Brand deal contract red flags: what to check before you sign

By Mel, founder Updated 9 November 2026

Twenty years as a celebrity photographer, then built some of the biggest humour pages on Facebook. Every deal and every dispute goes through him.

Short answer

The clauses that cost creators most are perpetual usage rights, exclusivity that covers a whole category for months, payment terms beyond 30 to 60 days, unlimited revisions, handing over ownership of your content, one-sided morality clauses and no kill fee. Each is fixed the same way: put a number on it, whether that's an end date, a named list of competitors, a payment date, a revision cap or a cancellation fee.

What's wrong with perpetual usage rights?

Look for "in perpetuity", "worldwide" and "in all media now known or hereafter devised". Together they mean the brand can use your face in its ads, anywhere, forever, without paying you again. That's a buyout, and it should be priced like one.

Ask for a fixed window, named platforms, named countries, and a price to extend. Influencer Marketing Hub benchmarks whitelisting at 20% to 30% of your base fee per month, so a licence with no end date is worth far more than the post fee alone. Our usage rights guide goes through the pricing.

How much exclusivity is too much?

Exclusivity stops you working with a brand's competitors. The red flag is width and length: "any brand in the beauty, wellness or lifestyle sector" for twelve months can wipe out most of your year.

Ask for a short list of named competitors, a window that matches the campaign, and a fee for it. Influencer Marketing Hub cites a 15% to 30% premium on total fees for category exclusivity.

What payment terms should a creator accept?

"Net 90" or "payable on receipt of payment from our client" means you're funding the brand's cash flow. We'd push for 30 days from invoice, a deposit on bigger jobs, and a fixed date rather than a condition.

UK: if a contract doesn't set a date, payment is late 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or you deliver the work, whichever is later. Terms agreed between businesses should usually be no more than 60 days, and longer only if that's fair to both sides.

US: there's no single national rule for this. In New York State, the Freelance Isn't Free Act, in force since 20 May 2024, requires a written contract for freelance work worth $800 or more (counting contracts with the same client over 120 days), and if no payment date is set, payment is due within 30 days of the work being completed. New York City has its own similar law.

Why are unlimited revisions a problem?

"Revisions until the brand is satisfied" has no end. Every round costs you a day and the fee doesn't move.

Ask for a set number of rounds on the draft, feedback within a set number of days, and a fee for anything beyond. If the brand changes the brief after you've filmed, the reshoot should be paid.

Should a brand own my content?

Watch for "work made for hire", "assigns all right, title and interest" or "the brand shall own all deliverables". Those mean the video stops being yours.

Ask for the opposite: you own the content and grant the brand a licence, limited by time, platform and country. Raw footage is separate. If the brand wants your unedited files to cut its own ads, Influencer Marketing Hub cites a 25% to 50% surcharge above standard usage fees.

What should a morality clause say?

Brands are entitled to protect their name. The red flag is a clause that's vague and one-sided: the brand can cancel and claw back fees for anything it decides "reflects poorly" on it, with no notice and no definition.

Ask for specific triggers, a chance to respond, payment for work already delivered, and the same right for you if the brand ends up in the news for the wrong reasons.

What is a kill fee, and do I need one?

A kill fee is what the brand pays if it cancels after you've started. Without one, a brand can pull a campaign the day before posting and owe you nothing for the script, the shoot, or the dates you turned other work down for.

We'd ask for a cancellation fee that rises in stages: part of the fee on signature, more once content is delivered, all of it once the content is approved.

Who is responsible for labelling the ad?

You are, along with the brand and any agency involved. The ASA's influencer guide, published with the CMA in October 2026, says anyone who has received payment or any other incentive must make clear upfront that the content is advertising, and expects disclosure in relevant content for 12 months after a relationship ends. It recommends labels such as #Ad and #Advert, and says to avoid "gifted", "collab" and "aff".

In the US, the FTC says to disclose any financial, employment, personal or family relationship with a brand, to put the disclosure where it's hard to miss, and in a video to say it in the video, not only in the description. A contract that asks you to leave the label off is a red flag on its own.

The checklist: what to read before you sign

Usage: how long, which platforms, which countries, organic or paid?
Whitelisting or Spark Ads: priced separately, with an end date?
Exclusivity: named competitors, and a window that matches the campaign?
Payment: a fixed date within 30 days of invoice, not "on receipt of our client's payment"?
Deposit: something on signature for larger jobs?
Revisions: a set number of rounds, and a fee for more?
Ownership: you keep it, and the brand gets a licence?
Raw footage: excluded, or paid for?
Morality clause: specific triggers, both ways, and paid for work done?
Kill fee: payable if they cancel after signature?
Disclosure: the ad label is in the brief, not left out?
Approvals: what happens if the brand doesn't reply to a draft in time?

How we do it at TBC

Every deal our creators do is negotiated up, vetted and signed in writing before anyone films. The terms we hold to come straight from our own agreement:

Your content stays yours. Brands get defined, time-limited usage, written into each deal.
Brands pay on signature where we can get it.
You're paid within five business days of the brand paying us, and you see every invoice.
Exclusivity is limited to the brand's category, for its campaign window.
Every post is checked against the brief before it goes live.

If you've been sent a contract and something in it reads wrong, send it over. A deal you want a second opinion on is exactly what our contact form is for.

Questions creators ask

What payment terms are normal for a brand deal?

There's no single standard. In the UK, terms between businesses should usually be no more than 60 days unless that's fair to both sides, and with no agreed date, payment is late after 30 days. We'd push for 30 days from invoice.

Is it normal for a brand to want my content forever?

Some will ask. That doesn't mean you should agree. Perpetual usage is a buyout and should be priced as one, or cut back to a fixed window.

What is a kill fee?

A payment the brand owes you if it cancels after the contract is signed. It should rise the further along the work is.

Do I need a lawyer to sign a brand deal?

For a large or long deal, a lawyer's read is worth paying for. For a standard post, the checklist above catches most problems. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Who is responsible if a sponsored post isn't labelled?

In the UK, the ASA says the creator, the brand and any agency involved are all responsible. In the US, the FTC expects the creator to disclose any relationship with the brand.

Sent a contract you're not sure about?

A deal you want a second opinion on, a contract that reads wrong, a strike you need gone. One line is enough.

Write to Mel

Sources

Updated 9 November 2026. Outside figures are from the sources below; everything about TBC is from our own terms.