How FilmTrack® Helps Studios Easily Manage Entertainment Rights

Situational Overview

Rights management, tracking and calculations can be complex

A mid-sized entertainment studio client was looking for a secure, cloud-based rights management system to keep up with today’s complex and rapidly changing digital marketplace. The client knew it needed a better alternative for managing entertainment contracts, financials and availabilities associated with their content.

Their legacy process required team members to constantly update spreadsheets manually, which was time-consuming and prone to human error. The company was also aware that emailing documents back and forth left them open to security risks and the potential of team members having outdated information. And without the most current data, their teams were left unaware of all the possible revenue opportunities.

Client Goals

More control and visibility over entertainment rights

When payments are made via paper check and sent via the mail, processing them takes hours, and there is always the chance of a payment getting lost. With the explosion of streaming content and platforms, the focus of many studios is to fully leverage their libraries of film and TV content. They need to ensure optimal monetization of their intellectual property as outlined in the contracts. This means having up-to-date and detailed knowledge of every pocket of availability. Therefore, the client entrusted City National's FilmTrack for a best-in-class solution to ensure they are maximizing potential content monetization and that all payments are recognized and paid appropriately in accordance with contractual obligations.

“City National is all about providing our clients with innovative, efficient and secure solutions.”

Film Track's Approach

A modern end-to-end solution for rights management

Rights management can be overwhelming in today’s entertainment landscape — but it doesn’t have to be.

That’s why FilmTrack is on a mission to help clients take more control of their data and insights. The cloud-based system provides access to the information they need — any time, anywhere. This means sales teams know exactly what content they can sell. Finance departments see where the money’s coming from and when. Management can use reporting and intelligence to help optimize business opportunities and stay ahead of the competition. And studios, like our mid-sized entertainment studio client, are no longer leaving money on the table.

For instance, if a studio produces a film and wants to sell the global rights to show it in a variety of ways — perhaps in theaters in several countries and languages, to certain airlines for international flights, and on a streaming platform for a set period — all that information needs to be tracked.

FilmTrack provides the solution to manage all those contracts, enabling full visibility into what the studio can or can’t sell. At the same time, it tracks the financials associated with the deals, which helps ensure the studios are properly paid and can fulfill payments to those associated with the film or show.

A secure system that grows and moves with you

FilmTrack integrates smoothly and seamlessly into your current financial and scheduling systems, CRMs, aggregators or any other systems that are essential to your workflow. Because FilmTrack is entirely cloud-based, it can scale and adapt quickly to the ever-changing needs of your business and the entertainment landscape.

Best of all, FilmTrack uses one of the highest levels of security — meaning we’re taking every measure possible to protect your data.

“Our roots are in the entertainment industry. That means we speak the language and have a deep understanding of our clients’ needs — and where exactly we can help.”

Everything the entertainment industry needs in one place

FilmTrack gives networks, studios and new media companies the data and insights they need, including:

• Contract Tracking — Access real-time status, reporting regions and timelines for all in-process contracts.
• Availabilities Management — With up-to-date contracts and availabilities data, networks, studios and new media companies can maximize content usage and ensure accurate payments.
• Detailed Financials — The most robust financial tools in the industry can handle even the most complex, multi-dimensional calculations on rights and finances, easing the burden on the content owners and distributors.
• Industry Expertise — FilmTrack takes a consultative approach with entertainment clients, providing a curated collection of detailed and professional reports to help you see business opportunities.

Conclusion 

Rights management made easy

The days of manual data aggregation and legacy tracking systems are gone. Today’s entertainment businesses need one centralized, fully scalable solution where all rights management data is stored, securely housed and readily accessible.

With FilmTrack’s technology, industry expertise and bank-level security, we can help entertainment companies avoid manual processes and human error, maximize content availabilities and alleviate potential security gaps.