California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney
California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson
The Right Choice in California Social Media and Influencer Agreement Attorneys
At the Law Firm of California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson, entertainment and social media law is one of our primary areas of endeavor. We represent social media influencers in branding and brand development, promotion, and marketing across a wide variety of products and services. In addition, we represent individuals in all aspects of the entertainment industry including film, television, music, publishing, literary rights, modeling, and sports.
California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson has well over 40 years of experience both in California and in Great Britain. With dual law degrees in both the U.S. and Britain, California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson has been named a Top Lawyer for the past 12 years in a row by Palm Springs Life Magazine. He has written for the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal newspapers and is also a published author.
If you’ve been provided with a social media influencer contract, a talent agency contract, an artist management agreement from a talent agent or talent agency, a personal management agreement or a promotion contract, call us so we can review it and advise you. The money you spend to have your contract or agreement reviewed can save you from a lot of grief from handing control of your endeavors to someone who can do more harm than good and to being bound to a long term contract to someone with little experience.
Strange Social Media Influencer Agreements
Among the strangest type of influencer agreement format California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson has come across is one in which the influencer is asked to become a member in a manager’s new LLC with a minor percentage of the membership in the LLC and with a percentage of any profits of the LLC going back into the LLC.
The risk of such an arrangement, especially where the client has no knowledge of the expertise of the manager with whom he is now going into business with, is what the manager might do with control of the LLC to do harm or damage to the client and leave the client with LLC debts and liabilities.
In such an arrangement, it is as risky as going into business with the first person you meet on the street. You know nothing about them. You don’t know what debts or liabilities they already have, you don’t know if they are a felon or a scoundrel, you don’t know what their experience is, and you don’t know if they will be there tomorrow or any day thereafter while you are now the face of the LLC when taxes are due.
To make matters worse, by becoming a member of the LLC in this type of agreement, the client may even become responsible for the lease of a building or office, cars, yachts, airplanes, etc. if the management company with which the client has now become entangled with disappears with all of the profits made from the client’s endorsements and sponsorships.
Should the client wish to cut any ties to the LLC, the client may find, upon taking a second look at the contract they signed, be shocked to find that the LLC owns all of the content of the client, the client’s name, likeness, images, copyrights, trademarks, and profits due to the client and may have already assigned such rights to another entity or individual.
Then to make matters worse, the client may be responsible to indemnify the manager for any harm the manager comes to, may be required to keep everything confidential, may be subject to the law of a state far from where the client is based, and may be subject to binding arbitration with no right to litigation. Of course, if the manager is a scoundrel, it will be tough to obtain any damages from such a person who has probably filed bankruptcy on previous occasions or who may now be operating in another state under a different name.
Standard Social Media Influencer Contracts
Even a standard social media influencer contract contains a great deal of fluff and vague obligations on behalf of the management company.
For instance, the management agreement may contain such obligations on behalf of the manager to obtain business development, to provide supervision and oversight, to offer advice and guidance, etc.
As they say, however, the devil is in the details. What California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson has to do in reviewing these contracts is to determine what if anything, the manager is really obligating themself to do for the client, what rights the client is giving up and what obligations the client has pursuant to the contract.
For instance, the contract may provide that the client must refrain from entering into any agreement on their own or engaging anyone else to act on their behalf without the manager’s approval.
Social Media Contract Commissions
Generally, such contracts provide that in return for the management company’s services, the client or influencer must allow the manager to deduct a percentage of all earnings of the client. Any money to which the client is entitled i.e. the client’s “gross earnings” from the client’s activities in the “Entertainment and Media Industries” must be paid to the management company for the term of the contract and the management company is entitled to deduct their commission off the top.
These contracts will generally then define the term “gross earnings” and this is where California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson has to be very careful in reviewing these contracts.
What would be best of all for an influencer would be if the contract provided for the personal management entity to be compensated only out of the influencer’s net earnings. However, net deals can be difficult to obtain.
Other definitions which must be carefully scrutinized by California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson are “Entertainment and Media Industries” or whatever the contract term is used to describe the pot of money from which the management company obtains its commission. If no such limiting term is used, the management company will be entitled to it’s commission even from a client’s work as a server in a restaurant or driving for Uber.
Management company contracts also generally provide that they are also entitled to their commission from any engagements and agreements negotiated during the term of the contract. This type of clause must also be carefully scrutinized by California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson.
When a social media influencer contract or any other type of contract provides payment to the management company will be based on commissions, the client, artist or influencer is ceding control of their life, in large measure to the management company. California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson must therefore limit this control when the contract terms are far too egregious.
There are other terms that should often be inserted into such contracts on the client’s behalf by California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson. The client should be entitled to accountings, to review the management company’s books with respect to the client’s services and the manager’s commissions, and the client should not be restricted to binding arbitration or confidentiality if the client finds wrongdoing on behalf of the management company.
The client may also wish to negotiate for “carve outs” such as retaining all profits from merchandise based solely on the client’s image or name.
The client should also retain the right of approval of any contracts or agreements obtained by the management company.
And the client should not be in breach if the client is unable to make an appearance due to reasons such as sickness, Covid-19, pregnancy, etc.
An Example Of Excessive Control of An Influencer By A Personal Management Company
One contract we reviewed even required the client to give control of all of the client’s social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. While it’s understandable for them to have access to an influencer’s social media accounts with the approval of the influencer of what they post, there’s no reason for the management company to have exclusive control of the influencer’s accounts. If the management company doesn’t trust their client enough to have access as well, then it’s already a bad relationship between the two.
Why would anyone sign a contract which allows anyone to take such control of a person’s life? First, I’m sure the personal manager would explain to the influencer, it is necessary to have a consistent image for the influencer.
Second, if the contract is the first contract the influencer has ever seen, they may not know that they’re still entitled to have say over their own life and their own image.
And third, an influencer may not have the money or advice from others to have an attorney such as California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson review any contracts which are going to be binding on a client for such a long period of time as many are, and which will have such an effect on the client’s mental health by having an overseer managing their life in every respect.
California Talent Agency Artist Management Contracts Attorney Sebastian Gibson, The Right Choice for Artists
Before you sign any type of contract or agreement in the entertainment industry call California Talent Agency Artist Management Contracts Attorney Sebastian Gibson to have it reviewed. We’ll compare your talent agency agreement or artist management contract and any other agreement you’ve been offered with other contracts we’ve reviewed and advise you what you should seek to have changed or even if you should sign the contract in the first place. If you wish, we can negotiate the contract you’ve been offered or draft an agreement to replace the one you’ve been offered.
Even though talent agency contracts must be approved by California Department of Industrial Relations, minor changes can be made to those contracts, especially where the new terms favor the artist over the talent agency. Personal management contract do not need approval by the California Department of Industrial Relations. Hence, they can be drafted or redrafted from scratch.
Signing a bad talent agency contract or personal management agreement can put an end to your hopes before you ever really get started in your endeavors, so if you can afford to do so, have an entertainment attorney look over every contract you receive before signing it.
If you take the precaution of understanding what you are being offered, what the right talent agent or personal manager can do for you, and you have talent, you can go a long way pursuing your dreams with your career in the entertainment industry.
California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson, The Clear Choice in International Social Media
California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson Sebastian Gibson has a prestigious history of helping people in the entertainment industry with their endeavors. In addition to decades of experience in business and entertainment matters throughout California, from Palm Springs to Orange County, from San Diego to Malibu as well as throughout the U.S. and internationally especially in London, throughout the U.K., Ireland and Europe, California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson Sebastian Gibson is a widely acclaimed attorney in the Palm Springs and Palm Desert area where his main office is located.
With law degrees both in California and in Great Britain, and decades of experience in California and internationally as well in areas such as trademark protection, business contracts, publishing, modeling, social media contracts, personal management agreements, promotion agreements, talent agency contracts, artist management agreements, all facets of entertainment law, and international law, California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson Sebastian Gibson is the attorney of choice by individuals with the need of an experienced Personal Management Agreement and Promotion Contract Lawyer.
California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson is also a recognized celebrity attorney. Prior to Shepard Smith’s resignation from Fox News was asked to appear on his show as a celebrity lawyer. He has also been requested to appear on ITV National News in London to discuss the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 23, 2020 by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex for invasion of privacy for photos taken of their son, Archie by unknown paparazzi.
With offices in Palm Desert and Newport Beach in Orange County, California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson Sebastian Gibson is ready to assist you with your endeavors. When you’re ready for an assist, call California Social Media Influencer Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson at (760) 776-1810.
