5 Key Terms Every Podcast Agreement Between a Podcaster And a Producer Needs to Protect the Podcast(er)
Want to know which crucial elements you need in your podcast agreement if you work with a producer? These are the essentials you need in your podcast production agreement as a podcaster.
Having your own podcast is extremely fun and exciting, and if you're anything like me, you want to protect your podcast legally, so your producer can not take your podcast away from you or hurt your podcast in any way. As a lawyer myself who drafts contracts for podcasters like you, I am giving you the crucial elements your podcast agreement must have when working with a producer or production company.
You will learn about this podcast agreement form, including the applicable podcast contract law for your podcast production agreement.
After learning about this podcast agreement, you can confidently work with your producer, knowing that your podcast is safe and can not be taken away from you.
This post is all about the essentials every podcast agreement with a producer needs for podcasters to protect their podcasts.
Essential Podcast Agreement
Podcast contract law
Three essential legal elements must be covered by any podcast agreement you conclude with anyone you work with in your podcasting business, which I have listed below:
Responsibilities & deliverables: Podcasting is a relatively new business compared to other businesses in the media industry. That means that there are no basic "job responsibilities" for each role in the podcasting business, especially when it comes to podcast producers, which we'll get into later in this blog post. But therefore, it is even more crucial to specify what each party's role entails and covers so every party's expectations are aligned. This is where some significant issues arise when the roles and tasks within a role are not clearly defined. So, in whatever podcast agreement you conclude, you must have the different responsibilities and deliverables set out. Who does what? Who delivers what? What are the timelines and deadlines to ensure a good workflow with all other roles within the podcast creation process? What about the (background) music and any sound (and visual) effects? Who delivers those?
Ownership rights: The ownership of intellectual property rights might be the most crucial element of any podcast agreement. You must make clear agreements with anyone you work with, including your guests, about who owns the podcast, the different recordings, and the content of each podcast episode. If you do not have a podcast agreement with each person involved that clearly states the ownership rights, that other person may become a co-creator. That means you, the podcaster, will not have full ownership and control of your podcast, which could end up killing your podcast.
Disclaimers, indemnities & liabilities: Disclaimers, indemnities and limitation of liabilities basically come down to one basic principle: you shall not bear the consequences for anything you are not responsible for. Also, who is better equipped to handle certain liabilities? Who should carry the risks? When you have a guest on your show, you are not responsible for anything the guest says, and the guest must bear the consequences of any claims from listeners that relate to what the guest has said. That's one example, but this goes for every aspect. We will get into the relevant indemnities for the relationship with the producer later in this blog post.
Now that you know the essential elements every podcast agreement needs, let's dive into what elements are crucial for the podcast production agreement.
Podcast production agreement
1. Responsibilities & deliverables
The relationship with every podcast producer, whether an individual producer or a production company, varies from podcast to podcast. Some producers take care of everything, from the actual recording and creation to the editing, to guest research and scheduling, to the distribution. Some provide promotion and marketing materials, and others even take care of the podcaster's marketing and promotion. So, the role of a podcast producer can be as limited or broad as you see fit. That means you have to be very clear on the producer's tasks. Here are some examples of the different tasks, responsibilities and deliverables that may or may not be allocated to the producer:
Podcast creation: Does the producer provide guidance on the equipment the podcaster should use to record the podcast? Does the podcaster provide guidance on the entire creation process with tips on the mechanics and practicalities of the recording process? Does the producer brainstorm with the podcaster on content for the podcast episodes? Does the producer or the podcaster create the show notes and further descriptions? Does the producer create the intro and outro of the podcast?
Edits & audio engineering: Does the podcaster do some of the editings, or does the podcaster just give the producer the raw recording, and does the producer handle the entire editing process? Is the podcast recorder on both audio and video, and does the producer handle the editing of both? Does the producer optimize the sound quality of the audio? How does the feedback and approval process work? Can the podcaster give feedback on the first edited version through specific software in which notes can be created at different time stamps? What are the deadlines for delivery of the raw recording, feedback, approval and the final product? What if deadlines are missed? What are the consequences?
Guest research & scheduling: Does the producer look for guests to have on the podcast? Will the producer contact potential guests and schedule an appointment for an episode with them? If so, when does the podcaster have to decide on the potential guests the producer presents? When can recordings with guests be scheduled? Where are the guests invited to? Will the recording with the guest be online or at a physical location?
Distribution: Does the producer take care of the distribution of each finished podcast episode on all the different podcasting platforms? If so, which podcasting platforms? If the podcast is also on video, does the producer publish it on the podcaster's YouTube channel?
Marketing, promotion & advertising: Does the producer also create clips, graphics and other content for the podcast's promotion, marketing & advertising? Does the producer take care of all or some of the promotion, marketing & advertising? If so, on which platforms?
These are all questions you must be able to answer and set out in your podcast agreement with the producer.
2. Ownership rights
The ownership rights are the most crucial aspect of your podcast agreement with the producer. If you have not made any arrangements or have not adequately described the ownership rights in your podcast production agreement, that could lead to the producer becoming co-owner of your podcast. Depending on what the responsibilities of the producer are, you could even be regarded by the court as being merely the host of the podcast, and the producer is the full owner of the podcast. That's a scary thought, isn't it?!
That is why it is crucial to specify in your podcast agreement that you are and become the owner of all the intellectual property rights attached to:
the podcast itself;
all raw (video and audio) recordings;
all edited versions of the recordings;
the final recordings;
the published podcast episodes;
the show notes (if created by the producer);
the logo, graphics and any visuals that relate to the podcast; and
any other podcast content (either created or edited by the producer).
3. Factual control
Factual control is another critical factor you need to get right in your podcast agreement and in practice! What I mean by "factual control" is having actual access to all the different platforms on which the podcast is published, like Apple Podcast, Spotify and YouTube.
It happens way too often that producers create accounts for the podcasters, and the podcasters never receive access to the accounts of their own podcasts and don't know the username or password to those accounts.
Do NOT let the producer create an account for you OR give them your login information, and definitely do not agree on that in the podcast production agreement.
The relationship between podcaster and producer may end for whatever reason. The collaboration did not go as either party had envisioned. You found another producer. You have a falling out. Or, perhaps, the producer suddenly ends up in an accident or becomes very ill. It could be due to multiple different reasons. What if, due to any such event, the producer will not give you the information you need to access your accounts to distribute your podcast? Then, you are in some deep trouble. It does not happen too often, but it does happen now and again, often enough for you to take the proper measures to keep your podcast safe.
Avoid that by simply creating these accounts yourself and giving the producer the permissions the producer needs within your account to publish the episodes on those platforms. This should also be clearly stated in your podcast agreement.
4. Costs
You also need to be upfront about and insert in your podcast agreement what costs are involved and who carries which costs.
You will likely purchase your own podcasting equipment, and you pay for that equipment yourself. However, when it comes to the music for your intro and outro or that you use as background music, who arranges that? What are the costs for the proper licenses for that music? Who carries those costs?
If you are using software to collaborate, such as frame.io (if the podcast is recorded on video), then specify the software's costs and who carries those costs. Maybe the costs are included in the monthly fee you pay to the producer, but specify in the podcast agreement that those costs are included in the price in that case.
In addition, include a statement that the producer carries any other costs the producer makes, so the producer can't surprise you with any (hidden) fees.
5. Indemnities for IP infringements
Suppose the producer is responsible for choosing and adding music and sound effects to the podcast episodes. In that case, the producer should have the proper licenses to use the music and sound effects without infringing on anyone's copyrights. That is the producer's responsibility. And then, it's vital to have an indemnity in your podcast agreement stating that the producer will indemnify you for any third-party claims related to IP infringements on the music or sound effects used.
The same goes for any other content that the producer creates for you, such as the show notes, any visuals the producer provides to add to the video recording or even the marketing material.
The producer is supposed to help you save time and make money with your podcast, which should be shown in your podcast production agreement.
All these essential elements are to protect your podcast, your ownership rights to that podcast, and your income so that you can focus on the creation and growth of your podcast with your producer!
Podcast legal documents
The podcast agreement we just discussed is a podcast production agreement, but many other podcast legal documents are involved when running a podcast. Here are some examples of a podcast agreement form:
the podcast host agreement for when you are hiring a host for your podcast;
the podcast guest agreement for when you have a guest on your podcast;
the podcast sponsorship agreement for when you have a brand sponsoring your podcast; and
the podcast partnership agreement for when you are creating and running a podcast with another podcaster.
If you want to know about the core podcast legal documents you need for your podcast, read this blog post on the 5 Must-Have Podcast Contracts Every Professional Podcaster Needs.
Contracts for creators
I create and sell contracts for creators, including podcasters like you, in my contract shop. You can find every contract agreement you need, such as the Podcast Sponsorship Agreement and the Podcast Guest Agreement, but also the complete Podcaster Bundle, which includes the Podcast Production Agreement!
This post was all about the essentials for every podcast agreement with a producer if you want to protect your podcast.
If you want to learn about the other essential podcast legal documents you need as a podcaster, read this blog post on the 5 Must-Have Podcast Contracts Every Professional Podcaster Needs.
If you want to learn more about the podcast guest agreement, read this blog post on the 9 Key Elements Every Podcast Guest Contract Should Have.
To learn more about the podcast sponsorship agreement, read this blog post on the 5 Crucial Terms Every Podcast Sponsorship Contract Should Have.
You can get the Podcaster Bundle, which includes the podcast production agreement, on this page of my contract shop!
