What is Business Affairs and why should the creative economy care about it?
It started with Bob Dylan, now we're here.
What exactly is Business Affairs
Every time you write the first line of a script, sketch your first scene, or riff on your first melody, reload the glue gun to finish your latest lamp design, you’ve kicked off a business. That’s the heartbeat behind Business Affairs - the part of the creative world that speaks in contracts, rights, deals and strategy.
Who owns what, who gets paid what, what rights are (and are not) included, what happens if something changes, how your work moves - commercially and legally - through this wildly evolving world of systems, platforms and studios.
Traditionally, Business Affairs has been the behind‑the‑scenes engine powering entertainment industries, especially in music and film. It’s where legal frameworks meet commercial possibilities: negotiating contracts, defining copyright terms, structuring partnerships, and shaping how creative work is funded, marketed, licensed - and just as importantly, protected.
By mastering this language and process, the creative gets to keep steering their story. And that’s exactly what Freshly Ground Stories lives by our mantra: “Make your story, your business.”
Origins of Business Affairs: Woodstock, 1969 - Image courtesy of Txemai Argazk.
Fun fact: The formal role of “Business Affairs” departments in entertainment began within major record labels. Take CBS Records in the mid‑1960s - when Dick Asher (1932 – 2024) joined as Vice President of Business Affairs. One of his first tasks? Negotiating Bob Dylan's contract renewal after that fateful motorcycle crash in Woodstock.
Since then, every major label (Capitol, Columbia, Motown, Sony) has built internal teams to manage deal-making, licensing, copyright, royalties and legal compliance. These departments cover contract negotiation, financial oversight, IP protection, dispute resolution and more.
Double fun fact: In a classic storytelling mirror, Freshly Ground Stories’ origin story also began in music with Freshly Ground Sounds. What began as trying to figure out the structure and systems of musicians being allowed to perform and get paid for original music, created the need for a business affairs arm of Freshly, which today has evolved into Freshly Ground Stories.
Adapting Business Affairs for creatives
Outside of large established organisations, Business Affairs can often receive confusion or association with business development or something very corporate.
Here’s what we came up with:
Fractional expertise. Partnering with the right specialists at the right time: industry experts, negotiators, lawyers, financing experts - without needing full-time hires or expensive retainers.
Simplified vocabulary. You don’t need a law degree to understand a contract.
Strategic clarity. It's not just “what does it say?” but “what does it mean for your story?”
Creative-first mindset. Our focus isn’t just on terms, conditions and compliance; it’s on aligning deals with your vision.
Freshly’s approach empowers creatives to sit confidently in deal rooms, speak the language, and make decisions that reflect their artistic intent.
“If you learn the basic vocabulary that your industry uses in deal-making, it equips you with knowledge. That dynamic can be felt in the rooms you are in, empowering you with the agency over where your work goes and how it’s used.”
- Izzy Abidi
You can do whatever a streaming platform can do too
In the world of evolving models and streaming platforms, having an agile, creative-savvy business layer is more important than ever, whether you’re an individual or a business. Understanding business models is more than half the battle.
Often, what holds a good idea back isn’t quality - it’s equal access1 to the right resources, knowledge or connections.
What if we could inject a bit more equality back into the system - especially for those who originate ideas?
Whilst we can’t work miracles and get you on speed dial to Pedro Pascal (we’ll certainly try), these are the sort of things (our approach to) Business Affairs can give you across disciplines such as film, music, visual art, writing, events, branding and beyond:
How can Business Affairs actually help?
Navigating deal negotiations (licensing, distribution, partnerships)
Structuring pitches and creative proposals
Offering executive production insight
Designing smart budgets and funding models
Reviewing contracts (without needing a law degree)
Planning touring, events, and distribution strategy
Why does this even matter? Why now?
In 2025, the landscape has shifted. Labels collapse and are reborn, streaming platforms arise and reinvent audiences, and artists self-release more than ever. Today’s creative economy demands inspiration and business fluency.
We’re firmly in the era of be-your-own-boss and it’s not going anywhere.
Being your own boss doesn’t mean being alone. Enjoy the ride with some fun and useful passengers.
The world’s come a long way since Jerry Maguire. Agents, Business Affairs folks and lawyers aren’t walking memes anymore. Though, there’s always a few.(Image courtesy of Stefson)
So what does this have to do with you?
Maybe you're a screenwriter signing with a producer for the first time.
Maybe you're building a brand around your fashion line, community venue, production company, or festival.
Maybe someone finally wants to license that viral poem you wrote in 2020.
You’ve got vision - but suddenly you’re in a room full of legalese and deal memos and budgets, and IP clauses.
That’s where creative-friendly Business Affairs comes in.
Not the old-school, gatekeeper-y kind. The kind that sits next to you and says: “Let’s translate this into language you actually speak.”
A Fresh(ly) approach
At Freshly Ground Stories, we’ve spent years figuring out how to make Business Affairs work with the creative process - not against it. Less about selling you a service. More about building a toolkit that helps you stay the author of your own story - even when the business stuff walks into the picture. We’re into things like:
Demystifying the “big scary deal memo”
Making sure you know what you’re signing
Thinking through long-term creative rights (before someone else does it for you)
Helping you pitch your project with a clear business backbone - giving it a better chance at funding and screen time.
It’s not about becoming a lawyer or deal-maker. It’s about becoming literate in the business side of your own work.
Freshly Ground Stories cultivates that fluency - whether you’re in film, music, art, fashion, content creation or events.
We’re in this space, we don’t find it messy and we can help translate your creative ideas into a sustainable, scalable business model. We don’t just talk about deals - we help you build them around your voice.
Can’t AI do all this for me?
AI could probably save some time (and money) on some of the basics, sure. Until major artists and studios start ditching their agents, lawyers and business affairs executives for bots, we’re not worried.
AI gets us excited. We love geeking out on a whole new medium of business terms to navigate. There’s a human element, a dance to deal-making that we’re far away from ditching for now.
History shows: Business Affairs is here to stay.
The origin of Business Affairs: timeline recap
Mid-1960s: Dick Asher joins CBS Records as VP of Business Affairs. His work doing Dylan’s contract renewal begins institutionalising the role.
1970s–Ongoing: Labels across the US and globally adopt internal legal/commercial affairs departments (Sony, Motown, Capitol, etc.).
Today: Strategies in streaming, IP, licensing, and brand alignment depend on adaptable, creative-first Business Affairs.
Our cultural fluency means we couldn’t leave without a shot of The Last of Us (TLOS) featuring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. If this epic storytelling isn’t on your mind this week, what is? For a deep dive into how Business Affairs helped get this story adapted into a series, listen to HBO’s HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast. (Image courtesy of Sky)
TL;DR: Final word
Business Affairs isn’t just backstage legal work - it’s the skeleton on which your creative body stands. It’s the code that turns ideas into viable, scalable stories.
And Freshly's approach? It’s Business Affairs tailored to your brilliance - so you own your voice and your business.
If you’ve ever been asked:
“Can we option this?”
“Do you have a contract for that?”
“Who owns the rights?”
“What’s your rate for licensing?” and you’ve frozen like a woodland creature in headlights. Welcome to Business Affairs.
It’s not scary, we promise. You just need someone to walk you through it in your language.
We're trying to be that someone.
WTF is an option clause (and other useful stuff)
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