Price Usage Rights Around the Brand’s Actual Media Plan
A defined media schedule can give brands the usage they expect to need while giving creators a clearer way to price the license.
Some brands are asking creators for perpetual usage even when they don’t expect to use the content four or five years from now.
Alyssa Mercante reports for Digiday that usage rights are adding to creator fees while the terms themselves often remain unclear. Roz Sedaghat, director of legal affairs at Pearpop, said negotiations can stop at shorthand such as “organic” or “paid” without defining the permission. Danielle Wiley, founder and CEO of Sway, said her agency asks for one price against a specific package that names the post, paid usage period, organic usage period, and exclusivity.
That level of detail makes the quote more useful. I can price the rights a brand expects to use when I know where the asset will run, how long it will run, and whether the campaign needs exclusivity.
A license can follow the campaign calendar
One solution in Mercante’s reporting is non-concurrent usage.
Aundrea Leckie, director of account management at Open Influence, described a seasonal campaign that needed creator content in February and again in December. The parties negotiated six months of usage that could be activated during agreed periods instead of buying one continuous year.
I’d bring that structure into my own negotiations. If a brand plans to run my video for a launch and bring it back during a holiday campaign, I’d rather price those windows around the schedule. The brand avoids paying for idle months, and the contract gives me defined periods for the license.
Decide the extension price early
Mercante also reports that some agencies pre-negotiate the price of future extensions. The first agreement can say what another 30 or 60 days will cost before the original license expires.
That gives the brand a known option if the content keeps performing. I also know what happens when the campaign needs more time.
For brand managers, sharing the media plan before asking for a rate gives me the information I need to build the quote. A request for 30 days after launch plus a return during the holiday season is much clearer than “paid usage.”
Thanks to Alyssa Mercante at Digiday for reporting on how agencies, legal teams, and creator marketers are handling these negotiations.