FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, CA (December 5, 2017) – At a time when digital media is breaking barriers and the legal and business landscape is consistently and rapidly changing, Andy Marcus, seasoned business/legal advisor to numerous successful and growing companies, announces the launch of Andrew Marcus & Associates (see http://andrewmarcusassociates.com). Marcus’ new endeavor will provide best-in-class bespoke advisory and consulting services to digital companies that operate at the intersection of social/digital media talent, branded content creation and technology-driven advertising and distribution.

Marcus and his team of experts have a deep understanding of the evolution and growth of the industry and the ability to act as an embedded collaborator in digital businesses, providing insights to help leverage better business and legal terms for clients as they navigate new and existing partnerships. Marcus goes beyond negotiating standard legal terms and conditions, operating as a de-facto in-house counsel and operations advisor on clients’ behalf.

Marcus has served at senior levels of some of digital media and Hollywood’s most prominent and leading businesses, including as General Counsel of theAudience and as Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs at MySpace and Fox Interactive Media. Marcus has also worked with leading branded content agencies like Dentsu’s The Story Lab, shepherding deals for branded video content with brands like GM, Microsoft, Pernod Ricard and Starbucks.

“I understand that start-ups and growing companies need to be nimble. And so I specialize in evaluating your business landscape and strategy and creating custom processes, agreements, forms and templates that are designed to function seamlessly to onboard new partners and to train your team in a manner that allows rapid scale,” said Marcus, President of Andrew Marcus & Associates. “Our fluid nature allows us to move rapidly and integrate quickly to handle over-flow work for a client's existing in-house team or to manage outside counsel costs. Outside counsel can't provide this level of service simply because it’s "outside.”

Andrew Marcus & Associates will provide a range of business and legal advisory services for clients ranging from start-ups to well-established leaders in the following areas:

• Social Media Influencer Agencies
• VR/AR Content Studios
• Talent Development/Management Agencies
• Digital/Branded Content Studios
• Digital Advertising/Media Agencies and Publishers
• Content/Social App Development and Platform Start-Ups
• Documentary features

Seasoned executives commented quite favorably on Marcus’ legal acumen and effective counsel:

“Andy and I have worked together for over 10 years. He is an absolute professional and it's an honor to work with him. He is a leading expert in digital businesses, copyright law, FTC compliance, and talent law. His combination of humanism, business logic, and legal talent have made him a fundamental part of several companies I have lead and his loyalty has been unchanging. I can't recommend him or his talents highly enough.”
Oliver Luckett, CEO Revilo Park, theAudience, Digisynd and Revver

“I have worked with Andy for over 10 years in both corporate and startup environments. On top of being an excellent attorney, because of his breadth and depth of experience, he is an invaluable advisor. His talent goes far beyond legal work to operational and strategic expertise, and I have always counted on Andy for honest, straightforward advice across our business decisions. Plus, he is amazingly easy to work with!”
Radhika Delfosse, COO HelloGiggles.com and Myspace

“Andy has been the most strategic legal partner I've had the pleasure of working with over the course of nearly twenty years in technology and media. He brings an infectiously positive attitude to the table and works closely with business teams to drive "yes" results in an ever-evolving landscape.”
Tim Sovay, COO CreatorIQ and theAudience

"I met Andy in 2008 while he was in-house counsel at MySpace and I was across the table negotiating as a producer. I was impressed by his understanding of both traditional and digital media deals and the integrity he demonstrated in creating partnerships. Ever since then, Andy has continued to stay one step ahead of the market so he’s been the obvious choice on all of my projects while at The Story Lab, Relativity, and now doing documentary features. I’ve come to regard him as a partner in creating innovative deal structures with challenging partners. He is the opposite of everything one finds frustrating when "bringing in the lawyers" - Andy is responsive, honest, knowledgeable and puts everyone at ease.”
Lisa Eisenpresser, Producer/Exec Producer, Branded Content MySpace, The Story Lab, Relativity

Marcus launches his new firm with a few cutting-edge clients such as Girlgaze.tv, Madison + Vine, CreatorIQ, 117 Live Events, Choura Events and New York Grit.

In addition to Marcus, the firm will be supported by Neil Klasky, an experienced business affairs executive with a diverse background across all platforms representing studios, networks, agencies and talent, and by Deanna Newell, a long-time colleague of Marcus’ with industry-leading expertise across contests, sweeps, promotions in digital and social media and all manner of day-to-day production legal in content publishing.

ABOUT ANDREW MARCUS:
Andy most recently served as the General Counsel and Head of Business Affairs for theAudience, a next generation social media agency and content studio creating and publishing content for brands and studios through a network of over 40,000 social media influencers. Andy advises start-up companies in branded content, digital distribution and the social media influencer space on strategic partnerships and business development, talent deals, brand and studio collaborations, risk analysis and management, insurance, IP matters, and oversees day-to-day business and legal affairs and operations. Andy also developed an industry leading system of compliance, monitoring and enforcement of branded social media influencer marketing based on learnings from the FTC Endorsement Guides and the most recent FTC enforcement actions. He conducts trainings and is invited to speak to lawyers, influencers and agencies on best practices and effective compliance in social media content publishing.

He is the proud father of a 12-year-old daughter named Charley, and probably drives too fast in his 1969 Mustang Mach 1 on the weekends.

ABOUT ANDREW MARCUS & ASSOCIATES:
With more than 25 years of experience in traditional and digital media, we advise start-ups, emerging and established companies on business/legal affairs, production legal and operations matters in a market that is consistently and rapidly changing. A deep understanding of the evolution and growth of the industry and the ability to act as an embedded collaborator in your business, we are able to provide insights to help you leverage better business and legal terms for your company as it navigates new and existing partnerships. We go beyond negotiating standard legal terms and conditions because we operate as a de-facto in-house counsel and operations advisor on your behalf.

For more information on Andrew Marcus & Associates, please contact Andy Marcus info@andrewmarcusassociates.com or at 213-716-9797