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Clause for Profit Sharing with a TFP/CD
If you want to include "profit sharing" with a TFP/CD model, how does this clause look (added to a release): ______ (Yes or No) Image Profit Sharing. % ____________ Gross/Net ____________ Frequency _____________ If Yes, it is the models responsibility to update the photographer of any address changes for purposes of royalty payments. If a royalty payment is returned as undeliverable (for any reason) and the model has not supplied a new address, that payment and any future payments are forfeit and this part of the agreement is terminated. This will also apply if a royalty check is not cashed within 90 days, with the assumption that the payment did not reach the model and was either destroyed or has been forwarded to the dead letter department of the U.S. Postal Services. A âStop Payment Orderâ will be issued by the originating (photographerâs) bank. The model shall hold the photographer blameless for any fees imposed by the modelâs bank (or any other cashing agent) for the âstoppedâ check. Oct 17 06 03:37 am Link Why bother at all... don't you have ANY idea of how complex that arrangement could turn out to be? And how long does it run. huh? For the life of the copyright? So how long does copyright last? Your lifetime + many many years after. So you want to be 50, 60, even 90 years old and still paying some long dead model's estate for the friggen TFP shots? So what happens if you sell the [your] actual copyright interest to someone else? Or if you die and someone inherits your copyright interests? Do they have to continue to pay too? You will have encumbered your own copyright with a layer of legal shit that nobody will be able to easily scrape off. Anyone that even considers something like that without real lawyer input is basically shooting themselves in the foot... probably both feet. Just pay them in the first place, or, if you can't afford to pay them up front, buy them out on the first sale [and with a ONE TIME ONLY payment], and be done with it. Studio36 Oct 17 06 05:00 am Link I added a line at the end: ______ (Yes or No) Image Profit Sharing. % ____________ Gross/Net ____________ Frequency _____________ If Yes, it is the models responsibility to update the photographer of any address changes for purposes of royalty payments. If a royalty payment is returned as undeliverable (for any reason) and the model has not supplied a new address, that payment and any future payments are forfeit and this part of the agreement is terminated. This will also apply if a royalty check is not cashed within 90 days, with the assumption that the payment did not reach the model and was either destroyed or has been forwarded to the dead letter department of the U.S. Postal Services. A âStop Payment Orderâ will be issued by the originating (photographerâs) bank. The model shall hold the photographer blameless for any fees imposed by the modelâs bank (or any other cashing agent) for the âstoppedâ check. This part of the agreement terminates 10 years from the date below or upon the death of either the photographer or the model. With TFP/CD, I'd only be including it on the off-chance there is a future sale. Telling a model I'll buy her out at first sale would probably mean nothing to her, but something like this is a little more appetizing. Oct 17 06 07:43 am Link Instead of adding that to a TFP/CD release, I'd rather just make a new agreement when I find a prospective buyer. Oct 17 06 07:46 am Link shotbytim wrote: Right, just when you have the model right where she wants you! Oct 17 06 08:05 am Link Vito wrote: a model release should be used for its intended purpose, allowing the use of one's likeness with specificity. the inclusion of the statement does not address that, it actually mucks up the document by making conditions apply to the release that could render it null and void. Oct 17 06 09:16 am Link Vito wrote: That is, at least, an advance on the original version...but still not something that I would want to use in a release. Oct 17 06 10:07 am Link Vito wrote: Just forget all about it. Really, there isn't too much control in this situation. Too many [what if's] if you will. Not a good business decision. By all means pay your models a percentage, I do. But it is strictly because I allow it and I feel they deserve it. Nothing more nothing less. Oct 17 06 02:32 pm Link While I can understand your attempts at some sort of "fairness" in how you feel you are treating your models, I feel you're biting off a lot in what you're doing. Estimate 1 model a week x 52 weeks a year. Ok, take a couple weeks vacation - make that 50 weeks a year. Estimate a 20 year career x 50 model sessions a year. You get 1,000 model sessions. My own policy is to get a release for EVERY shoot. So under those terms, that's 1,000 releases. Now, you would probably not be doing anywhere near this many a month and in some cases you may be shooting more than one model at a time, but it illustrates the point. Keep in mind some of the shoots may be for testing, some may be self promotion, and some may be commercial usage - and you're getting into a lot of different filing systems you're going to have to keep straight for a very long time and a lot of different models you're going to have to keep up with. Even the files wherein the contact goes dormant long enough, you still have to maintain that release on file in case the model or their estate pops up and argues for percentages. Not to mention the fact that I can guarantee, human nature being what it is, someone at some point is going to feel you are cheating them and the attendant drama that will ensue. Are you really, really, sure you want to go down that road - cause you're basically connecting yourself at the hip with every model you shoot for a very long time in the arrangement you trying to set up. Oct 17 06 03:03 pm Link Sorry for jumping in a bit late on this one, but Iâd like to add a thought or two. I was actually close to finishing a paid release guidelines letter to send to models, and Iâd like it to include a percentage of sales for reasons included in the guidelines below. After reading through this thread, I see a lot of very good points on both sides. Please bear in mind that this is not the release itself, just a possible set of guidelines for paid shoots. So, with the understanding that I am just trying to do the right thing in terms of building a viable business model and treating the models well, I offer the following draft guidelines for your sage opinions. *hides in corner, preparing for the onslaught* Thanks. ---------- The best shots I take of each model will be made available both at deviantART and at CaféPress. As you can see by following the links below, Iâve decided to try something different regarding art sales. While I enjoy TFCD work, it is better for my business model to pay for the modeling time so that I can sell prints, etc. based on the images on both of these sites. You will also get a CD of the processed images at web resolution for use in promotion. I have also decided to give each model 10% of the sales from their deviantART prints, and 10% of the sales of all items in each model's store to the model featured in each store. I think itâs a better way to go. It gives all parties involved a reason to promote sales. And it keeps models and photographers from trying to pry money away from each other. The idea is to sell to people outside of the industry (patrons for lack of a better word) who have money to spend on such things. Now, mind you, Iâm not under the impression that instant fame and fortune will result from this venture, but Iâm certainly willing to give it a try. In short, while this is a fledgling business model, and as such is not set up for high-end initial fees, you also get the benefits of TFCD. And if I can get a strong enough portfolio and spend enough on marketing to generate sales, it just might help both of us in the long run. Please let me know if becoming a part of the Living Art series would be worthwhile for you. If not, thanks for taking the time to consider the idea, and I wish you the best of luck. To view one of the deviantART sales pages described above, click here: http://www.deviantart.com/print/395454/ To view one of the CaféPress sales pages described above, click here: http://www.cafepress.com/etpublish/1516198 To view the deviantART page that acts as a sales hub for the two pages above, click here: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/38560198/ Again, thank you for your time. ---------- Oct 17 06 06:11 pm Link bump Oct 18 06 05:56 pm Link Note that adding a clause like this would virtually invalidate your right to sell the model's photos with some other model's photos. For example, a buyer says I want to use this model primarily, but this other one too. You'd have to create separate agreements for each. The case gets even worse as new models are added. Or, let's say you use the photos for a book you're writing or an ad campaign. What percentage is attributed to each model and how does that work? Although I like the concept in principle, the implementation is so daunting that it never seemed worth the effort. Plus, the likelihood of making money is so low that the model would probably prefer an 15 minutes of post processing. Oct 18 06 06:36 pm Link Rue 99 wrote: These too are good points. The more I think about it, the less workable it seems. I assumed something like this would be necessary because it hasnât been easy to find information on what to pay models for portrait, pin-up and glamour work. Thanks for your response. Oct 18 06 08:22 pm Link |
