When I was 17 I made a music video for a local band, it was my first paid creative job. I assumed the band would help someone so new to the world of business and provide me with some promo. What in fact happened was that the band posted the video on their website and did not mention once who had made it. As you can imagine I was pretty upset and had a chat with the band to try to resolve the issue.
Kindly the lead singer suggest we form a contract, and helped me in putting something together. I learnt quickly how important contracts are, although sometimes I still forget, and then regret being so absent-minded.
We would like to think people won’t take advantage, but sometimes it is just a misunderstanding that can lead to issues. Therefore I highly recommend, even when dealing with friends and family, to have a contract in place where finances or even just recognition are an issue. The band as mentioned earlier, changed their website to give me recognition for the video I made and I agreed that I would not use the video for anything commercial without their permission first.
I personally feel we should always recognise people and attribute them where ever possible, which is why I love Creative Commons licences. For the benefit of others, here is a draft contract layout for people to use for their creative projects. Adjust as necessary.
Contract of agreement in relation to:
Between:
I , in representation of , agree to the following:
To pay the amount of £ upon completion of
To acknowledge , where ever the work is used and displayed.
That if the work is not delivered there will be no charge/compensation payable by any parties involved.
Signed
Date
I in representation of agree to the following:
To complete the work requested by the date of
That if the work is not completed by this deadline, I agree to deduct the amount of for each week of the delay.
If the work is not delivered there will be no charge/compensation payable by any parties involved.
To ask permission to use the work for commercial reasons.
Signed
Date
Signatures witnessed by:
Print Name
Signed
Date
You will need to add requirements as personally needed for the project, and make sure BOTH parties have a copy. Here are some extra notes.
- A witness is not really required for basic contracts, but I recommend it still. However a contract made with organisations and large authorities actually constitutes as a DEED and does always require a witness. For further explanation visit http://www.freshbusinessthinking.com/articles_print.php?CID=8&AID=1648
- A witness of a contract must not be a relative or someone legally involved in the project.
- There will be certain circumstances in which the creator and the person you are creating for cannot fill the requirements, for instance, you may get sick, they may get sick and they also may not be able to pay you! You need to add these details into the contract as to what the circumstances are if this was to happen.
- I also found this article useful http://helgahenry.com/why-written-agreements-are-preferable-to-oral
p.s I am no legal advisor but realise you do not have to be to create a basic contract, however when large sums of money are involved and with big companies, I recommend taking legal advice.
By Natasha Steer
