Good source for standard contracts?

SixStringGeek · Post by **SixStringGeek** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:32 am

Specifically I'm looking for producer/artist contracts (in that I want to produce/record another artist), but also standard contracts for session players. Is there a library of standard agreements for all the various relationships?

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:57 pm

INDUSTRY MYTH #29

In the unionized world there are standard contracts that you can get from the union in question. If you are not going thru a union (AFM, SAG, AGMA, AFTRA, etc) there is no such thing as a standard contract. It is a myth and often an excuse to tell someone "you're not getting paid a lot and I get to keep all your rights." THAT is the "standard contract."

I do all my own agreements unless the client has a lawyer, in which case I make them earn their fee. Otherwise, I write all my own agreements and that becomes my standard agreement for that client until we decide to change it. Most large, money making entities (DIsney, WB, other legit media conglomerates) do have their standard agreements (AKA boilerplates) and these may be immutable depending on who you are and how badly they want what you are bringing to the table.

You will probably find some agreements that claim to be standard, but they often cover things that don't apply to your situation. In the worst case, they will actually work against one party or another (usually in favor of the producer). Not to point a finger, but IMO only fools buy and accept and sign these "standard agreements."

My suggestion, if you don't feel you can write a good agreement, is to hire a lawyer to craft the agreement. If there is money to be made, this will save you a lot of headaches down the road. A knowledgeable friend might help you formulate an agreement based on your specific criteria. I'd really stay away from any non-union agreement that claims to be industry 'standard.' There simply ain't such a beast.

Alternately, if you or your artist belong to ASCAP or BMI you might get some guidance from them in terms of working with an artist. When I belonged to the Writer's Guild they used to provide "standard" agreements for some situations. Some realistic, others - not so much.

SixStringGeek · Post by **SixStringGeek** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 3:30 pm

Yeah, I get that everything is different.

I have a condo I rent out. I had no trouble finding a bunch of sample leases from different sources and using bits and pieces out of each one to craft a sensible lease for my needs. It is finding the samples for the entertainment business I'm having trouble with.

I definitely don't know enough about the ins and outs of the business to craft a good agreement although I did find this: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul08/a ... ements.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; which is kind of a push in the right direction.

cowtothesky · Post by **cowtothesky** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:44 am

I have been recently doing whatever I can to learn about composing contracts. I had a friend who is a lawyer look at a contract for a film, but it has been almost 2 weeks and I hadn't heard back from him. So, I had to make a decision and signed the contract for a film.

My question involves using a licensing agreement vs a 'work for hire' agreement. I hate the idea of signing over my copyrights to a film company, but I have read in several places on the internet that this is standard practice. I would much rather use a licensing agreement where I retain the copyrights of my music, but grant them full licensing for any and all exploitation of the music for the film. In turn, I would also agree to not use this music for any other projects.

I am definitely going to shell out the money for a lawyer next time I work on a contract, but what do you guys think about the licensing vs work for hire contracts? What do you do?

Thanks!

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:53 am

There is no 'standard' contract. They are BS'ing you. Even if they use a 'standard' boilerplate that does mean it can't be altered. Nothing is written in stone!

bayswater · Post by **bayswater** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:28 am

Maybe the word should be "sample" rather than "standard". Surely, what SSG needs is a set of sample contract clauses that can be edited to his particular needs. E.g. http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/table.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
That said, coming up with clauses is one thing, knowing what clauses you need is another. Getting your money, defining services rendered and retaining your rights are obvious, but you also need to think about other things like limiting your liability, and having a lawyer at least review a contract is a good thing.

SixStringGeek · Post by **SixStringGeek** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:46 pm

Yep, that's what I mean. I've had rental properties and generally cobbled together leases out of collections of sample leases for the particular property. So sample contracts are very nice to have.

cowtothesky · Post by **cowtothesky** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 4:18 pm

This website sells "sample" contracts that can be edited. They cost $39.95. But, I'm not sure how good they are as I've never used them.

http://www.musiccontracts.com/

Phil O · Post by **Phil O** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:13 am

My approach has been to simply put in writing what is expected from each party. I use simple English and try to be as thorough as possible. I think using a lawyer is the best bet if it's a really big project, as they're better at spotting loop-holes, but so far my method has served me well.

Regarding standards, I totally agree with MLC. There are no standards. Even the "standard" union contracts can be adjusted, if necessary. I've also done stuff on a handshake, but these days I don't recommend it.

Phil

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:23 am

TRADE SECRETS SPOILER ALERT

We seem to have the exact same philosophy in the matter of "agreements." Simple english describing intent. In the case of many filmmakers I've come across, I cannot start to tell you how many would have to put in the phrase: I get everything; you get nothing except the right to work for me for free and let me have your music forever. Some will deviate a little and offer a token payment, "points" on the film or 'back end' credits.

The real skill is in evaluating the potential collaborator and potential for their project to bring in either money or major attention to your work. Ideally, you want both but that takes a bit of luck as well.

And yes, a lawyer on big agreements ALWAYS! Spending $500 on a lawyer for a $5000 project is only 10%. Cheap insurance. If you are dealing with an established person or entity and the stakes are high and involve any transfer of rights or ownership, you MUST have a lawyer look at it. If, OTOH, you are writing for someone who is doing a vanity piece and has little to no experience, even with the stakes in the mid-five figures, you could probably write the agreement yourself and pretty much get everything you want if they are not using a lawyer.

The key ingredient, IMO, is that you remember you are licensing, not selling your work. If you want to buy my work outright or have me ghost write I'm fine with that. The bidding starts in the mid-6 figures. Call my lawyer.

But Joe Blow (good name for a porno flick, btw) who wants to use your music on a commercial, or in a film, or whatever... gets a limited, non-exclusive license that expires after a set period of time. You want an exclusive license? It'll cost you. You want a longer period of time? It'll cost you. You want to broadcast the work (even over the internet) - call my lawyer. Generally, the answer is no unless there is a method to collect money per use (such as BMI or ASCAP) or there is substantial exposure in a positive light (with screen credits, etc.)

One final note: If you have no specific license in writing, at best, your collaborator might claim a 1 year oral agreement. Beyond that, everything reverts back to you. But again, let the cheapos beware. If you don't bother to protect your work properly and legally with the LOC and the other guy does, he then has prima facie evidence that he is the owner of the work, not you. The onus (and expense) is then on you to prove otherwise. Now it's time for you to call your lawyer and institute an infringement claim. Good luck with that! Hope you have an extra $30-50k around to bring the action to completion.

The ONLY standard contract IMO is a completed copyright form that has been deposited with the LOC. Beyond that, everything else is negotiable.

Phil O wrote:My approach has been to simply put in writing what is expected from each party. I use simple English and try to be as thorough as possible. I think using a lawyer is the best bet if it's a really big project, as they're better at spotting loop-holes, but so far my method has served me well.

Regarding standards, I totally agree with MLC. There are no standards. Even the "standard" union contracts can be adjusted, if necessary. I've also done stuff on a handshake, but these days I don't recommend it.

Phil

Kubi · Post by **Kubi** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:19 pm

There are good contract templates at the SCL website, available to members. http://www.thescl.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (If you work at all in music for film, TV, video games and other media, it's well worth being a member anyway.) I believe they also have performance release forms for session players.

As for artist/producer contracts, that may be a little harder, simply because there are more 'moving parts' involved, compared to performance releases or even "work-made-for-hire" film score contracts. Maybe try NARAS and see if they have anything?

Good points made by all to have any more complex contract reviewed by your lawyer, always. (Who of course should specialize in entertainment contract law, as opposed to, say, traffic accidents or whatever.)

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:46 pm

Actually, the AF of M and/or your local have a lot of good contracts online as well, and for much more practical situations. BMI & ASCAP are surely good resources for sample collaborator agreements as is the Dramatist Guild. There are a number of legal books dedicated to the industry (Passman's being the best, IMO). The Krazi-loftsky (pun intended) is thick and also has samples but is less interesting a read. No doubt there are others.

Each collaboration is different. People bring different things to the table and interpersonal politics (AKA relationships) develop. How much one trusts and how much one surrenders is key. In that sense, there is no standard. Most assuredly, there are many templates - often associated with trade unions and associations - or in some cases, 'clubs.'

How much I give you for the amount you are paying me is the main thing that cannot be standardized - at least in a highly competitive field. As you build a name for yourself "who you become" has as much to do with "how much you make" as "how much you breathe" has to do with "how long you live."

And of course always remember:

Be nice to the people you meet on the way up, because you're going to meet the same people on the way down.

sprout · Post by **sprout** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 2:36 pm

cowtothesky wrote:I have been recently doing whatever I can to learn about composing contracts. I had a friend who is a lawyer look at a contract for a film, but it has been almost 2 weeks and I hadn't heard back from him. So, I had to make a decision and signed the contract for a film.

My question involves using a licensing agreement vs a 'work for hire' agreement. I hate the idea of signing over my copyrights to a film company, but I have read in several places on the internet that this is standard practice. I would much rather use a licensing agreement where I retain the copyrights of my music, but grant them full licensing for any and all exploitation of the music for the film. In turn, I would also agree to not use this music for any other projects.

I am definitely going to shell out the money for a lawyer next time I work on a contract, but what do you guys think about the licensing vs work for hire contracts? What do you do?

Thanks!

With the caveat that there are differences in intellectual property law between Canada and the US, including how the concept of "work for hire" is treated, the Screen Composers Guild of Canada has a decent model contract on their website at http://gcfc.ca/Page.asp?PageID=122&Cont ... xpandID=29.

It's handy since even if the specifics of your agreement are different, it gives an idea of what needs to be negotiated and included in the contract.

And as Kubi said, make sure you're using a lawyer who knows entertainment law. I've seen people get seriously hosed using non-entertainment lawyers for agreements related to film.

bayswater · Post by **bayswater** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:53 pm

You can get a readable summary of Canadian copyright and trademark rules here.

http://www.bdc-canada.com/BDC/services/ ... QAodGlrXzg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Elisabeth65 · Post by **Elisabeth65** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:10 am

hey, SixStringGeek !!

so which ones did you go with?

MOTUnation.com