5 Common Mistakes You'll Avoid with the Right Podcast Production Agreement (for Podcasters)
Want to know what you need in your podcast production agreement when hiring a podcast producer? These are the essentials you need to avoid the MAJOR mistakes podcasters commonly make.
A podcast producer can take your podcast to the next level, but if you're anything like me, you want to protect your podcast to avoid issues with the producer or, worse, the producer hijacking your podcast. As a lawyer myself who drafts podcast contracts for podcasters like you, I'm sharing the essentials your podcast production agreement must have to avoid common mistakes I've seen podcasters make.
You will learn all about the common mistakes to avoid with the right podcast production agreement, sharing exactly what your podcast production agreement template must include to ensure you have everything you need in your podcast partnership agreement.
After learning all about the common mistakes you avoid with a proper podcast production agreement, you'll have all the protections you need to prevent the producer from ghosting you, incurring major costs, or even losing your entire podcast.
This post is all about the essentials you need in your podcast production agreement to avoid the producer from charging major costs, not editing or posting your podcast on schedule, or even hijacking your podcast.
Fundamental Podcast Production Agreement
Common mistakes to avoid when entering a podcast partnership agreement with a producer
Common mistake #1: Overpaying for production services
The first common mistake I often see podcasters make is signing a podcast production agreement provided by the producer that states a fixed (advance) fee for the production of a certain number of podcast episodes per month.
At first glance, a fixed monthly fee seems like a great idea. However, the caveat is (usually) that you must pay the monthly fixed fee regardless of whether you actually publish that number of episodes agreed.
Thus, if you've agreed on a fixed fee based on the production of 4 episodes per month, but instead, for whatever reason, 3 episodes have been published in one of those months, you still pay for 4 episodes.
In other words, you must record a certain number of episodes per month without taking any breaks, regardless of the circumstances. Or else you will be paying for an episode that hasn't even been published.
It's your podcast, and thus, you should decide if you are going to go off schedule or not produce an episode. That's your prerogative. The producer is working for you, not the other way around.
That's why you need a podcast production agreement with a fee structure and payment terms that ensure you only pay for episodes produced and published, so you never overpay.
Common mistake #2: Podcast episodes not being on schedule
The next common mistake that I see podcasters (and producers) make is not having a clear process and deadlines for the recording, editing, and publishing of the podcast episodes.
Not having each step of the process outlined and setting deadlines for each step results in podcast episodes not being edited and published on the agreed schedule.
Not only do you overpay if the episodes are not published (on time), as stated before. You also lose listeners when you do not stick to a schedule, and listeners don't know when to expect a new episode. This is all detrimental to your podcast.
This is why your podcast production agreement must include a simple step-by-step process outlining the following:
When you record your podcast episodes
Within how many days the producer must edit the episodes and deliver the first "draft" episodes to you for review
The number of days within which you will give feedback (or approval)
The number of days the producer has to re-edit the episodes for approval
Ultimately, when the podcast episodes must be published
That way, you'll ensure that your podcast episodes will always be published on time (and otherwise, the producer does not get paid).
Common mistake #3: Your podcast getting hijacked (after getting ghosted)
Another common mistake I've seen many podcasters make is not having factual control over their own podcasts. What I mean by "factual control" is that often, I see one of the following circumstances happen:
The producer does not share the audio (and video) files of the raw recordings with the podcasters (when recorded by the producer in a studio or remotely).
The producer does not share the files of the edited versions of the podcast episodes with the podcasters (that are not the final episodes).
Sometimes, the producer does not even share a file of the final version of the episodes with the podcasters but only publishes them on the podcast platforms.
The producer creates accounts on its own for the podcasters on the podcast host and the podcast streaming platforms.
The producer does not even give the podcasters access to the podcast streaming platforms or the podcast hosting platform.
This all means that you, as the podcaster, have no control over your own podcast.
So, what happens when the producer gets sick, ends up in a car accident, or ghosts you for whatever reason?
Well, then your podcast will be hijacked by the producer, and there is nothing you can do to access your unpublished episodes or your podcast platforms and hosts.
By having the proper mechanisms in place in your podcast production agreement, you'll avoid this nightmare.
I'll go deeper into what mechanisms you must include in your podcast production agreement in my next blog post!
Common mistake #4: (Part of) your podcast becoming (co-)owned
Another mistake that is commonly made by podcasters (without knowing it) is that the podcast production agreement does not provide full protection for all of the podcaster's intellectual property, only the IP rights to the published podcast episode.
That means that everything is either fully owned or co-owned by the producer, such as the following:
Edited previous versions of the podcast episodes
Raw recordings recorded by the producer
Show notes
Logo and other graphics used for the podcast
Podcast clips posted on social media
And the podcast as a whole could then be co-owned by the podcast producer.
All because you did not have the right wording in your podcast production agreement to protect your own voice and creations.
That is why you need a podcaster-friendly podcast production agreement that ensures all your IP rights are fully protected.
I go deeper into this in this blog post on the 5 Key Terms Every Podcast Agreement Between a Podcaster And a Producer Needs to Protect the Podcast(er).
Common mistake #5: Getting sued for copyright infringement and AI-generated content
Another major mistake I've seen podcasters make is signing a podcast production agreement that does not include an indemnity for copyright infringement by the producer.
Your producer will likely be responsible for creating or editing multiple different types of creations for your podcast, such as the following:
Intro and outro music
Show notes
Podcast cover
Logo
YouTube banner
YouTube thumbnails
Any creations the producer makes for your podcast should not only become your intellectual property but also not infringe upon the IP of others. If it does, the producer must be held responsible and pay for the damages, not you.
Especially now that AI-generated content has become more popular among podcast producers, that content can also infringe upon the IP rights of others.
That is why your podcast guest agreement should have the following protections included for your benefit:
A warranty that states that all the creations the producer produces for your podcast are the producer's own original work (and not created with an AI tool)
An indemnity stating that the producer must indemnify you for IP infringement claims from any person that relates to the creation of the producer
I go deeper into this in my blog post on how to Protect Your Business from Billion-Dollar Artificial Intelligence Legal Issues with an Iron-Clad Contract.
These are the most common mistakes every podcaster should avoid when working with a podcast producer.
Avoid major mistakes with a podcaster-friendly podcast production agreement template
Now, you have learned about the most common mistakes that other podcasters make and what you need in your podcast production agreement to avoid making the same mistakes.
Don't have your own podcaster-friendly podcast production agreement template?
I have created a template specifically for podcasters. Get my podcast production agreement with all the protections you need on this page of my contract shop!
Or, if you are a pro and want all the contracts your podcast needs, get the complete Podcaster Bundle, which includes the podcast production agreement, on this page of my contract shop!
Hosting guests on your podcast? The podcast guest agreement template
Are you also planning on having guests on your podcast? Read these blog posts next on what you need in your podcast guest agreement template as a podcaster:
This post was all about the common mistakes podcasters must avoid with a proper podcast production agreement.
Learn more about what you need in your podcast production agreement in this blog post on the 5 Key Terms Every Podcast Agreement Between a Podcaster And a Producer Needs to Protect the Podcast(er).
Learn about the other 4 essential podcast contracts you need (such as the podcast guest agreement template); read this blog post on the 5 Must-Have Podcast Contracts Every Professional Podcaster Needs.
Need a podcast production agreement? Get your podcaster-friendly podcast production agreement template on this page of my contract shop!
You can get the complete Podcaster Bundle, which includes the podcast production agreement, on this page of my contract shop!
