This is not legal advice
We are a creator management company, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. For anything with real money attached, have a lawyer look at it. What this list does is tell you where to look, so the conversation with a lawyer is short and cheap.
The ten lines
1. Grant of rights. Read the media, territory and term together. The phrase to slow down on is perpetual, worldwide, in all media. Ask for a term.
2. Exclusivity. How broad is the category and how long does it last? Beverage is a much bigger giveaway than sparkling water. Narrow it and shorten it.
3. Ownership of the content. Licensing content and assigning copyright are different. Assignment means it is not yours anymore. Default to a licence unless they are paying like they are buying it outright.
4. Approvals and revisions. Cap the rounds. Two is normal. Uncapped revisions turn a one-day job into a three-week job at the same price.
5. Payment terms. Net 30 is reasonable, net 90 is not. Ask about a deposit for anything with real production cost, and check whether the clock starts on delivery or on the brand getting around to approving it.
6. Kill fee. If the campaign is cancelled after you have concepted or shot, what do you get? Silence here means nothing.
7. Deliverables, spelled out. Formats, counts, aspect ratios, posting dates, story frames. Vagueness always gets resolved in the brand’s favour later.
8. FTC disclosure. The contract should require it, not discourage it. If a brand asks you to hide the partnership, that is your answer about the brand.
9. Morality and termination. These are normal, but they should be mutual and specific. A clause letting them terminate for any reason at any time with no fee is not a contract, it is a hope.
10. Indemnification. You should be responsible for your own content, not for the brand’s product claims. If their product hurts someone, that is not your liability.
Red flags worth walking away from
- Perpetual, all-media usage bundled into a one-post fee.
- Exclusivity across an entire industry for a year.
- Full copyright assignment of your back catalogue, not just the campaign content.
- Payment contingent on performance metrics you do not control.
- A same-day signing deadline. Urgency is a negotiating tactic, not a fact.
I am happy to move forward, I just need a couple of days with the agreement first. Nearly every legitimate brand says yes. The ones that do not have told you something.
Get a second set of eyes
If you are signing more than a couple of these a year, having someone review them as a matter of routine pays for itself. That is part of what we do for the creators we manage. See what is included, or apply and we will look at your current terms on the call.
Stop signing contracts you have not read.
We paper the deal and flag the clauses that matter. Apply in about five minutes.