Getting to Know and Creating Your Own Producer Agreement Templates

What is a Producer Agreement?

A Producer Agreement is a contract between the producer and all parties involved in the production. Producers are responsible for overseeing the entire creation process of a project, whether that is in film, music, fashion or another area. It is essential to have a producer agreement template to outline what dues each of the parties demands. Even if a producer is the sole owner of a project, it is best practice to have an agreement so everyone involved knows the duties expected of them.
Producer agreements can be tailored to contain multiple details for a variety of industries . However, generally it will contain sections that explain payment to be received, when payment will be due, initial royalties, calculation of future royalties, termination of employment, option periods, and how the company may be dissolved.
Producer agreements should all be similar, with only slight differences on an industry by industry basis. This is why it is beneficial to have a standard producer agreement template to use when making contracts for producers. Having templates can help create uniform contracts to use for you or your client. With templates, it allows for less time editing specific contract details for each new producer you are working with.

Essential Parts of a Producer Agreement Template

The template for a producer agreement should generally constitute the following:

1. Scope of Work

This section should set forth what is expected of the producer in carrying out the scope of services. The scope of services is usually described in detail in an attached ("Schedule A") Exhibit and may include the pre-production, production, and post-production stage. This section should also address what, if any, expenses are to be incurred for the production and how those expenses would be funded. For example, is the producer allocated any discretionary funds to spend as needed on the production or do they need to get an advance of cash from the company on every piece of expenditure? The scope of work section should also address general areas of responsibility and hierarchy. While it is normal for producers to supervise the various departments such as art, production, and post production, this section should spell out what choices and decisions are to be given to the producer and which decision-making authority will be reserved to those in the company.

2. Compensation

The way in which the producer will get compensated should be clear. How much, and when, will the producer receive a percentage of revenues from the exploitation of the finished film? Is there an advance due to the producer against the backend participation?

3. Rights and Ownership

A producer should sometimes seek to have the rights to a property assigned to them in order to have the ability to shop around that idea for financing, studio commitments, director selection, production schedules, etc. This section of the producer agreement should address the work the Producer is developing for and with the studio and should clearly allocate between the company and the producer the rights of ownership.

4. Confidentiality

Confidentiality clauses seek to protect the company’s and the producer’s confidential information both during the term of the producer agreement and afterward. These clauses typically prohibit the further dissemination of such information to third parties.

Advantages of a Producer Agreement Template

Utilizing a producer agreement template offers several benefits. First and foremost, a carefully drafted template ensures that every requirement of the law is met without issue. A producer agreement template typically includes provisions from comparable legal documents, ensuring that all necessary legal obligations are spelled out for both parties. This means that if you or your business operate in multiple states or municipalities, the template can be altered to meet relevant state laws with ease.
Templates are also useful for keeping things uniform when multiple producers are hired. For instance, a non-disclosure agreement might be provided to more than one producer. By providing each producer with the same agreement, you’re ensuring that all professional relationships will be subject to the same conditions. This helps to eliminate future disputes that could potentially harm the reputation of your company.
A well-made template also provides clarity for both parties. It helps to make sure both parties understand what their relationship with the company entails. Every provision will be easy to parse, eliminating any confusion as to what is contained in the contract. This promotes good faith between you and those you hire.

Customizing Your Producer Agreement Template

Once you acquire the appropriate producer agreement template for your project, the next step is to customize that template to your own creative and legal needs. Here are several steps you can take to ensure that your contract addresses your specific needs:

Read your contract carefully with a view towards your project. Ascertain whether it includes all of the relevant terms that you would expect to be included in a valid producer agreement. For example, are you going to be compensated on a royalties plus option multiple basis? Do the advance and royalty amounts make sense to you? Is the territory you may exploit your film broadly defined? Are there live display rights? Does the in-person performance permission satisfy your creative vision for exhibiting your film?
Determine whether you need to include additional provisions to protect your interests. For example, if you are doing a documentary you may wish to make sure that either party may terminate the contract for failure to timely produce the film of any length. You may wish to amend the restriction on selling to a distributor who had previously "passed" on your film to make such restriction more timeless, or to provide that any sale to a distributor may be accompanied by a publicist sale to maximize your participation.
Determine whether you need to revise or delete contract provisions that address continuing obligations after the term of the agreement expires. For example, if the producer is required to sell the film to a distributor within six months of the film’s delivery, then the entire agreement is automatically voided. If you believe under the circumstances that the agreement should continue in effect until the producer does not sell to a distributor, you can revise such provision.
Ascertain whether certain provisions conflict with your expectations of the law. For example, limitations set by the Federal Trade Commission on loan shark or restraint of trade practices are not readily waived absent consideration, but your agreement could certainly provide in more mundane circumstances that any waiver of fees is voluntary and that a producer will not be relying on an invalid waiver for his or her own subordinate acts.

Common Errors to Avoid in Producer Agreements

One of the common mistakes I see is the failure to adequately identify the parties to the agreement. This sounds easy enough but if you don’t get it right at the outset and waste time amending the agreement, you’re going to have problems down the road. Make sure you know all the legal entities involved in the deal and the relationship between them before starting on the agreement.
Another equally common mistake is creating a complicated agreement without fully understanding the key issues. Too often I see one party wanting a detailed and lengthy producer agreement just because their attorney had one and thought it would save time. You’ve seen contracts on the internet that are 20 pages long and have a ton of boilerplate terms that are useless , yet they try to cover every possible scenario. You should review the key issues together as a team so you understand the practicalities and what you really need in the contract.
A third mistake is using an off-the-shelf consumer template contract. If you’re a car dealer selling cars to an individual, that template will be fine, but if you’re a studio licensing a work (whether a new composition or a movie), you will need a professionally drafted agreement to protect your rights.
There are other mistakes I see, but these are three of the most common errors I’ve seen that result in costly errors. Avoiding these simple errors will help you avoid a lot of headaches.

Legal Considerations and Best Practices

When it comes to creating an artist or producer agreement template, there are a few key legal considerations to keep in mind. Depending on the specifics of your situation and the laws in your locality, the following points may be helpful in ensuring your template is legally sound:

Binding language: The binding language ("this relationship shall commence when the following terms are met…") should be sufficiently clear and unambiguous to all parties involved. For example, if the agreement states that a certain amount of money will be paid to the actor "at the beginning of filming," be sure this actually occurs. Unfortunately, "at the beginning of filming" is not legally binding, because such language is unclear and could mean different things to different people. Instead, a specific date or condition should be listed in its place.
Involvement of a third party: If you intend to hire a third party (promoter, etc.) to coordinate and book talent, be sure to include that person in the agreement so that he/she is legally bound to the contract terms.
Business entity: If you typically book business under your personal name, it may be wise to include language in the agreement that makes clear to whom the money is going (you, or a corporation). Otherwise, when working under an artist’s or producer’s agreement template, if any issues arise involving that money, the person/entity that issued the check may have to go through lawsuit proceedings to get their money and may end up as a result owing money to you for the cost of the proceedings, and future attorney fees if the other party doesn’t show up to court.

An easy way to get around this is to write the payment as going to your business entity, rather than your own name. It’s a good idea to open a separate checking account under the entity name, and to keep all earnings from these contracts in that account. Any expenses that you intended to claim may be claimed as an expense from the profits made by the entity. For example, when the producer submits a bid for a project, they can list the price they would normally get for performing the job; then, once the job comes through, the producer can show the actual cost of the project as an expense, thereby showing that they made no actual profit from the job, and having avoided paying taxes on "invisible income". The producer will then maintain only that portion of the work they have done directly (that have not utilized subsidiaries or contractors), without incurring additional expenses.

Producer Agreement Template Resources

There are a variety of resources where you can obtain producer agreement templates. You can find a number of reliable, professional templates online that you can use, although you do have to be careful with respect to the licensing and ownership requirements attached to each.
One of the most common ways to find producer agreement templates is through a search engine. There are many professional templates available that are very thorough and accurate. You can use some for free while others require you to pay for a license to use. A few websites provide free templates that you can download and customize for your needs. Sites such as RocketLawyer and MusicLawContracts.net have some professional templates, provided by music lawyers, that you can use for free, although customization requires a fee.
Other respected websites such as LegalZoom and NOLO provide contracts for a nominal fee. Always read the licensing terms for the template before you download or purchase. Often these templates are licensed under a Creative Commons licensing agreement which defines how you can use them. For example , many templates do not permit you to customize the document or even fill in the blank fields if it is a clunky PDF. Others, such as NOLO’s templates, are only licensed for personal or non-commercial use. That means you can’t use them as a producer yourself without paying for a license, and you can’t customize them and then resell them to other producers or artists.
If you want a template that is based on a specific jurisdiction’s laws, find a local music lawyer to either draft the agreement for you or provide you with a customized template. Remember that with most contracts, there is almost always tradeoff between negotiating a favorable and business-oriented deal for both parties, and being able to understand the contract’s terms. Rarely are producer agreements the same from project to project, as each project is unique in its own right.