(Last Updated On: September 20, 2023)

Content creation is a business. A lot of people do not understand this. When internet users subscribe to and watch their favorite content creators or read their articles, they are essentially buying a service from them. As content creation is a business, contracts are typically involved. The average person has absolutely no idea how contracts work, however. This post hopes to simplify them by explaining what content creators and other people interested in that particular line of work need to know about legal contracts on the internet today.

Pay or Play

Something that’s worth knowing is that when content creators sign contracts with film studios or influencing companies, pay or play clauses can make their lives much easier. Finding an article authored on the topic of pay or play contract explained should not be difficult for you to do. Such articles are abundant on the internet today. This post will not focus so much on pay or play clauses, though again, it’s worth knowing about them if you want to become a content creator. Pay or play clauses are essentially clauses written into contracts that state that a content creator gets paid regardless of whether they work or not.

If you are interested in becoming a content creator, you need to make sure that you talk to a lawyer and get them to add clauses in your favor to your contract. Most film studios or influencing companies will have basic contracts. You can then ask for amendments to be made to them. Accepting a basic contract will likely result in you being left without much protection. Basic contracts tend to be more in the studio or company’s favor than the employees’ favor. Pay or play clauses are an example of clauses that can be added that benefit the content creator.

Legal Protection

If you are planning on becoming a content creator, you need to make sure that you are legally protected in your contract. The only way to do this is to hire a lawyer. By hiring a lawyer, you will have someone looking out for you. If you try to enter into a contract with a studio or influencing company independently, they could include caveats and clauses that do not benefit you and are more beneficial to them. A lawyer’s insight will prove extremely useful when you are signing contracts with a company that’s trying to hire you. The lawyer you hire should be one who’s experienced in contract law. A lawyer of any other kind will not be able to help you.

Finding a lawyer is no easy task. To find a lawyer, you need to conduct extensive research and find an individual with lots of experience. A lawyer with experience will be able to get you a much better deal than one without. To find a good lawyer, read reviews. Once you have found a law firm you are interested in working with, read the reviews that have been posted about them on their website. In addition to reading reviews posted on their website, read reviews posted on independent guides sites, and of course, on Google Review and Trustpilot. Google Review and Trustpilot are the internet’s leading review sites for a reason. All reviews posted on them are studied and authenticated.

Loyalty Agreements

Finally, something to know about content creation contracts is that the vast majority of companies hiring content creators will expect them to sign loyalty agreements. A loyalty agreement is when a content creation company pays a contractor to work exclusively with them for a fixed period of time, which is usually a number of years. If you work with lots of different people, you need to carefully think through loyalty agreements before signing them. As soon as you sign one, you will no longer be able to work with any of your other clients. You will be tied into a contract with the company that is hiring you.

It is especially important to hire a lawyer if you are being told to sign a loyalty agreement. The reason for this is because a lawyer will be able to get you a better deal preventing you from getting taken advantage of. They will also be able to put break clauses into your contract. A break clause allows you to get out of a contract prematurely. They are absolutely essential if you are working with a content creation firm, as having one will enable you to leave and take on other work if you aren’t enjoying working with them.

Content creation can be a great way to make money. If you’re a successful content creator, you may be asked to sign a contract and exclusively work for one company. Before agreeing to anything like this, consider this post’s advice.