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CONTRACTS The Production Company's Contract Protects THEM, Not You. Here's What You Should Negotiate March 21, 2017  By Robert J. Sciglimpaglia Jr.Attorney, voice actor, actor, author, film executive producer You audition for your "dream job” - be it the voice of a product, a character on an animated film or video game, or any other nice paying gig - and you get it! Production sends you a "standard” contract to sign. That's just a formality right? Production must want to protect the poor talent from being taken advantage of. All you need to do is sign and you’re on your way, right? WRONG! PROTECTS PRODUCTION, NOT YOU Production is not trying to protect you. This is true even if you are a Union performer. Many times you will receive a "boiler plate” agreement with many onerous terms that protects production, but not you. For instance, in addition to the price, the contract may call for "in perpetuity usage” of your work on behalf of the production company. If you agree to "in perpetuity” - well, that could mean forever. The contract may also contain a very broad conflict provision where it states you may not voice for a similar product for as long as you are under contract for this product. What if the contract requires you to obtain insurance as an independent contractor, or that the talent must "indemnify and hold the production company harmless” for certain acts of liability? These are also common provisions in many corporate agreements. TALENT FEAR LOSING GIGS So what do you do? Do you ask the production company to change the contract? Many voice talent are scared stiff of doing this, for fear of losing the gig. But the truth is, these contracts are almost always negotiable. Even talent who are represented by an agent fear asking the agent to negotiate these terms out of fear of losing the job. Some talent agents have the same fear and turn to entertainment attorneys to help them explain provisions of the more complicated agreements, and for advice on negotiating them. BUT YOU CAN NEGOTIATE There is no such thing as a contract that is non-negotiable. You may be able to get a better price, but even if you can’t, usage and conflicts are always negotiable. For example ... In my opinion, you should never agree to usage "in perpetuity” a/k/a "buy out” of your work by the production company. I believe that talent should not be bound for more than one year of usage. If one year is not agreeable, then some time limit must be placed. Specific usage of the work should also be addressed in the contract. For instance, if production is hiring you for web videos, then if the videos end up being broadcast, that must be for a separate usage fee. DEFINE ALLOWED USAGE Also, in this day and age, clearly defining the allowed usage is very important. "New Media” or "Internet” usage can mean many things. For example, does internet include "Roku” or online streaming like "Hulu” or "Netflix”- or is that considered TV usage? Finally, if you are doing work for a soft drink company - for instance, like Coca Cola - don’t agree to a conflict provision where you agree to turn down work for "any and all soft drink companies in the world.” Limit the conflicts to be as narrow a category as possible, such as Pepsi Cola. Name the brands right in the agreement to be safe. These are all common provisions that you should carefully review and negotiate for every job contract - even if you belong to the union. ------------------------ ABOUT ROBERT Robert J. Sciglimpaglia Jr. is an attorney and the author of the Amazon #1 best selling book Voice Over Legal. He is also a voice over artist, actor, and executive producer of short and feature films and has served as production attorney on several films. Among the services he now offers to voice talents is contract negotiations for a flat fee. Email: robscig@usa.net Web (Legal): www.robscigesq.com Web (Acting): www.robpaglia.com VoiceOverLegal.com SEE MORE HELPFUL VOICE OVER CONTRACT ARTICLES HERE |
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On set, I'm surprised that many talent don't even read what they're signing. Many don't understand the impact of in perpetuity or conflicts and I've come across others who don't even know that conflicts can exist in VO.
This is a great article that addresses one of the many problems, and empowers the artist with knowledge.