Overseas work....ethics?

[rick]

sure, i am not making any kind of case for no contracts .

just a case for fleshing out a relationship in its early stages , learning for yourself , which part of your own decision making process you can trust and what kinds of things people say before they stiff you . i think you will find time over that if it looks to good to be true it is , and if you act like your going to get stiffed you will.

in my opinion contracts should be work orders , understandings and lists , not things to base the courtcase on when the wheels fall off.
and i think that said - it was probably excatly what kris meant but didnt type, that set me off in the first place ...
maybe we should have had a contract :0

[vanderlae]

I've always been relaxed about insisting on contracts.
It's the norm in film & tv, mainly as it sets out the payment schedule and what the film makers require of the composer. Therefore we are both protected.

I agree here. I've written a score for a UK ad agency for a TVC recently and whilst it's acknowledged that a contract will be furnished at some point, it's down the bottom of their pile of things to do at times it seems if parties are already on the same page. I've already been paid the fee, so the contract is basically a revision of the terms as agreed and in my case, provided already. Which essentially is as a matter of courtesy in the end. Contract is def required no doubt, but it's never the first thing I'd dig my heels in about.

[Chinagraf]

Hey Vanderlae, you should consider listing the terms of the license for your music on your invoice, or in a written quote if your are asked to provide one. No need for a contract, but you should be specifying the terms as you are the one granting the license. You could find it being used in a whole lot of territories that you didn't agree to and they could simply say they thought it was for worldwide. Alternatively, the client company could ditch the agency you were booked by and use your music to make another dozen ads and pay you nothing, saying the agency said it was a buyout.
I fully agree with the sentiment about contracts being a turn off for most, but when it comes to ad agencies it is pretty standard to have a written license stipulating the exact territories and mediums to which it applies as well as the term of the license (short term, long term, buyout etc) If an agency has any issue with this they are most likely dodgy.

edit - not saying the one you worked with is or anything like that btw

[vanderlae]

Hey Vanderlae, you should consider listing the terms of the license for your music on your invoice, or in a written quote if your are asked to provide one. No need for a contract, but you should be specifying the terms as you are the one granting the license. You could find it being used in a whole lot of territories that you didn't agree to and they could simply say they thought it was for worldwide. Alternatively, the client company could ditch the agency you were booked by and use your music to make another dozen ads and pay you nothing, saying the agency said it was a buyout.
I fully agree with the sentiment about contracts being a turn off for most, but when it comes to ad agencies it is pretty standard to have a written license stipulating the exact territories and mediums to which it applies as well as the term of the license (short term, long term, buyout etc) If an agency has any issue with this they are most likely dodgy.

Yes. Of course. Invoices state clearly the rights I have assigned, usage rights depending on broadcast media (in my case, TV, Cinema, Online etc) even down to the various edits provided. The agency if proffessional enough will ensure all this is covered also. If a client company jumped ship but still used material they would quickly find themselves without commercial partners.