What Are Usage Rights + What To Charge Brands For Usage
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- Influencer Contracts - What Are Usage Rights
Hi! In today’s video I’m going to be talking about a term you probably come across a lot in conversations and contracts with brands as an influencer (or creator), and that is “usage rights”. So, if you’re wondering “what are usage rights?”...plus, “what should I charge brands for usage rights?” - keep watching all the way to the end because charging for usage rights can allow you to potentially triple your income as an influencer, and who doesn't want that?
Also, because there are SO many legal terms that come up in influencer-brand contracts, this video will be part of an on-going series defining all the terms that you will come across in brand contracts - which you can find in the “Influencer - Brand Contracts Playlist” because let’s be real, this industry changes rapidly, and believe it or not, new terms appear frequently - so make sure you subscribe to the channel to be notified when I release the next video in this series, which will cover “exclusivity” and what to charge brands that request exclusivity.
So, from the brand’s perspective, working with an influencer (or creator) is much like working with a traditional production company or photographer - and with that comes contracts. Meaning, if they want to use YOUR original content for their marketing purposes, they must add the terms “usage rights” in their emails to you as well as in their contracts.
So what are “usage rights”? Well, simply put, if a brand wishes to use the content that they hire you to create and post organically to YOUR Instagram feed FOR AN AD afterwards (umm…so for example, an Instagram ad, billboard ad, Facebook or Google ad) they first need to disclose to you how they intend to use the content, AND define exactly how long they wish to use the content as an ad.
So essentially, if this comes up, they are asking YOU for the “rights” to “use your content” as an ad. And, by all means you should charge them for this!
Because remember, by law, it’s YOUR piece of work. And that is why you’ll see this term come up a lot in contracts - because brands obviously NEED content for things like social media, and Instagram ads and Google ads ect.
Now, you of course, have the right to charge whatever you wish for usage rights. So, by all means price your rates accordingly. The truth is, there is no exact science to pricing usage, but watch the entire video to understand what many other influencers charge for usage.
OK so hopefully you now understand the answer to the questions, “what are usage rights?” and “what should I charge for usage?”.
✔ Before you go, make sure to check out the info I mentioned in the video!
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✔ Disclaimer
This video and the statements expressed by 11 St. Studio, LLC are published for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute, nor are they intended to be a substitute for professional legal or financial advice.
✔ What 11 St Studio?
11 St. Studio is a boutique influencer marketing agency created in the heart of Boston, MA. We connect emerging and experienced creators, influencers and bloggers with popular brands. We're here to work with you at all stages of your influencer marketing career to help you optimize your digital growth, boost your online influence and enhance your brand partnership strategy so you can reach all your unique goals, quickly and effectively.
Our agency offers professional consultations and an advanced online academy for influencers, bloggers and creators who want to grow and monetize their brands. We help creative entrepreneurs build their digital business by focusing on key elements of successful influencer/brand collaborations - authentic content, highly captivated viewers + meticulous outreach strategy.
We are dedicated to providing exceptional resources and support to both emerging and experienced influencers everyday through our popular emails, eBooks and eCourses.
With more than 10 years experience on BOTH sides of brand collaborations (brand and influencer) we strive everyday to encourage partnerships that are a win-win for influencers and brands alike.
I love your videos! I have a question regarding what could happen if you already created content for a brand, but there was no usage rights or licensing agreement in place at all in the contract. do i have the legal right to ask them to stop using my content after a period of time (ie give usage rights after the fact... after they have already started using my content for paid and organic content), or anything like that? I did not know this brand wanted to use my content basically for in perpetuity and that's not something i would have been okay with if they asked. i just want to know what i can legally do if there was nothing in place in the contract beforehand. this has been stressing me out for awhile i'd appreciate any insight thank you!
Thanks Vyala! Regarding your question, I can understand why you’d be stressed out! This is definitely the type of question you’d want to run by an IP (intellectual property) lawyer, but to the best of my knowledge… YOU (as the creator) automatically OWN the copyright to the content (photo/video etc) the moment you create it, even if you don’t register it w/ the U.S. Copyright Office, although if you do that’s even better. What that means, is no one, other than you, has the right to use your content without your explicit permission, and can be invoiced after the fact if they do so without your permission. Again, I’m not an attorney so I recommend you speak with a lawyer regarding how to approach this - and if you need a referral I recommend one I personally know in many of my videos about influencer/brand contracts. Hope this helps!
Watch in 2x speed
Thanks so much for your videos!! Super helpful 🩷 question 🙋🏻♀️ a brand is asking my ‘full usage monthly rate’. How much more should I charge since it’ll be for full usage?
Hi! So if I give a brand 3 months usage rights for a reel, they should be deleting it from their page after 3 months? Or they just can’t re-post or re-purpose it after 3 months?
Great info, thanks so much for this.
thanks Jay!
You’re welcome!
Does the usage right term mean that once it’s over the brand has to delete your content from their page? Or simply stop posting it? Thank you for the video!
Yes, that’s exactly what it means! They need to stop using it when the rights time period ends.
How would you define “organic and paid usage rights” which is terminology im seeing?
Hey 😊 Your TH-cam videos are super helpful! I have a quick question. Compared to a sponsored video that I post on my TikTok account with 104K+ followers, do you think I should be charging the same amount, more, or less for a User Generated Content video that the brand will promote on their paid media but wouldn't be posted on my page? Additionally, if they want to promote it on their page (not mine), do I charge an extra fee on top of the initial fee?
Thanks in advance 😊
Hey Kayla, thank you so much! In this situation I personally feel it's smart to figure out what you charge for exposure to your audience alone - then subtract that from the total price of the video. So, for example if you were to go with the standard $150/10k followers for an image shared to IG, what percentage of that ($150) is for creating the content, and what percentage is for sharing it with your audience? Is it 50/50? 75/25? 60/40? Calculate that for your video and you should have a clearer idea of what you personally charge for video content creation (alone). Then, I would charge them that, plus a significant fee for running it as a paid ad (each month), as well as another fee for usage rights - sharing it on their profile (each month). Hopefully that makes sense! Make sure to watch my video on pricing whitelisting too if you haven't already!
Hi! quick question. If a contract says 3 month usage rights does this also mean that the organic post would have to be deleted after 3 months? even if you do not use it as an ad? or can you leave the organic post on your brands feed after those 3 monhts?
Yes, because usage rights are just that - you're paying to use the media on your social media or website or whatever was outlined in the contract for a specific timeframe. If you continue to use that content on your social media after the date the contract states usage ends you need to request to purchase additional months of usage rights from the creator since they own the copyright, not you the brand. Also, if you are running the content as an ad you need to also pay an additional fee to the creator, for each month the content is run as a paid ad, which is typically 100% of the cost of the content per month.
Thank you Jaye for this video! So insightful! I just entered the space of influencing. Do you know how usage rights work when a brand puts on a production to create content for their platforms and want you to be in it, instead of creating the content yourself and sending it to them? Some advice for this type of influencing would be really helpful please! 🙏🏽
Hey thanks for this comment! To answer your question, it sounds like the brand is bringing you on as a model, so if I’m correct then you’d be right to charge a modeling (day fee) as well as a fee for likeness, as your face will be associated with that brand for however long they run the ad, and where (ie. online, billboards etc.).
How would you approach usage rights on freelancing platforms, for example, Fiverr? Where the buyer can just purchase from you? I can't possibly have a pricing option for every single eventuality (the number of videos, the number of months etc.)... so... do I just put a disclaimer in the gig description saying something along the lines of "Please ALWAYS contact me before placing an order do discuss copyright and usage rights and how that will affect the pricing"? What happens if a buyer purchases anyway but obviously hasn't paid for the usage rights? I'll then have to go back and forth and request them to accept the extra charge for the usage rights... THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!!!
Hello! How do you respond if a brand wants full usage rights to a video? I feel weird giving rights in perpetuity to a new client. Thank you!
Hey Christina! You can reply by asking them (exactly) how long they want usage rights. Many brands will only ask for a few months of usage, and if they state they want them in perpetuity you can certainly decline or speak with a lawyer re: how to charge a brand for that (since it would be such a significant price increase). Either way it’s always recommended to include everything in a contract so both parties are on the same page re: usage. I’ll be sharing a lot more about this in a webinar soon, so stay tuned!
Hello! This video was super informative, I just have a few questions. Should I charge brands organic usage rights on top of my base price? Or, should I give a brand complimentary organic usage rights and only charge them a fee if they want to run my content as an ad? Also, how much should I be charging brands that want to run my videos as ads? Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on these things!!
Happy to hear it! To answer your question, it’s never recommended to give away any usage rights for free. Ideally in this situation you’d charge fees for organic usage rights as well as paid usage. I’m actually releasing a new webinar explaining how to price your rates very soon so definitely keep an eye out for it or sign up here to be notified when it’s live! bit.ly/3MfqZX9
@@11ststudio Ohhh gotcha! Thank you so much for answering my questions! I signed up for the webinar and I'm excited to enter the next step in this journey!
Hi, thanks for the video. I've started a new brand & am looking to partner with ugc creators for the purpose of getting content for my products and general awareness for my brand. I'm a one woman show with a small budget. I would like more understanding on how the process works in terms of usage rights cost, etc. I was advised by an attorney that my contract should state I have ownership of the content I pay for which I would think makes sense. However, based on my research, the industry has usage terms that can range from anywhere from 3-12 months to use the content that has been created for the brand. So for example that means if the term states ( I the brand) can use the content for 6 months and I'm using it on my ig feed or on my thank you cards I send with my products after that 6 months is over I have to remove it from my feed and thank you cards or pay more? This seems to be a bit of a challenge for a startup that's operating on limited funds and manpower. How can I address this to fit my situation and still be fair to the content creator?
Your Brands Handle plz 😊
Could you please recommend me an attorney for Influencer Contract.
Thank you so much for these videos, you have helped me tremendously on my creator journey! Although, I've been searching your channel for hours to find anything about charging for raw footage haha. I know it is advised you charge but do you have an estimate on how much a typical TH-camr would? If you can get back to me at your earliest convenience, that'd be great!😩