Expert advice for content creators and models, from something that won't just agree
Brands ask for things in a contract that are easy to say yes to and expensive later. Clearspace is somewhere to put a deal before you reply, whether you make the content or are in it.
“A brand wants the usage rights forever. Taking it!!”
Illustrative example, not a real account.
Usage is what brands pay extra for. “Forever” means that when a video that is working becomes an ad, the brand never has to pay you again. The usual shape is yes to the videos, a defined period of usage, and a fee to extend it.
What the period and the fee should be is a market question. Social Creator Club has UK rates, and the usage rights calculator sets a forever buyout beside the same work licensed and renewed.
When this wouldn't hold
If the fee reflects “forever” (the ads they could run), it can be a fair trade, and for a first brand you want a relationship with, conceding more on usage may be worth it. That is your call. The aim is that it is a decision and not a default.
“A brand wants me exclusive for six months at £500.”
Illustrative example, not a real account.
Exclusive means saying no to every other brand in the category for as long as it lasts. The price has to cover what you give up, not only the video. If you normally land two beauty deals a month at £250, six months of exclusivity is about £3,000 of work you can't take.
Those are your numbers, which is why Clearspace asks for them: the sum is only as good as what you put in.
When this wouldn't hold
The £3,000 is only true if you would really have landed that many deals, and if the exclusivity covers all of the category. Read what “beauty” includes, and check whether the £500 is for one video or the whole six months.
“I'm quitting my job in January to go full-time on content.”
Illustrative example, not a real account.
A date is a hope, because it does not depend on anything. A number you can check does: for example, that brand deals have paid your rent three months running. Keep the goal and change the trigger.
Three months is a rule of thumb, not a law. The right threshold depends on your costs and on how steady the deals are.
When this wouldn't hold
If your income is lumpy you may want longer. If you have savings or someone else's income to fall back on, shorter may be fine. The guide below goes through how to set your own trigger.
Who answers
- Business mentor: Whether this is worth doing at all, and what it costs you to do it.
- Creative Director: What the work communicates, what people notice, and whether the execution supports the idea.
- Marketing: How people find you, why they choose you, and who you're actually for.
Keep going
- Should you give a brand usage rights forever? A guide.
- When to quit your job for UGC A guide.
- Why chatbots agree with everything you say A guide.
- UGC usage rights calculator A forever buyout, beside the same work licensed and renewed while the ad keeps running.
- Day rate calculator The turnover you want, worked back to the rate that gets you there.