Agency Contract Checklist for Creators

01Start with the service, not the sales pitch

Print the agreement together with every schedule, price list and document incorporated by reference. A promise in a sales call is not an adequate project specification. Mark each obligation that the agency can demonstrate it has completed. If the document promises only growth, exposure or support, ask what you will receive when those ambitions fail to produce revenue.

For a website project, the schedule should identify pages, functionality, hosting responsibilities, source files and acceptance criteria. For SEO, specify the technical review, implementation responsibilities and reporting deliverables. For PR, distinguish research and outreach from guaranteed publication. A supplier should not promise editorial decisions that belong to a publisher.

Separate approvals from production. Name who approves copy, advertising claims and photographs, and what happens if approval is delayed. Changes outside scope need a written estimate before work begins. Silence should not become permission to publish intimate material or buy promotion at your expense.

MyQuests builds custom websites and provides SEO, digital PR and promotion through the SirenSpot web directory. It does not manage creator accounts or chat with fans. Use the broader guide to agency responsibilities to distinguish those services before comparing proposals. This checklist is not legal advice; jurisdiction varies, so have a qualified lawyer review the actual agreement.

02Put the commercial clauses side by side

Use the table as a negotiation sheet, not a statement that every alternative is unlawful. A commercially fair arrangement depends on the work, investment and local law. Your first objective is a document that lets both parties reach the same answer without another sales call.

Ask the supplier to replace ambiguous wording inside the agreement. An email saying a clause will never be enforced leaves the clause in place. Keep a dated copy of each revision and check that the final signature copy includes the negotiated schedules.

03Test the fee base with an actual calculation

A percentage without a denominator is not a price. Define whether the agency charges against fan payments before the platform fee, earnings after that fee, or amounts actually paid out. Never accept net as a complete definition. It could mean after platform fees, after refunds, after tax or after costs selected by the agency.

OnlyFans retains a 20% platform fee, leaving an 80% share before other deductions. The split is described in publicly available platform terms and secondary reporting; check the terms applicable to your account before signing. The example below uses that split and an invented agency commission, not a quoted agency price.

Write a reconciliation rule for refunds, chargebacks and delayed payouts. Otherwise you may pay commission on revenue that subsequently disappears. Also identify whether agency VAT, payment costs and advertising spend are additional. Keep the tax treatment separate from the commercial calculation and get tax advice where needed.

Then test a bad month. Ask what is payable if revenue falls, the platform suspends payouts or you pause publication. A minimum fee plus commission may still be acceptable, but the floor must appear in the budget. Compare the complete obligation with a fixed-fee versus revenue-share arrangement, not just the most attractive percentage.

04Calculate the exit date before discussing renewal

Write down the earliest date you can leave without alleging a breach. Work backwards through the notice period, permitted delivery method and address for notice. Distinguish sending notice from the notice being received. If the wording does not let you calculate a date confidently, ask for a worked calendar example in the agreement.

Automatic renewal should specify both the length of the renewed period and the cancellation deadline. Do not assume consumer subscription protections apply to your business contract. Ask a lawyer to assess your status and governing law. As a negotiating preference, avoid a renewal that recreates a substantial initial commitment merely because you missed a narrow window.

Separate ordinary termination from remedies for serious breach. Ask what happens when deliverables are repeatedly missing, access is misused or confidential material is disclosed. The contract should explain notice, any opportunity to remedy a breach and the treatment of prepaid but unfinished work. Do not assume poor commercial results automatically establish a legal right to terminate.

05Keep exclusivity narrower than the service

Exclusivity should identify the services and channels it covers. A website supplier does not need a claim over future sponsorship deals to build your site. List existing partners and projects that remain outside the restriction. Specify whether you may commission a specialist when the agency cannot provide the required work.

Watch for commission clauses that achieve the same result without using the word exclusive. An entitlement to all revenue associated with your name can capture work the agency never introduced. If continuing commission is proposed, negotiate identifiable transactions, a defined end point and an explanation of the work that justifies it.

Treat a post-termination non-compete as a separate decision. What activity does it prevent, where, for how long and in whose favour? A confidentiality obligation protecting genuine confidential information is different from preventing you from earning. Enforceability is jurisdiction-specific. Do not sign a broad restriction on the assumption that a court will later remove it.

06Separate ownership from access and content permissions

An agency login is an operational convenience, not a reason to surrender recovery control. Keep your recovery email and authentication under your control, and grant only access permitted by the platform and needed for the service. A contract cannot override platform rules. Record authorised people and a process for removing access when their role ends.

For a domain, identify the registrant, registrar account and transfer procedure. For business email, identify the account administrator and recovery route. For a website, distinguish your content from custom code, third-party licences and the supplier's pre-existing tools. Ownership language alone will not make an unavailable licence transferable.

Content permissions need their own schedule. Specify the material, publication channels, purpose, duration and approval rights. Address editing, paid advertising, sublicensing and portfolio use separately. Reject a vague right to exploit your likeness in any media forever when the job is a limited promotional campaign.

Include contributors in the rights check. A photographer's copyright and a depicted person's permission are different issues. The agency should not assume you can grant rights you do not hold. On termination, identify which public uses must stop and which technical or legally required copies may remain, with access restricted.

For a German-law agreement, § 31 UrhG allows exclusive or non-exclusive usage rights with limits on territory, duration or purpose. Define those limits rather than relying on the word ownership. Image and personality rights are separate: § 22 KUG generally requires consent for distributing or publicly displaying portraits, subject to exceptions and a separate assessment of the GDPR. Permission from a photographer does not replace the rights of the depicted person. Have the actual permissions reviewed.

07Match data access to the actual work

Ask which personal data the supplier needs before sharing a spreadsheet or granting dashboard access. A website build does not automatically require fan messages, identity documents or a subscriber export. Use aggregated figures where those answer the reporting question. More data creates more exposure without necessarily improving the work.

Where the GDPR applies and the agency processes personal data on your behalf as a processor, Article 28 requires an appropriate processing contract. The role follows the activity, not the label in the sales document. Some activities may involve independent responsibility instead. Have the roles assessed rather than attaching a generic processing addendum to everything.

The processing terms should address instructions, confidentiality, security, subprocessors, assistance, return or deletion and compliance information. Ask where processing takes place and whether international transfers need separate safeguards. A processing agreement does not itself settle the lawfulness of collecting data or sharing intimate information.

Define reporting without demanding unnecessary personal data. A useful report reconciles deliverables, traffic sources, approved costs and the fee base. Set an agreed reporting date, correction procedure and access to supporting records. If commission is payable, arrange proportionate verification rights and confidentiality for any independent reviewer.

08Review penalties and the dispute route together

Search for penalty, indemnity, damages, set-off and legal costs. A frightening liability clause may sit outside the termination section. Identify the triggering conduct, whether fault matters, how repeated incidents are counted and whether several remedies can accumulate. Ask a lawyer to evaluate enforceability and your maximum plausible exposure.

Do not confuse contractual penalties with payment for work already performed. Nor should an agency be able to declare every disputed invoice a confidentiality breach. Request a process for notifying alleged breaches and contesting charges. Avoid giving the supplier unilateral authority to decide both the allegation and the final amount due.

For German standard-form terms, §§ 305 ff. BGB and § 307 BGB address unfair disadvantage and transparency, with particular rules for business contracts. Signing a clause or inserting your name does not by itself make it individually negotiated. Equally, a hard negotiation is not proof that a clause is invalid. A high commission is not automatically immoral or usurious under § 138 BGB; the statutory conditions and circumstances require legal assessment. Negotiate clear terms instead of assuming a court will later remove an unfavourable clause.

Read governing law and jurisdiction separately. The chosen law and the place where disputes are heard are different questions. An overseas forum can make a modest dispute uneconomic even when you have a strong argument. Ask counsel whether the clause is effective for your circumstances and what enforcing a judgment would involve.

09Agree the handover and review the contract in one evening

Draft the exit schedule while cooperation is still friendly. It should name the person responsible for each transfer and its due date relative to termination. Do not leave operational access dependent on resolving an unrelated invoice dispute. Ask counsel to check that the proposed mechanism works with the rest of the agreement.

Your handover list should cover domain administration, website source and media files, hosting backups, email administration, analytics permissions, campaign assets, approved copy, expenditure records and outstanding work. Record non-transferable third-party licences. Confirm removal of agency access, cancellation of unauthorised future spending and the agreed treatment of personal data.

An evening is enough to prepare a disciplined review, not to resolve every legal question. End with a short list of proposed edits and a separate list for counsel. Do not treat the absence of obvious red flags as proof that a contract is safe.

1. 1

   Collect the whole deal

   Save the contract, schedules, incorporated terms and written promises. Identify the legal parties and signature authority.

2. 2

   Mark money and dates

   Calculate fees on an illustrative good month and bad month. Write the earliest exit date and renewal deadline.

3. 3

   Map control

   List every account, domain, inbox and content licence. Note who can recover access without the other party.

4. 4

   Run an exit rehearsal

   Imagine terminating tomorrow. List what you would need, what remains payable and what restrictions survive.

5. 5

   Send edits and legal questions

   Ask for replacement wording, not reassurance. Give counsel the marked contract and the business outcome you need.

For a website, SEO or PR brief, contact MyQuests about a clearly scoped project. Ask for deliverables, access requirements and handover terms that match the work. Account management and fan chatting are not part of its service. The most useful agreement is one you can operate without surrendering control of your business.

Frequently asked questions