that the next few years will fill with deals that serve the studio's library rather than the creator's.