What Artists Should Know Before Accepting a Brand Collaboration

Brand collaborations can be significant opportunities. They can also be poorly structured, undervalued and unexpectedly limiting. Knowing what to look for before you agree to anything makes a material difference.

Understand what you are agreeing to

A brand collaboration is a commercial agreement. The terms of that agreement, what you make, who owns it, how it is used, where it appears, and for how long, should be clear before work begins.

Verbal conversations and email exchanges are not a contract. A letter of agreement or formal contract should set out the scope, fee, deliverables, usage rights and payment schedule in writing.

Know what rights you are licensing

Usage rights are one of the most commonly misunderstood elements of a brand deal. What the brand can do with your work after the collaboration, where, for how long, and in what format, affects the value of what you are providing.

A broad or unlimited licence is worth more than a narrow one. If a brand wants to use your work widely, across platforms, in advertising, internationally, or in perpetuity, that should be reflected in the fee.

Creative control matters as much as the fee

Some collaborations offer a strong fee and then involve significant creative compromise. Others are lighter on fee but allow genuine creative freedom. Neither is automatically right or wrong, but you should know which you are entering into.

Approval processes, revision rounds and sign-off structures all affect how much creative control you retain in practice. These are worth discussing before you agree to the project.

Have a number before the conversation

Going into a fee negotiation without a number in mind is a disadvantage. Know what the project will cost you to deliver, what your time is worth, what rights are being requested, and what you want to walk away with. Then hold to it.

Artist Strategy Sessions are available for artists navigating a live brand collaboration before signing.