5 Must-Have Podcast Contracts Every Professional Podcaster Needs

Dec 6

Want to know which podcast contracts you need if you have a podcast? These are the essential contracts you need as a podcaster.

Having your own podcast is extremely fun and exciting, and if you're anything like me, you are researching everything you need to ensure you have everything you need to legally protect your podcast, so no one can 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 podcast contracts you must have to be legally protected.

You will learn about all the necessary podcast contracts, including the podcast partnership agreement, the podcast guest release form, and other podcast legal documents.

After learning about all these podcast contracts, you will be a pro and fully equipped to protect your podcast and let it grow into a success.

This post is all about the essential podcast contracts that every professional podcaster needs.

Essential Podcast Contracts

1. Podcast Partnership Agreement

If you are hosting a podcast together with someone, then the first thing you need is a podcast partnership agreement.

A podcast partnership agreement (also called a podcast collaboration agreement) is an agreement between you and your co-host or partner.

In the beginning, you will most likely not have many listeners or make any money off your podcast, so you will not have any issues, or shall we say disagreements, yet. However, once your podcast starts gaining popularity, you will likely run into issues with each other if you have not made any clear arrangements.

To avoid any issues, disagreements, (legal) disputes, or just plain awkwardness between you and your partner, you should have clear agreements in place from the get-go.

Some agreements you may want to have that are included in the podcast partnership agreement are the following:

What decisions can only be made jointly, like (re)naming the podcast, what guests to have on the podcast, entering into sponsorships, choosing a podcast production company, etc.
What decisions can be made by each partner individually, like replying to emails from listeners or comments on the podcast's social media.
Who is responsible for what.
The logistics of recording the podcast. Where does it take place? What are the alternatives if that location can not be used for whatever reason? How many episodes are recorded per year (at minimum)? When are the episodes recorded and at what time?
What happens when one is sick? Doe the other partner get to host an episode alone or with a guest if an episode is already planned?
Co-ownership of the podcast, and what happens if one leaves the podcast. Does the other partner receive full ownership (of the podcast, the recordings and all copyrights of the other partner)? Does the departing partner receive a payment? If so, what is that payment based on?
When can a partner force the other partner to leave? After rescheduling the recording of a podcast episode and not showing up after four times? When the other partner has been ill for 4 or 6 months?

2. Podcast Production Contract

A podcast production contract, or podcast production agreement, is a contract between you (the podcaster) and the producer/production company.

Recording a podcast episode is a lot of work. There is a lot of prep work involved, like planning what the subject of the episode is and what exactly you will talk about or even gathering materials.

If you don't already, you will eventually want to hire a producer or podcast production company that will handle the production of your podcast, like the editing of the episodes, adding a fun intro song, drafting the show notes, and placing the recording on your website, and the different podcast platforms, like Apple Podcast and Spotify.

Some of the most important terms you want to have in your podcast production contract are the following:

An ownership statement is one of the essential terms to have in your podcast production contract. Your contract should have an explicit clause stating that you are the owner of the podcast and ALL accounts of the podcast platforms that the podcast is registered on.

You must also ensure by contract that you have access to all of your accounts and the producer does not have any rights to them (including the right to terminate or withhold your access). Likely, the podcast producer will place the episodes on the platforms for you, but make sure these are your own accounts to which you have access (the username and password).

3. Podcast Guest Release Form

This might be the most important of all the podcast contracts: the podcast guest release form. Actually, it should be the podcast guest agreement, as it should include much more than just a "release statement," however it is the most commonly used term for this contract.

You will most likely have guests o your podcast that you interview. However, many podcasters, unfortunately, don't have their guests sign a podcast guest release form, but this could have MAJOR consequences for your podcast.

A podcast guest release form, or better said, a podcast guest agreement, has, amongst other important terms, the following terms that are absolutely crucial:

The consent to be recorded (on audio and video if that's the case). Well, you invited the guest specifically to be a guest on your podcast, so of course, they consent to be recorded, duh. Wrong! You need to have the explicit consent of the guest to be recorded, or else you could be breaking certain laws, or the guest could later as you take the episode off your podcast.
The right to use the guest's likeness, voice and copyrights any way you see fit and without needing prior approval for edits or repurposing the recording. If the guest does not grant you these rights, the guest could later have you not only delete the recording on your own podcast but also little snippets on your social media or YouTube (if you also do a video recording).
The release statement. A statement that the guest will not hold you liable for any damages the guest may suffer, like a change in reputation (after making a controversial statement on your podcast) or any third-party claims podcast listeners may have directed toward the guest for whatever reason. For example, listeners may try a skin care cream your guest recommended on the podcast, but it gives some people a nasty rash. Your guest may receive claims from these listeners. You don't want the guest to hold you liable for those claims.

4. Podcast Sponsorship Agreement

A podcast sponsorship agreement is another one of the podcast contracts that you will (eventually) need. Likely, whatever brand will sponsor you will present you with their own podcast sponsorship agreement (if they have done this before). Such a sponsorship agreement will have terms that are more in the brand's favour than yours. It's important that you read and understand these terms before you sign the contract. You will likely want them to clarify or adjust a few terms too. You could also adjust the terms yourself. Podcasters use the terms in my (podcaster-friendly) podcast sponsorship agreement to compare and adjust or include terms in podcast sponsorship agreements they receive.

Some important terms to have included in the podcast sponsorship agreement for your benefit are the following:

Clear provisions on the deliverables. What do you have to mention (if anything)? Does the brand have the right to request changes? Is it subject to the approval of the brand? If so, by when does the brand have to approve it? How many seconds and how many times do you have to mention the brand and its products or services?
A clear ownership provision that ensures you are the owner of the (part of the) recording in which you talk about the brand and the copyrights to it.
Termination provisions for your benefit (and the right to delete the part of the recording in which you talk about the brand). For example, if the reputation of the brand changes and you may not want to be associated with them anymore.
Clear provisions on how and when you will be paid.

And if a brand presents you with a contract that includes an exclusivity provision, make sure it is clear, unambiguous, for a reasonable term and only covers the industry and niche of that brand. Often, exclusivity provisions are made a lot broader than they should be.

5. Podcast Disclaimer & Website Pages

Other podcast legal documents I have not specifically seen mentioned by others are the podcast disclaimer and the legal pages for websites that podcasters need.

Your website and the show notes of your podcast need to include disclaimers for your podcast. You should state that the views and opinions that your guests express are not your own. Another statement to include is that whatever you say should not be interpreted as (personal) advice to the listeners.

On your website, you, of course, are legally required to have a privacy policy, but you should also have terms and conditions (also called "terms of use") for your website and all the other platforms you use for your podcast (including your social media). It's not legally required, but it's created to protect you. For example, it provides you with the right to use the comments, and other content listeners submit. And more importantly, it limits your liability, so people can't just make you take down your podcast episode or sue you if they don't like what they hear.

This post was all about the essential podcast contracts you need as a professional podcaster.

You can get your legal podcast bundle (which includes the podcast production contract, the podcast guest release form, and the podcast sponsorship agreement) here!

You can get the podcast guest agreement separately here!

You can get your podcast sponsorship agreement separately here!

You can get your legal website bundle (which includes your podcast disclaimer, your privacy policy, and your website terms and conditions) here!