Six Barnes & Thornburg Attorneys Included in Variety’s 2023 Dealmakers Impact Report

Six attorneys in Barnes & Thornburg’s Entertainment, Media and Sports practice have been named to Variety’s Dealmakers Impact Report 2023. The publication’s annual report highlights what it calls the toughest negotiators that proved themselves over the past year.

The publication recognized Jason M. Karlov, Carolyn Hunt, Bryan Thompson and Brian Schall, all of the Los Angeles office, and Stephen Weizenecker and Sarah Odion Esene of the firm’s Atlanta office. They were noted for negotiating high-profile deals across diverse entertainment areas, representing award-winning music artists and their business and personal legal matters; film financing and distribution deals and production incentives for film, television and video game industries; business-altering talent deals; corporate partnership deals; and music and live events.

Karlov, chair of the firm’s Entertainment, Media and Sports Practice Group, said to the publication about social media micro-licensing, “The music business [has] the opportunity to figure it out and create the model … and whoever figures out that model – including if they can figure it out on a national or international basis, such that all owners and licensors can partake – they’ll make fortunes.”

The publication highlighted Karlov for his work in accomplishing a long-time goal of musician John Fogerty to repurchase the rights to the Creedence Clearwater Revival catalog.

Thompson was acknowledged for representing Peyton Manning and Omaha Productions in agreements for sports, music and television projects, including the NFL Pro Bowl, the Country Music Awards and an unscripted Netflix series.

Hunt was included for her focus on media finance and entertainment transactional matters, including capital raisings, slate financing, credit lines, foreign incentive benefits, and co-productions. Schall was recognized for his representation of songwriters, electronic artists, social content creators and entertainment entrepreneurs in connection with handling their entrainment work.

Weizenecker and Esene were noted for their efforts lobbying Georgia lawmakers on production incentives, helping propel Georgia to third in the nation for film and TV production. Weizenecker was also lauded for counseling clients like Paramount Global, Tyler Perry Studios and MGM on those credits, and luring U.K.-based Pinewood Studios to the state. The publication noted: “Weizenecker calls Esene a ‘rock star’ corporate attorney” for the vital perspective she brings to the practice.

Variety is a trusted source of entertainment business news, recognized and respected throughout the world.

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