Agent agreement clauses
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I recently got an agent agreement, that Im hesitant to sign mainly for the following clauses it has:
- The Representative hereby appoints the Agent as their exclusive representative to act on their behalf for the purpose of seeking and negotiating publishing, licensing, and other related agreements for the works created by the Representative, including written works by authors and illustrations by illustrators (collectively referred to as "Works").
I am basically giving them exclusive rights to represent me, so if there is anything I do that they feel goes against them being exclusive agents, it might become a problem. For instance, if I maybe find a job out of my own or through someone else.
2. The Agent shall have the authority to negotiate and enter into agreements, licenses, and contracts on behalf of the Representative, including but not limited to publishing agreements, distribution agreements, licensing agreements, and any other agreements necessary for the exploitation of the Works.
Giving them rights to do all of this for me is a scary thought. They can bind me to contracts and stuff that I am not comfortable with. In a lot of places in the document it says "subject to the Representative's prior approval", but not in this specific case. So they can technically sign me up to do a book for (example) $10 without my approval and I would be bound to that contract, because they for some reason they left out the part where I have to approve it first in this specific case.
3. The commission shall be calculated and payable to the Agent upon receipt of payments by the Representative. The Agent shall provide the Representative with regular statements detailing the gross revenues received and the commission owed.
So who ever they bind me in a contract with or find work for me at will pay me and I will need to pay them. So whoever I do the work for pays me directly, which is not great, because if they were waiting for the payment themself they would push clients to pay as fast as possible, but now they put that on me to get the money. So what happens if the client doesn't pay or pays late, but I need to pay the agent?
...Notwithstanding termination of this Agreement, so long as the Work(s) is under contract for publication and available for sale, the Agent shall irrevocably continue to receive the commission as set out above on the sale of all rights, both previously and subsequently licensed including digital rights, on works in which such publication or rights were contracted prior to the effective date of termination.
The Agent also agrees to continue to service any contracts entered into during the term of the Agreement, unless otherwise mutually agreed.
The Agent shall be entitled to its stated commission regardless of when the sale takes place on all versions and adaptations of any publication rights sold by the Agent (including in the event of termination of this agreement) for all advances, extensions, renewals, royalties, bonuses, options, and fees. If you, or anyone on your behalf, directly receives any payment for your Works you shall pay the Agent’s commissions promptly.Does this mean If I get something where I get paid for a very long time, lets say a license, then I need to keep paying the agent, even if they don't represent me anymore?
Are these clauses normal? The agency that is in question is brand new, so they dont have a track record either.
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@Gwendolene-vdm Hi! I have been researching pros and cons of getting an agent and found YouTube to be very helpful. Here is one persons take on the subject…
http://www.anooshasyed.com/blog/2020/8/11/a-guide-to-agents-for-artists-part-1-what-is-an-agent
She has part 2 as well. You can look up other videos to see what is normal or what you feel you can negotiate. Hope this helps! Good luck! -
@Gwendolene-vdm This is something you should verify with the agency to be sure, but I think this paragraph means that they are your exclusive agent (as in, you can't have another agent), not that you're not allowed to find your own work
Also, the second paragraph means that you give them permission to negotiate in your name. However, you still ALWAYS have the right to refuse any work they offer you, or ask them to request more money before accepting.
The third paragraph means that the client will pay your agent, then the agent will take their cut and pay you the rest. You do not have to pay your agent directly, the money flows from them to you.
This section makes it clear: "If you, or anyone on your behalf, directly receives any payment for your Works you shall pay the Agent’s commissions promptly." Basically the agent is supposed to receive the money directly. If the client fucks up for whatever reason and pays you directly, that's not how it's supposed to work and do still send me my commission please (I'm paraphrasing lol)
Again, double-check all of this with the agent to be sure. But I don't see anything nefarious or potentially harmful here, it all seems very normal and not as you interpreted them (unless I'm mistaken).
