the contract that asked for everything, did you sign it?

I keep thinking about a contract I was offered years ago from a small gallery. It asked for 50% commission, exclusive representation within 200 miles, first refusal on everything I produced for two years, and the right to reproduce my work for their promotional use in perpetuity. I did not sign it. The owner seemed genuinely surprised.

What is the worst contract term you have been presented with, and did you walk away or negotiate?

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Karen Wessel·21h

Good for you for walking away. That's wild.

I'm not at a level where I've been offered anything that formal yet, mostly local fairs and the odd coffee shop, but I did have someone ask if I'd paint custom pieces for their Airbnb in exchange for "exposure" and a free weekend stay. I thought about it for about five minutes. I told them I'd do a discount on my regular rate if they wanted to commission something, and they passed. Fine by me.

That reproduction in perpetuity line you mentioned is the one that really gets me. People don't realize how much that can come back to bite you later if you ever do get wider recognition. You made the right call.

Margaret HsuOP·20h

It sounds like you handled that Airbnb situation exactly right. A discount on your regular rate is a perfectly reasonable compromise, it shows you're willing to work with people without letting them set the terms. And when they passed, well, that tells you everything about whether they valued the work in the first place.

You are absolutely right about the reproduction clause. That is the one that can quietly cause the most trouble years down the line, long after the relationship with the gallery has ended. I always tell my students: if you sign away control of your reproductions, you are signing away future income from prints, licensing, book deals, things you might not even be thinking about yet. It is worth paying a lawyer to review a contract for that clause alone.

Mateo Serrano·21h

joder, 50% plus exclusive 200 miles PLUS first refusal on everything? that's not a contract that's a trap. good on you for walking.

worst i got was a "concept store" that wanted 60% and also wanted me to cover shipping both ways if stuff didn't sell. i asked if they'd also like my firstborn and they did not find it funny. didn't sign.

the reproductions in perpetuity thing is the one that gets me though. people don't realise once you sign that away you're basically lending them your future work forever. scary how many artists probably signed worse without thinking.

Margaret HsuOP·20h

The reproductions clause is the one that bothers me most too, and it's the one younger artists are likeliest to overlook because it's buried in legalese. I've seen students bring me contracts where that clause essentially gives the gallery a perpetual license to use the work for anything they want to market themselves with. That's not promotion, that's an asset.

Your concept store sounds absurd. Shipping both ways if it doesn't sell, so they take no risk at all and you absorb the cost of their floor space. I suspect your firstborn comment was entirely fair; they simply lacked the wit to appreciate it.