CONTRACT FOR COMMISSION, SALES OR RENTALS OF MEDIA

DISCLAIMER: This contract is written as a checklist and guide only. You should in no way use this contract in its current state as a binding agreement between you and any individual, corporation, gallery or venue. When entering into an agreement with any institution for short or long-term work a lawyer or attorney skilled in legal practices pertaining to the arts should first review any contracts signed. You can use this contract as a starting point for drafting an agreement for the transmission, sales, or rentals of a media commission, but do not rely on this contract in its present form and do not sign it until you have had legal counsel look at it and suggest alterations or changes.

• Date of the Agreement (include day, month and year):

• This agreement is between ________ (the Artist(s)) and ____________ (the Distributor)

• AGREEMENT made as of the ____day of _________, 20____, between ________________________________(hereinafter referred to as the “Artist(s)”), located at _____________________(the city and state, the country if necessary), and ________________________________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Distributor”), located at ________________________________ (the city and state, the country if necessary) with respect to the commissioning of an artwork (hereinafter referred to as the “Work”).

Commission

• The Distributor commissions the Artist(s) to create a media work with the working title of _________________ hereinafter referred to as “the Work”.

• The Artist(s) shall have the right to the following facilities for the production of the Work, which shall be provided (without charge/with the following charges):

• The Work shall be approximately ______ minutes in length, and deal with the subject of:
           
• All artistic decisions with respect to the Work shall be made by the Artist(s).

Payments

• For the rights to transmission of the Work granted to the Distributor, the Artist shall be paid the sum of $___________.

• The fee shall be paid ________% upon the execution of this contract, with the remainder to paid the day of transmission.

• The Distributor shall reimburse the Artist(s) for the following expenses:

Ownership and Copyright

• All rights, title and interest in and to the Work and all constituent creative and literary elements shall belong solely and exclusively to the Artist(s), including ownership of copyrights and the master, as well as any copies created for the purposes of transmission.

• It is understood that the Distributor shall copyright the Work in the Artist’s name(s), and all rights not specifically granted to the Distributor are expressly reserved to the Artist(s)

Grant of Transmission Rights

• The Artist(s) grant the Distributor the exclusive/non-exclusive right to have ______ releases of the Work in the following formats:
for a period of _______ days/months.

• A release is defined as ______ performances/screenings of the Work in a consecutive            
period, beginning with the first day the Work is transmitted/screened.

Integrity of the Work

• The Distributor shall not have the right to edit or excerpt from the Work except with the written consent of the Artist(s). 

• The Artist(s) agree to the following terms for distributing excerpted works in the following formats, for advertising or promotion:

• Credit to the Artist(s) and copyright for The Work shall be supplied whenever the work is reproduced for advertisement, publicity, catalog, or publication purposes.

Damage, Loss or Insurance

• The Distributor shall be responsible for loss or damage to works in their possession for purposes of commissioning media work from the time of shipment from the Artist through the time of delivery back to the Artist.
• The Distributor shall insure each aforementioned work for the benefit of the Artist for the full value listed on the Schedule of Artworks included in this agreement.
• Should the Distributor be at fault for lost or damaged work listed on the attached Schedule of Artworks, the Distributor shall pay the Artist(s) the full retail value for the lost or damaged works.

Sales/Rental

• Work commissioned by the Distributor may be duplicated for sales or rental under the following conditions:
• The Distributor has _______exclusive  _______ non-exclusive rights to the sales of The Artist’s commissioned work.
• The Distributor may sell _____ copies for the following duration of time, under the following conditions:
• The price of the Work sold shall be as follows:
• The rental price for the Work shall be as follows:

Marketing

• The Artist grants the Distributor the rights to market their work.

• The Artist reserves the right to preview and approve any and all marketing material prior to their release.

Accounting

• The Distributor shall provide quarterly reports to the Artist(s) that include a list of items sold or rented.

• The Distributor shall also include any information from a screening, how many people attended and how many paid.

• The Distributor shall maintain accurate books and documentation with respect to all transactions entered into for the Artist.

• Upon written request, the Distributor shall permit the Artist or the Artist’s authorized representative to examine the books and documentation during normal business hours.

Publicity

• The Artist(s) grants the Distributor permission to use the Artist’s name or biography for publicity purposes on the following conditions:

• The Artist(s) grants the Distributor permission to use the attached Publicity Images for publicity purposes on the following conditions:

Termination

• If the Work in question is not shown for any reason, the Artist(s) is still entitled to timely payment as detailed in this agreement.

• This agreement and will be terminated by either party giving sixty days written notice to the other party.

• This Agreement shall automatically terminate with the death of the Artist(s); the death or employment of the Distributor (name specifically) elsewhere; if the Distributor moves outside the area of ___________________; or the Distributor becomes bankrupt or insolvent.

• The Distributor may terminate this agreement if the Artist(s) have not followed through with terms listed in this contract or the work is not completed in a timely manner as per the following conditions:

• Upon termination of this agreement, all copies of the work shall be returned to the Artist(s) no later than ________ after agreement is terminated.

Arbitration

• All disputes arising under this Agreement shall be submitted to binding arbitration before __________ in the location of ___________ and the arbitration award may be entered             or judgment in any court having jurisdiction thereof.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may refuse to arbitrate when the dispute is for a sum of less than $________.

Modification of Contract

• All modifications of this Agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties.  This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between the parties hereto.

Governing Law

• This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of ___________________.

Signatures:

Signed by __________________________ (The Artist)
On _______________________ (date)           

and __________________________ (The Distributor)
On _______________________ (date)           
Distributor Address: ___________________________________________