Do I need a contract before I hand over a video I have made?

[VJ BLOCTV]

OK, I have done a bit of searching but nothing useful has come up so any and all advice is very much welcomed and appreciated

Here's the story. I have just finished a music video for a producer/singer for a song they are releasing in a month or so. They do pretty well in Europe and have had a few tours and do a fair few gigs out on the continent. When I agreed to make it the intention was to use it for YouTube etc for promotion. We agreed a fee that I was happy with and all was good and still is. Since then their manager has been in contact asking for versions that can be played on TV, uploaded to iTunes etc. This is great but obviously the intended use has changed and therefore I feel that the original fee does not cover this.

Now luckily I have a very good relationship with all parties and everyone is being very up front. I have asked them to delay paying me (:eek:) so I can seek some advice and this is not a problem.

So my question is what the hell to do??? I have never had to deal with anything relating to copyright, rights etc etc when it comes to my work as it's always been low key bits of promo work that disappears after a few weeks. I don't think for a second that this is going to be a global success but previous (shit) videos they have had on youtube have recieved 50k hits and I want to retain some control over where and how it is used.

As I say this is new territory so all advice very welcome.

:)

[Scratchpole]

If they will be selling the video on iTunes I think a contract stating a percentage for you should be written, or cut a deal for an extra couple of hundred and wave your royalties.

TV stations don't pay to play music vids, just royalties/PRS for the music that comes with it.

[deepvisual]

I made a vid for projection only.
4 years later I find its been put on a DVD and sold worldwide.
The band treated me like a thief when I raised the issue.
Imagine if I had done the same to them...

[visualove]

I would strongly suggest a contract, it keeps everyone friendly in the long term. There is plenty of complexity here, the video has their music and the images of the performer. If the performer becomes famous and is bought by EMI in the future, what happens to the video?

[VJ BLOCTV]

Cheers guys. Next question then, where/who/how do I get a contract drawn up? Is there resource on the web somewhere or is it a case of going to see a solicitor? :rolleyes:

[sleepytom]

shootingpeople.org has example contracts and what have you.

[VJ BLOCTV]

Nice one, checking it out now. Thanks

[many2]

the MOST important thing : don't sell your rights !!! Licence them. Sell a licence to use your video for a given duration (like one year) and explicitly list all the platforms on which it can be used (live projection, youtube, etc.) and cannot (no TV broadcast, no DVDs, etc.).

Another thing to remember is that if they ever are successful, they will not make business decisions anymore : managers and producers will take care of that. And they won't be your friend, guaranteed. All that to tell you that you should sign an agreement while things are still under control and everyone has good will. Once the money arrives, who knows how things will change.

[makemassair]

Nothing pertinant to add, just wanted to say some very wise words in this.

Was going to suggest Shooting People, but Sleepy got in there. ;)