anyone heard of a gratis contract?

[kshore56]

I've been contacted by a graphics design firm in Norway who wants to use a song of mine for their company, but aren't willing to pay for it. I figure it's good exposure, but would like to limit their use and a buddy told me of a "gratis contract" that does just that. Anyone know of this?

[andygabrys]

well not in those terms, but its your prerogative to give away use of your music under certain conditions anytime you like.

You just have to spell out what you want.

Is that more what you are looking for? the specific language that you would put in the contract?

Is this a web use? a TV use?

[Len911]

Why not just do a trade, they could design your cd or website and you could trade your song?

[kshore56]

I think it's for their website.

Excellent idea about the trade! my website is in desperate need of repair! ... and I'm working on a new CD that definitely needs graphic work! Thanks! (sometimes the obvious is under your nose)

[Len911]

Cool!!

[suzdoyle]

I would go ahead and grant them a license to use your song for free, but in exchange for ensuring you are properly credited (and any other trade or compensation upon which you agree).

Always good to have things in writing!

Suz

[Casey H]

Hi
It's important to know exactly what their intended uses are--- website only? video? CD/DVD? etc...

NON-LAWYER DISCLAIMER: General information only!! Not legal advice!!

Then you would put together an agreement that specifies the types of approved uses, the fee paid to you ($0 but I'm told that $1 makes it more legally kosher), and limitations.

It sounds like most likely it would be a master use agreement (and sync if it's with video). There are lots of sample master/sync agreements on the web which you can edit. I'd start there. PM me and I'll see if I have links to samples.

In a deal like this where you are being paid nothing, what's important (if you care- it's OK if you don't!!) is to set boundaries. For example, let's say I allow an indie film-maker to use my music for free in their film. Do I want to say they can't distribute more than N copies without re-negotiating? Is it for non-commercial use only such as film-festivals? Internet site use only? Is there a TERM such as 5 years or is it "in perpetuity"?

Make sure your agreement specifies that you will be given credit if that's applicable to the use.

The agreement doesn’t have to be complicated. Just think about what you both want. Very often, the exposure is worth the freebie.

Congrats and good luck!

Casey

[mazz]

For starters I just want to say this: Your music has value, which is why they want to use it in the first place. You need to consider the music's value above and beyond a monetary figure and what you are willing to ask for in exchange for the use of your valuable asset.

I like the idea of a trade of services. The more services they give, the less limitations on the usage of the music you can impose, just like you would charge more for extra uses they would want over and above the basic background music for the website.

They need to have some skin in the game and give something of value in exchange for your valuable music.

You can limit the usage to only the website and require they come back to you if they want to do a trailer, or whatever else. YouTube videos should be a separate agreement. Credits need to be provided for sure!!

I can't stress enough that our music has value, even if the clients don't place a monetary value on it. We should stand together on this and demand that the clients have some "skin in the game" in the form of some "value for value" exchange. Think about this ahead of time so you know what you are willing to negotiate.

If you can get paid, that's the best, because otherwise we are just constantly scraping the bottom in search for "exposure". I've checked, and my mortgage company doesn't accept "exposure" as payment.

Mazz

[Kelil]

Hey they are a business, and they are using your tune to make them more money and put food on the table. You are a business also and want to put food on the table, tell them that if they want to use your tune they gotta pay up something.

Never mind the exposure I had plenty of that and it never pays man, forget the exposure and get paid.

Your music has value in their eyes and they are seein dollar signs and again treating the musician with the ''oh you'll get exposure'' line.

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck with it.

Stephen

[Kolstad]

In Norway a "gratis kontrakt" usually just means that you write the contract terms yourself or download a template from the Internet, without going through a lawyer (who will charge you a fee).

Lots of us wheeling and dealing with cowriting agreements, work-for-hire agreements, licensing ect. use these in music business. Unless you are a major label player there's not much money in music anyway, so doing things DiY is very common.

The hard part is pricing and terms, like how much you can charge or what terms to pin down. Try checking out Soundclick. There you can upload a song/track and use their method of licensing it. I don't suggest you actually use it, just read it as an example of what others do, and write down the things you think sounds right in your agreement.

Here are the terms Soundclick use http://www.soundclick.com/docs/licenseStandardtext.cfm
Here's the entry http://www.soundclick.com/default.cfm

But Soundclick is just one company's approach.
Try to explore similar services and educate yourself.

It can be pretty timeconsuming to work these things out, I've found it sometimes takes way longer to get smart about this stuff than actually produce the music itself. But once you've learned it, save it in a file, write a template and reuse it in future dealings. Being systematic about it saves you a truckload of time later.