September 5, 2024 • 17 mins
Alright, so you’ve landed a big commercial gig, and the client’s ready to pay you thousands to use your voice. You’re stoked, right?
But then, buried in the contract, you see it: in-perpetuity rights. Sounds fancy, sounds official, but what does it actually mean?
And why should you, as a voice actor, care? Let’s break this down. This is In-Perpetuity Explained.
Make sure you stick around because there is a scenario around in-perp you likely haven’t thought of and we have a special guest to walk you through it.
_____________________________
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Alright, so you landed a big commercial gig and the client is ready to drop a big old bagof money on your doorstep and you are psyched, right?
But then you look in the contract and there it is.
In perpetuity rights.
Sounds fancy, sounds official.
What the hell does it actually mean?
Why should you as a voice actor care?
(00:21):
You're gonna get paid, right?
Let's break this down.
This is in perpetuity explained.
And make sure you stick around because there's a scenario around in perpetuity that youlikely haven't thought of.
I hadn't.
And so maybe you haven't and we're going to have a special guest to walk you through it.
Now, let's start with what does in -perp or in perpetuity actually mean?
(00:47):
It's a term that essentially means forever.
In fact, it does mean forever.
When a client asks you for rights in perpetuity, in -perp,
It means that they're asking you for the rights to use your voice forever.
That means yes, even after you die.
It also means they can use it in whatever way they see fit, right?
(01:09):
In whatever platform, whether that platform has even been invented yet or not.
In perpetuity means forever and everything that encompasses it.
And the kicker is they don't have to pay you another thin dime.
Great deal for the client, not so much for you, the voice talent.
Why?
Let's say you just voiced a hot new ad for a fast food chain, right?
(01:31):
And they've paid you upfront, you got a big bag of money, you're feeling pretty good aboutyourself.
But now let's fast forward.
Three, four, five years down the line, that ad is still running.
It's running on radio, TV, and broadcast.
It's all over the place, still raking in money for the client.
And you're not raking in any more money than you originally got.
(01:54):
And so you think to yourself, well, I'll just negotiate for more.
Nope.
You've sold your rights in perpetuity forever.
There is no renegotiation period.
So you're essentially locked out of any renegotiation for that ad, any future earnings forthat ad, even though that might be hugely profitable for the client.
(02:14):
Let's just take this a step further.
Let's say that ad becomes iconic.
For those of you of a certain age, will remember back in the, I guess it was the 80s or90s, Where's the Beef?
It certainly is a big bun.
It's a very big bun.
Big fluffy bun.
It's a very big fluffy bun.
(02:34):
Where's the beef?
Some hamburger places give you a lot less beef on a lot of bun.
Where's the beef?
At Wendy's we serve a hamburger we modestly call a single.
And Wendy's single has more beef than the Whopper or Big Mac.
At Wendy's you get more beef and less bun.
Hey!
Where's the beef?
I don't think there's anybody back there.
You want something better.
You're Wendy's kind of people.
(02:55):
Well if you had done a Where's the Beef type ad, an iconic ad, one that kind of seepsitself into the cultural zeitgeist as the intellectuals like to say, that ad's gonna be
all over the
People are going to be quoting it.
It might end up in movies.
You're going to see the commercial all over the place.
People will reference it in pop culture.
And again, you're not going to make one more thin dime, even though you and the wholeworld knows that that's your voice.
(03:21):
And now they associate you with that brand, your voice with that brand.
You're not seeing any more kaching from that ad.
And in fact, now the client is cutting that ad up and using it in ways that you never evendreamed of.
And again, you're not getting paid.
But my friends, your problems have yet to just begin.
Let's just say theoretically that another fast food chain comes along and they offer youan even bigger bag of money.
(03:46):
Problemo solved, right?
Not so much.
Because you sold your rights in perpetuity to the first fast food chain.
You, my friend, are screwed blue.
You can't even audition.
Why?
It's called soft exclusivity and we'll get to that in a minute.
And if that wasn't enough, let's paint another picture here.
Let's say you do a digital ad for a company and you've sold your rights in perpetuity anda decade later that company has grown from a little startup to a huge multinational
(04:16):
corporation and they decide that they're going to expand into other markets.
They're going to go global, international.
Now that they've gone global and they're expanding into international markets, they'reexpanding into different languages, but you're so iconic they keep you on the English
language version.
and they're expanding into other English -speaking countries.
And again, you're not getting another thin dime of compensation.
(04:39):
Meanwhile, you've become so associated with that company and with that brand that theircompetitors, everybody else in that category or sector, they're steering clear with you
because they don't want to confuse their audiences.
So in addition to losing out on money from the original company, now you're losing out onmoney from potential companies.
And here's where it gets even more fun.
(05:01):
Hope you brought a bucket.
Let's say the company that you voiced for falls in some way out of favor.
Say like, I don't know, maybe a formerly glorious microblogging platform that was boughtby someone who had less than good intentions.
And let's just say the whole company has a soiled reputation now.
(05:22):
Now your association with that brand has the potential to harm your own reputation.
And so you say, well, I'll just
Ask them to remove my voice.
I won't be associated with them anymore.
Nay, nay.
You've signed away your rights in perpetuity.
You are married to them forever.
All right, let's get back to this idea of soft exclusivity because it's kind of easy tomiss until it bites you in the ass.
(05:44):
The reason this is a thing and it's not even a contractual thing, it's an associationthing.
When you sign your rights away to a brand in perpetuity and they're using your voicepublicly,
you become associated with that brand.
And so what happens is, as we alluded to before, other advertisers that are competitors,that are in the same category or sector, they don't want any parts of you because you're
(06:10):
now associated with their competitor.
That's what soft exclusivity is.
Whether the original client had exclusivity for you in their contract or not is irrelevantbecause to their competition, you are persona non grata.
Let's say you do an ad for an energy drink.
Right now you've become associated with, just pick one.
(06:31):
Let's say it's Bang, right?
You do an ad for Bang and you are doing public broadcast ads for them and you becomeassociated with Bang Energy.
Your voice is now so closely associated with Bang that let's say another energy drinkcomes along.
Let's call it Zoom.
Zoom wants no parts of you.
And if you do audition for Zoom and you don't disclose your conflict and you book and dothe ad for Zoom,
(06:57):
BANG can then sue you for violating a non -compete or an exclusivity agreement.
But again, even if BANG doesn't have legal grounds on which to stop you, now the newclient may have legal grounds to sue you because you didn't disclose your conflicts.
So that's why when agents reach out about a national campaign, they're going to ask you todisclose any conflicts you may have.
(07:21):
And if those conflicts are in perpetuity,
That's not gonna work out well for you.
Let's get back to the financial impact for a minute.
When you sign away in perpetuity rights, you're essentially taking a bag of money, anupfront payment, rather than having your payments made to you over the course of years.
If you're voicing a commercial that potentially can run months or years down the line,then you're missing out on the potential to renegotiate those renewals down the line.
(07:50):
This is not
about getting paid for your time to record the spot.
This is about getting paid for your value as long as that spot is running.
And without that, you're giving the client a license to print money using your voice andyou're not getting any further compensation except that initial, which in hindsight is a
(08:12):
pittance.
And this is super relevant as new technologies and the industry evolve.
with the rise of digital advertising, especially digital broadcast advertising, spots havethe potential to run even longer than they used to back when all we had was broadcast TV
and radio.
It's not just about national TV spots anymore.
(08:32):
Ads can run for a hell of a long time on YouTube, on Hulu, over the top platforms, andeven on social media.
And every one of these platforms has the potential to reach millions of viewers and have ahuge impact.
All while your voice continues to work for the client for relatively free.
All right, now that we've almost beat that horse to death, you might be saying toyourself, holy crap, is in perpetuity ever okay?
(08:59):
And the answer is yes, but it's all about context.
When it comes to non -broadcast projects, things like corporate videos, explainers, e-learning, medical narration, IVR and telephony work.
things are different for non -broadcast work.
These projects are not typically produced for mass consumption and they're certainly notdriving long -term profits for the companies that are producing them.
(09:25):
Instead, these are oftentimes one -off projects for a very specific purpose with a verylimited audience.
For example, an internal explainer video for a corporation
may simply live on, let's say, their company intranet.
And that's not going to have the same public consumption.
(09:46):
It's not going to drive the same long -term profits that a public -facing TV or digitalbroadcast ad would.
So in perpetuity, in that case, makes a lot of sense because you're not going to bemissing out on profits that you're driving for the company.
Their competitors aren't gonna care because you won't be associated as closely with thatbrand because it's not being consumed in a mass consumption sort of way.
(10:10):
So there's no conflicts and no real repercussions for your income.
And a lot of times these non -broadcast, more corporate sorts of projects have a morelimited shelf life.
E -learning or corporate training may have a shelf life of let's say three to five years,in which case it's gonna need to be re -updated or...
(10:31):
the platform will have changed.
Medical narrations might be used, for example, for a specific device that's only used fora few years.
So while, your voice is tied to that project in theory indefinitely, the likelihood thatthat project's still gonna be running even a decade from now is pretty slim.
The same thing for non -paid placement social media.
(10:55):
Let's say you're doing an explainer, it's 60 seconds long, it's gonna run on the client'sorganic
Social media feeds meaning only in their feeds and they're not paying to run thatrecording as an ad Then it's fine to do that in perpetuity because the reality is they're
only gonna run it a few times now that said even when or in perpetuity is Acceptable it'sstill all about context and you still have to read the fine print for example You'll want
(11:23):
to look for any language that allows the client to repurpose that recording for thingsthat are broadcast
or usages that even expand the audience significantly.
Let's say you did an internal training course and months down the line, the client decidesthey want to use that in a public facing course.
Well, that's a much bigger audience and you should contractually, if you're diligent, youshould have the ability to then renegotiate or renegotiate that in the original contract.
(11:53):
The big lesson, the big takeaway here is to make sure that you read the fine print andthat you make sure
that any and all usage is clearly detailed and as specific as possible in the contract andor the scope of work.
So how do you protect yourself when you're negotiating gigs?
Well, it comes down to understanding what your rights are and negotiating smartly.
(12:16):
When a client asks for in -perpetuity rights for broadcast spots, do not accept them andit is okay to push back.
In fact, it's essential.
Now the reality is that no client needs the rights to a recording really in perpetuity.
They're not going to run it forever.
Ask them why they're asking for in perpetuity and whether a limited term, say a year, twoyears, five years, maybe even 10 years makes more sense.
(12:44):
And if you come at this from a place of service and trying to help them,
then many clients will understand that you're not trying to put one over on them, you areactually trying to help them and to control their costs, while at the same time protecting
your own future earning potential.
For example, they ask for in perpetuity, you say, okay, how about five years with anoption to renew at let's say 10 or 15 % at the end of that five year term.
(13:11):
That way the client still gets long -term use that they're looking for and you still getthe chance to renegotiate if that campaign is wildly successful.
They know that they've got a set contract for the next five years and what the associatedcosts are and you know you're going to get compensated fairly as long as that ad continues
to generate revenue.
(13:31):
And I'm going to say it one last time, make sure you read the fine print for anything thathas to do with in perpetuity and always read the fine print.
specifically on usage and term and make sure you fully understand the implications.
And if you don't engage an attorney, understand, are you going to be able to work forcompeting brands?
(13:52):
Is the exclusivity, is it tied to a certain geography or region or term, or is itcompletely global?
Get the details upfront, get them nailed down, save you a lot of headaches in the future.
Now there's one last aspect of in perpetuity that
I hadn't even considered until two days ago.
And that is, what if you are considering having an AI model made of your voice?
(14:16):
Two days ago, I'm scrolling through Instagram and my friend and NAVA vice president, KarenGuilfrey addressed that very topic.
She explains it much better than I could.
And here it is.
Tech companies are trying to get actors and individuals to sign away the rights tothemselves, to their voice, image, name, and likeness in perpetuity.
And you
(14:36):
should not do that.
Don't take that deal, no matter how much they're offering you, for a couple of reasons.
One, you don't want a tech company to own you in perpetuity to do with whatever they wantforever.
You want to have a licensable term.
Second, the No Fakes Act is a bill that would give every individual person intellectualproperty rights to their voice, image, name, and likeness.
(15:02):
And the license term that is included in this bill is no more than 10 years.
That means that the tech companies would not be able to use your voice for more than 10years without asking your permission again and hopefully paying you again.
So they're trying to get in perpetuity now in part maybe because they know that thislegislation is coming and anything after the bill is passed.
(15:30):
will only be allowed to be 10 years, but it won't be retroactive.
So if you sign away the rights to your voice, image, name, and likeness now, you arelocked in.
So don't do it.
Hold strong.
Stand together.
We can do it.
As with broadcast, when it comes to having an AI model made of your voice, you want afinite, licensable term.
(15:53):
Three years, five years, 10 years, whatever it is, do not agree to in perpetuity.
That's a lot.
I get it.
A lot of ground to cover, but I think you have a better understanding now.
In perpetuity is a trade -off and it is never one that benefits the voice actor.
Yeah, it's a little bit of money upfront, but what you're giving up down the road is hugeand that's why companies want to have rights in perpetuity because it benefits them, not
(16:20):
you.
Whether you're missing out on actual money from that client, whether you're missing out onpotential money from other clients in that sector.
Whether you're losing control over how your voice is being used or whether or not you'reassociated with a brand with a bad reputation, when you're tied to a company and a brand
in perpetuity, it means forever.
Yeah, I get it.
(16:40):
It's tempting, especially if you're in tight financial straits to take a little bit ofmoney now.
But what you're giving up later could literally cost you five, six or seven figures downthe road.
It's not just about getting paid today.
It's about making sure that your talent is being valued.
today and in the future.
In perpetuity seems harmless now, but the harm that you do to your own career and that ofthe entire industry is irreparable.
(17:07):
Now, get on over to voPro .pro and get my Move, Touch, Inspire newsletter that comes outfor voice actors every single week.
Get more information on the VOPro community and the VO Freedom Master Plan.
If you got value out of this video, if you think it'll be valuable to other voice actors,then please share it with them, whether it's on social media or you email it to them.
strap it to a carrier pigeon and throw it off your balcony.
(17:29):
I don't care what you do, but we can help other voice actors if you share this thing.
And as always, thanks for the conversations that we're having in the VO community atlarge, here on YouTube, in the blog at VOPro .Pro, on Zoom calls whenever they happen, in
workout groups.
The more we talk, the more we exchange information, the more we ask questions, the better,stronger industry we're gonna have for everybody.
(17:51):
Go Ravens and we will see you back here next week.
Alright, so you landed a big commercial gig and the client is ready to drop a big old bagof money on your doorstep and you are psyched, right?
But then you look in the contract and there it is.
In perpetuity rights.
Sounds fancy, sounds official.
What the hell does it actually mean?
Why should you as a voice actor care?
(00:21):
You're gonna get paid, right?
Let's break this down.
This is in perpetuity explained.
And make sure you stick around because there's a scenario around in perpetuity that youlikely haven't thought of.
I hadn't.
And so maybe you haven't and we're going to have a special guest to walk you through it.
Now, let's start with what does in -perp or in perpetuity actually mean?
(00:47):
It's a term that essentially means forever.
In fact, it does mean forever.
When a client asks you for rights in perpetuity, in -perp,
It means that they're asking you for the rights to use your voice forever.
That means yes, even after you die.
It also means they can use it in whatever way they see fit, right?
(01:09):
In whatever platform, whether that platform has even been invented yet or not.
In perpetuity means forever and everything that encompasses it.
And the kicker is they don't have to pay you another thin dime.
Great deal for the client, not so much for you, the voice talent.
Why?
Let's say you just voiced a hot new ad for a fast food chain, right?
(01:31):
And they've paid you upfront, you got a big bag of money, you're feeling pretty good aboutyourself.
But now let's fast forward.
Three, four, five years down the line, that ad is still running.
It's running on radio, TV, and broadcast.
It's all over the place, still raking in money for the client.
And you're not raking in any more money than you originally got.
(01:54):
And so you think to yourself, well, I'll just negotiate for more.
Nope.
You've sold your rights in perpetuity forever.
There is no renegotiation period.
So you're essentially locked out of any renegotiation for that ad, any future earnings forthat ad, even though that might be hugely profitable for the client.
(02:14):
Let's just take this a step further.
Let's say that ad becomes iconic.
For those of you of a certain age, will remember back in the, I guess it was the 80s or90s, Where's the Beef?
It certainly is a big bun.
It's a very big bun.
Big fluffy bun.
It's a very big fluffy bun.
(02:34):
Where's the beef?
Some hamburger places give you a lot less beef on a lot of bun.
Where's the beef?
At Wendy's we serve a hamburger we modestly call a single.
And Wendy's single has more beef than the Whopper or Big Mac.
At Wendy's you get more beef and less bun.
Hey!
Where's the beef?
I don't think there's anybody back there.
You want something better.
You're Wendy's kind of people.
(02:55):
Well if you had done a Where's the Beef type ad, an iconic ad, one that kind of seepsitself into the cultural zeitgeist as the intellectuals like to say, that ad's gonna be
all over the
People are going to be quoting it.
It might end up in movies.
You're going to see the commercial all over the place.
People will reference it in pop culture.
And again, you're not going to make one more thin dime, even though you and the wholeworld knows that that's your voice.
(03:21):
And now they associate you with that brand, your voice with that brand.
You're not seeing any more kaching from that ad.
And in fact, now the client is cutting that ad up and using it in ways that you never evendreamed of.
And again, you're not getting paid.
But my friends, your problems have yet to just begin.
Let's just say theoretically that another fast food chain comes along and they offer youan even bigger bag of money.
(03:46):
Problemo solved, right?
Not so much.
Because you sold your rights in perpetuity to the first fast food chain.
You, my friend, are screwed blue.
You can't even audition.
Why?
It's called soft exclusivity and we'll get to that in a minute.
And if that wasn't enough, let's paint another picture here.
Let's say you do a digital ad for a company and you've sold your rights in perpetuity anda decade later that company has grown from a little startup to a huge multinational
(04:16):
corporation and they decide that they're going to expand into other markets.
They're going to go global, international.
Now that they've gone global and they're expanding into international markets, they'reexpanding into different languages, but you're so iconic they keep you on the English
language version.
and they're expanding into other English -speaking countries.
And again, you're not getting another thin dime of compensation.
(04:39):
Meanwhile, you've become so associated with that company and with that brand that theircompetitors, everybody else in that category or sector, they're steering clear with you
because they don't want to confuse their audiences.
So in addition to losing out on money from the original company, now you're losing out onmoney from potential companies.
And here's where it gets even more fun.
(05:01):
Hope you brought a bucket.
Let's say the company that you voiced for falls in some way out of favor.
Say like, I don't know, maybe a formerly glorious microblogging platform that was boughtby someone who had less than good intentions.
And let's just say the whole company has a soiled reputation now.
(05:22):
Now your association with that brand has the potential to harm your own reputation.
And so you say, well, I'll just
Ask them to remove my voice.
I won't be associated with them anymore.
Nay, nay.
You've signed away your rights in perpetuity.
You are married to them forever.
All right, let's get back to this idea of soft exclusivity because it's kind of easy tomiss until it bites you in the ass.
(05:44):
The reason this is a thing and it's not even a contractual thing, it's an associationthing.
When you sign your rights away to a brand in perpetuity and they're using your voicepublicly,
you become associated with that brand.
And so what happens is, as we alluded to before, other advertisers that are competitors,that are in the same category or sector, they don't want any parts of you because you're
(06:10):
now associated with their competitor.
That's what soft exclusivity is.
Whether the original client had exclusivity for you in their contract or not is irrelevantbecause to their competition, you are persona non grata.
Let's say you do an ad for an energy drink.
Right now you've become associated with, just pick one.
(06:31):
Let's say it's Bang, right?
You do an ad for Bang and you are doing public broadcast ads for them and you becomeassociated with Bang Energy.
Your voice is now so closely associated with Bang that let's say another energy drinkcomes along.
Let's call it Zoom.
Zoom wants no parts of you.
And if you do audition for Zoom and you don't disclose your conflict and you book and dothe ad for Zoom,
(06:57):
BANG can then sue you for violating a non -compete or an exclusivity agreement.
But again, even if BANG doesn't have legal grounds on which to stop you, now the newclient may have legal grounds to sue you because you didn't disclose your conflicts.
So that's why when agents reach out about a national campaign, they're going to ask you todisclose any conflicts you may have.
(07:21):
And if those conflicts are in perpetuity,
That's not gonna work out well for you.
Let's get back to the financial impact for a minute.
When you sign away in perpetuity rights, you're essentially taking a bag of money, anupfront payment, rather than having your payments made to you over the course of years.
If you're voicing a commercial that potentially can run months or years down the line,then you're missing out on the potential to renegotiate those renewals down the line.
(07:50):
This is not
about getting paid for your time to record the spot.
This is about getting paid for your value as long as that spot is running.
And without that, you're giving the client a license to print money using your voice andyou're not getting any further compensation except that initial, which in hindsight is a
(08:12):
pittance.
And this is super relevant as new technologies and the industry evolve.
with the rise of digital advertising, especially digital broadcast advertising, spots havethe potential to run even longer than they used to back when all we had was broadcast TV
and radio.
It's not just about national TV spots anymore.
(08:32):
Ads can run for a hell of a long time on YouTube, on Hulu, over the top platforms, andeven on social media.
And every one of these platforms has the potential to reach millions of viewers and have ahuge impact.
All while your voice continues to work for the client for relatively free.
All right, now that we've almost beat that horse to death, you might be saying toyourself, holy crap, is in perpetuity ever okay?
(08:59):
And the answer is yes, but it's all about context.
When it comes to non -broadcast projects, things like corporate videos, explainers, e-learning, medical narration, IVR and telephony work.
things are different for non -broadcast work.
These projects are not typically produced for mass consumption and they're certainly notdriving long -term profits for the companies that are producing them.
(09:25):
Instead, these are oftentimes one -off projects for a very specific purpose with a verylimited audience.
For example, an internal explainer video for a corporation
may simply live on, let's say, their company intranet.
And that's not going to have the same public consumption.
(09:46):
It's not going to drive the same long -term profits that a public -facing TV or digitalbroadcast ad would.
So in perpetuity, in that case, makes a lot of sense because you're not going to bemissing out on profits that you're driving for the company.
Their competitors aren't gonna care because you won't be associated as closely with thatbrand because it's not being consumed in a mass consumption sort of way.
(10:10):
So there's no conflicts and no real repercussions for your income.
And a lot of times these non -broadcast, more corporate sorts of projects have a morelimited shelf life.
E -learning or corporate training may have a shelf life of let's say three to five years,in which case it's gonna need to be re -updated or...
(10:31):
the platform will have changed.
Medical narrations might be used, for example, for a specific device that's only used fora few years.
So while, your voice is tied to that project in theory indefinitely, the likelihood thatthat project's still gonna be running even a decade from now is pretty slim.
The same thing for non -paid placement social media.
(10:55):
Let's say you're doing an explainer, it's 60 seconds long, it's gonna run on the client'sorganic
Social media feeds meaning only in their feeds and they're not paying to run thatrecording as an ad Then it's fine to do that in perpetuity because the reality is they're
only gonna run it a few times now that said even when or in perpetuity is Acceptable it'sstill all about context and you still have to read the fine print for example You'll want
(11:23):
to look for any language that allows the client to repurpose that recording for thingsthat are broadcast
or usages that even expand the audience significantly.
Let's say you did an internal training course and months down the line, the client decidesthey want to use that in a public facing course.
Well, that's a much bigger audience and you should contractually, if you're diligent, youshould have the ability to then renegotiate or renegotiate that in the original contract.
(11:53):
The big lesson, the big takeaway here is to make sure that you read the fine print andthat you make sure
that any and all usage is clearly detailed and as specific as possible in the contract andor the scope of work.
So how do you protect yourself when you're negotiating gigs?
Well, it comes down to understanding what your rights are and negotiating smartly.
(12:16):
When a client asks for in -perpetuity rights for broadcast spots, do not accept them andit is okay to push back.
In fact, it's essential.
Now the reality is that no client needs the rights to a recording really in perpetuity.
They're not going to run it forever.
Ask them why they're asking for in perpetuity and whether a limited term, say a year, twoyears, five years, maybe even 10 years makes more sense.
(12:44):
And if you come at this from a place of service and trying to help them,
then many clients will understand that you're not trying to put one over on them, you areactually trying to help them and to control their costs, while at the same time protecting
your own future earning potential.
For example, they ask for in perpetuity, you say, okay, how about five years with anoption to renew at let's say 10 or 15 % at the end of that five year term.
(13:11):
That way the client still gets long -term use that they're looking for and you still getthe chance to renegotiate if that campaign is wildly successful.
They know that they've got a set contract for the next five years and what the associatedcosts are and you know you're going to get compensated fairly as long as that ad continues
to generate revenue.
(13:31):
And I'm going to say it one last time, make sure you read the fine print for anything thathas to do with in perpetuity and always read the fine print.
specifically on usage and term and make sure you fully understand the implications.
And if you don't engage an attorney, understand, are you going to be able to work forcompeting brands?
(13:52):
Is the exclusivity, is it tied to a certain geography or region or term, or is itcompletely global?
Get the details upfront, get them nailed down, save you a lot of headaches in the future.
Now there's one last aspect of in perpetuity that
I hadn't even considered until two days ago.
And that is, what if you are considering having an AI model made of your voice?
(14:16):
Two days ago, I'm scrolling through Instagram and my friend and NAVA vice president, KarenGuilfrey addressed that very topic.
She explains it much better than I could.
And here it is.
Tech companies are trying to get actors and individuals to sign away the rights tothemselves, to their voice, image, name, and likeness in perpetuity.
And you
(14:36):
should not do that.
Don't take that deal, no matter how much they're offering you, for a couple of reasons.
One, you don't want a tech company to own you in perpetuity to do with whatever they wantforever.
You want to have a licensable term.
Second, the No Fakes Act is a bill that would give every individual person intellectualproperty rights to their voice, image, name, and likeness.
(15:02):
And the license term that is included in this bill is no more than 10 years.
That means that the tech companies would not be able to use your voice for more than 10years without asking your permission again and hopefully paying you again.
So they're trying to get in perpetuity now in part maybe because they know that thislegislation is coming and anything after the bill is passed.
(15:30):
will only be allowed to be 10 years, but it won't be retroactive.
So if you sign away the rights to your voice, image, name, and likeness now, you arelocked in.
So don't do it.
Hold strong.
Stand together.
We can do it.
As with broadcast, when it comes to having an AI model made of your voice, you want afinite, licensable term.
(15:53):
Three years, five years, 10 years, whatever it is, do not agree to in perpetuity.
That's a lot.
I get it.
A lot of ground to cover, but I think you have a better understanding now.
In perpetuity is a trade -off and it is never one that benefits the voice actor.
Yeah, it's a little bit of money upfront, but what you're giving up down the road is hugeand that's why companies want to have rights in perpetuity because it benefits them, not
(16:20):
you.
Whether you're missing out on actual money from that client, whether you're missing out onpotential money from other clients in that sector.
Whether you're losing control over how your voice is being used or whether or not you'reassociated with a brand with a bad reputation, when you're tied to a company and a brand
in perpetuity, it means forever.
Yeah, I get it.
(16:40):
It's tempting, especially if you're in tight financial straits to take a little bit ofmoney now.
But what you're giving up later could literally cost you five, six or seven figures downthe road.
It's not just about getting paid today.
It's about making sure that your talent is being valued.
today and in the future.
In perpetuity seems harmless now, but the harm that you do to your own career and that ofthe entire industry is irreparable.
(17:07):
Now, get on over to voPro .pro and get my Move, Touch, Inspire newsletter that comes outfor voice actors every single week.
Get more information on the VOPro community and the VO Freedom Master Plan.
If you got value out of this video, if you think it'll be valuable to other voice actors,then please share it with them, whether it's on social media or you email it to them.
strap it to a carrier pigeon and throw it off your balcony.
(17:29):
I don't care what you do, but we can help other voice actors if you share this thing.
And as always, thanks for the conversations that we're having in the VO community atlarge, here on YouTube, in the blog at VOPro .Pro, on Zoom calls whenever they happen, in
workout groups.
The more we talk, the more we exchange information, the more we ask questions, the better,stronger industry we're gonna have for everybody.
(17:51):
Go Ravens and we will see you back here next week.
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