Covid-19

Subscribe to Covid-19

On October 21, 2021, Sarah Cronin was quoted in Best’s Review on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on insurers in the live entertainment market.

According to the article, over the past 19 months, insurers have been hit with some fairly large losses, particularly in event cancellation coverage. That’s forcing some policyholders to reevaluate where they will place those risks, with some looking to captives or self-insurance as an option, said Cronin. Since the start of the pandemic, carriers insuring live events have been busy altering policy language and adding communicable disease exclusions.Continue Reading Best’s Review Quotes Sarah Cronin on the Impact of COVID-19 on Event Insurance

Taxpayers who owe quarterly estimated taxes must make such payments by April 15,2021, notwithstanding the extended filing deadline this year. On March 17, 2021, the IRS announced a one-month extension of the tax filing deadline for individuals from April 15 to May 17 of this year. The rationale, per IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, was that…

On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the $2.3 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act). At over five thousand pages, the Act is an amalgamation of numerous legislative measures, including further stimulus measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, as well as an omnibus spending bill. Below is a discussion of some of the tax provisions in the Act that may impact the entertainment industry.
Continue Reading Impactful Tax Changes for the Entertainment Industry

The federal government’s latest spending bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (Act), included $284 billion of renewed funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and a newly established $15 billion grant program for “Shuttered Venue Operators” (described below). Congress also modified the PPP in numerous ways that should benefit businesses who receive PPP funding.

Under the Act, the allowable uses for PPP funds that will be forgiven was broadened to include, among other expenses, costs associated with protecting workers in compliance with federal health and safety guidelines and property damages caused during public disturbances in 2020 that were not covered by insurance. Additionally, the Act created a simplified loan forgiveness process for PPP loans under $150,000. Lastly, Congress clarified its original intent to allow taxpayers to deduct expenses paid with tax-free, forgiven PPP funds.Continue Reading New COVID-19 Relief Bill Reboots Paycheck Protection Program and Provides Grants to Hardest Hit Businesses in Entertainment

While the COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on commercial real property markets in much of the country, an ever-increasing demand for streaming content has caused existing studio space in Los Angeles and elsewhere to become even more valuable, and the demand for studio space continues to rise. In this Q & A, Venable partner Andrew Schmerzler discusses some of the long-term trends that have contributed to this increased demand, tech companies making a commitment to Los Angeles (leading to the rise of “Silicon Beach”), and how the pandemic is accelerating these trends.
Continue Reading The Rise in Demand for Studio Space in Los Angeles – Q & A with Andrew Schmerzler

As we pass eight months since COVID-19 was first declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, those in media, entertainment, and the arts continue to grapple with the virus’s impact on their business.  Companies in the broader media and entertainment industry have adjusted as best they can to life during the pandemic, offering everything from virtual concerts to new, quarantine-special shows.  Still, many in the industry have suffered dramatic losses and will continue to experience diminished profitability in the coming months.  Companies in the media and entertainment industries often carry a variety of insurance policies and may be looking to these to cover some of their recent losses.  Organizations in this position are wondering: Which policies offer the best chance of coverage?  How can we find economic relief?
Continue Reading How Insurance Policies Could Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19 for the Entertainment Industry

Among the countless casualties of COVID-19, many much-anticipated events had to be canceled. Instead, some of the world’s largest entertainment industry events are becoming virtual experiences.

Comic Con, which boasts over 135,000 annual attendees, announced that its in-person convention will be replaced in 2020 by a virtual experience. Lollapalooza, an annual music festival in Chicago, will also be virtual this summer. Even the venerable Cannes Film Festival has moved online.

These virtual formats pose new legal challenges, however, including cybersecurity threats, consumer privacy policies, and music licensing.
Continue Reading Virtual Events Raise Real World Legal Issues

One of the key elements in the White Paper from the Industry-wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force is the agreement among producers and unions to have an “autonomous” COVID-19 Compliance Officer for each production. The Compliance Officer will not be above-the-line talent, but will nonetheless play a starring role.

The White Paper defines the role of the Compliance Officer as an autonomous designee whose principal responsibilities will include overseeing and monitoring physical distancing, symptom monitoring and testing, disinfecting protocols, and PPE education, protocols, and adherence on set. Officers will be accessible at all times during work hours and will undergo specialized training on health and safety precautions, policies and procedures related to infection prevention, surface disinfection, and the use of PPE. Given the volume of federal, state, local, and now industry-specific pandemic safety laws and guidelines, coupled with the unique demands of Hollywood productions, the training is expected to be rigorous and time-consuming. 
Continue Reading As the Entertainment Industry Gets Back to Business, COVID-19 Compliance Officers to Have a Starring Role

On June 5, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released statewide guidance for music, film, and television production to restart.  This guidance is the latest development in the reopening of the entertainment industry in California as the state continues to advance through its roadmap for reopening, following the submission to Governor Newsom on June 3 of a white paper with recommendations on this topic from representatives of producers and the unions of the motion picture and television industries (White Paper).

In this new guidance, the CDPH recommends that music, TV, and film production resume no sooner than June 12 and abide by safety protocols agreed upon by labor and management, which may be further enhanced by county public health officers.  The CDPH also recommends that back-office staff and management adhere to the office workspace guidelines published by the CDPH and the California Department of Industrial Relations.Continue Reading California Allows Production to Resume June 12, Subject to County Rules

On June 1, the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force (Task Force), composed of representatives of producers and the unions of the motion picture and television industries, submitted to the governors of California and New York a white paper proposing guidelines for the resumption of motion picture, television, and streaming production (White Paper). The White Paper presents the consensus of the Task Force regarding the circumstances under which content production can safely resume, with an emphasis on regular testing, sanitation, physical distancing, and education and training. The White Paper also addresses unique production-specific concerns, such as preventing infections from equipment that is commonly shared and not feasibly disinfected (e.g., lighting / electrical cables and certain props, costumes, accessories, wigs, and other specialty items), and special guidelines for casts that include minors or animals.
Continue Reading Industry Task Force Proposes Guidelines to Restart Production in California and New York