Working as a producer exposes you to projects with many creative individuals, including musicians, actors, directors and comedians. To protect both you and your clients, you must utilise a robust contract. The contract itself does not need to be overly complicated or lengthy. However, it must cover several discrete points to ensure it protects you. This article will explore the key points you must include in your client contracts as a producer.
What Type of Contract Do I Need?
You should have a client agreement in place that governs the nature of your relationship with the client. Ideally, it should set out each party’s rights and responsibilities and provide you with legal protection.
When Should I Sign the Contract?
The best practice is to sign a contract before you commence any work for your client. This is to ensure all parties involved have a clear understanding of expectations and obligations prior to incurring any costs.
You may be working on multiple projects for the same client. In this case, you may choose to sign one master agreement that contains more generic clauses and then have separate ‘schedules’ for each project, which outline the specifics of each particular project. Otherwise, you may choose to sign a separate agreement at the start of each project.
Continue reading this article below the formWhat Terms Should Be in the Contract?
Services
You must outline what services you will provide the client. Furthermore, ensure you specify any exclusions or services you will not, or cannot, provide.
Term and Termination
Furthermore, you must have a well-drafted termination clause that outlines how each party can terminate the agreement. You may agree on both parties having the right to ‘terminate for convenience’. This means each party can terminate the agreement without any specific reason. There is usually a notice period attached to this. Separately, there is also the right for the parties to ‘terminate for breach’. As the name suggests, this refers to the ability to terminate when the other party breaches a term of the agreement. We highly recommend that you include this clause to ensure you are not bound to complete your obligations if the other party fails to do so.
Payment
Your client agreement should clearly outline your payment terms. This may include the following:
- fees;
- how you will invoice the client;
- the timelines for payment; and
- what happens if the client makes payment late.
You may choose to charge a late fee or add interest to the amount due. However, exercise caution when doing so, as this fee must be fair.
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Intellectual Property
As an artist, protecting intellectual property is essential. You need to decide who owns the intellectual property parties use before the project and who will own the intellectual property developed through the project. In the creative space, this is usually a point of negotiation, and a lawyer must guide you through this process.
Other Clauses
Some other clauses that are standard in producer-client contracts include:
- warranties;
- liabilities;
- indemnities; and
- confidential information.
What Terms Should I Include in the Schedule?
As mentioned above, when you intend to enter into multiple projects with the same client, you may choose to have a master agreement with more general terms, which then refers to a schedule of specifics. Here is what you might include in a schedule:
Project
Ensure you include an outline of the specific project that the schedule is referring to.
Service and Deliverables
Consider what services you will provide the client for this project. Furthermore, determine what deliverables this project will require. You should also identify any exclusions in the project.
Responsibilities
You should outline if the other party has any responsibilities as part of the project. For example, they may have a responsibility to provide you with access to the premises to allow you to carry out your services.
Key Takeaways
As a producer, you must have a client agreement to protect your commercial interests. Your agreement must include terms specifying the services you will provide, the length of the agreement and how parties can end the contract. Furthermore, you must specify the payment terms to avoid any confusion or invoicing issues. Likewise, you should include an intellectual property clause, especially as you will be working with creative material.
If you need help with your business structure, our experienced business lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
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