The honest read: these aren't mutually exclusive. DIY is how everyone starts — it fails silently, which is its real cost: you don't know what your content earned others until years later. A good media lawyer is irreplaceable in court, but a retainer is reactive by design; law firms prosecute infringements, they don't watch for them. Infrastructure handles the everyday layer — registration, consent, pricing, detection, takedowns — and produces exactly the evidence bundle your lawyer needs on the day litigation becomes necessary.
The strongest setup for established talent is infrastructure + counsel: Zimorta for the record, the rates and the radar; your lawyer for the courtroom. For emerging creators who can't justify a retainer, infrastructure alone covers the 95% of situations that never need a courtroom. Start with the personality-rights guide, price a real deal with the rate calculator, and register your first right free.