[Fmpro] Film Contract

[Pete]

It all depends on how much they are paying. If they
were paying me enough, they could have the computer I
wrote the music on, the chair I sat in, and all the
clothes I wore during the writing of the music. It's
all relative.

But, my guess is they aren't paying you much and they
want the moon. Then the questions are: How much do
they need you? How much do you want the job? How much
do you want all the rights you are giving up? How much
do they really need, and how much are they just asking
for because they can? How much are they willing to
negotiate? Do they really know what they need legally,
or are they just taking everything in hopes of not
missing something they might need in the future?

I'd go item by item and ask them, "Why is that
important to you?" Then explain that you'd like to
keep that right, and why. If they want it bad enough
suggest they pay extra. If they refuse on everything,
then decide if you want to work for them. My thought
is if they are unreasonable now, the project will
probably be hell creatively too.

Tell them you can save them money by not buying things
they don't really need or want. Everything costs
money.

Good Luck,
P e t e
S u r d o v a l


--- Lev Zemlinski <zemlinsk at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I'm working on feature film produced by local
> company
> in cooperation with American company. Now it's time
> to
> sign a contract which, I suspect, is translated from
> some American one. 
> Can anybody tell me:
> is it common practice to grant following rights to
> producer (in my translation):
> 
> - right to publish and produce the Music on any
> carriers separately from Film;
> - right to use Music for other audiovisual
> production;
> - right to use Music for sequel and prequel;
> - rights for all written Music (used and not used in
> the Film).
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Lev Zemlinski
> 
> http://www.zemlinski.ru


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