Music
A split sheet, signed before anyone leaves the session
Two writers and a producer finish a hook on a Saturday. One page, three signatures and a 40, 40 and 20 split keep it from turning into an argument later.
Daisy Fontaneda6 min read
Entertainment lawyer · Miami Beach
You made it.
The contract should say so.
I'm Daisy Fontaneda, and I read contracts for musicians, filmmakers, writers and creators from a small office on Michigan Avenue. I mark every page up with a pink pen, so you can see what I changed and why.
Most people come to me with a deal already on the table: a producer wants a piece of the master, a brand wants your face for a year, a publisher wants rights you didn't know you had. I read it twice, once for what it says and once for what it leaves out, then walk you through it by video in plain English.
Every job has one flat fee, quoted in writing before you pay. Clients across the country work with me from their own studios and couches.
Daisy Fontaneda
Founder, Fontaneda Law
- One flat fee per jobQuoted in writing first
- Video calls, nationwideFrom your studio or your couch
- Marked up in pinkWith the reason beside each change
Government filing fees, like trademark and copyright registration, are separate and passed through at cost.
Five minutes with the pink pen
Reading a brand deal, out loud
A short walk through the five clauses I check first in any creator deal, with the marked-up pages on screen.
How long the brand can use your video, who you can't work with afterward, when you get paid, who approves what, and what happens if the deal falls through.
How I read a brand deal, in five minutes
Worked examples
Two deals, read line by line
Each guide follows a made-up deal from page one to the signature, with the numbers, so you can hold it up against your own.
CreatorsReading a brand deal: five clauses before you post
A $2,400 offer for three videos looks simple until page two gives the brand your work for good. Here is what to ask about, clause by clause.
Daisy Fontaneda7 min read
Flat fees, worked through
Four jobs, start to finish
Invented clients, real structure. What you pay depends on your deal; these show what one fee covers.
- Flat fee
The brand deal with a catch
A food creator is offered $2,400 for three videos. Page two gave the brand her videos for good and kept her from similar brands for a year. I marked up two clauses, and the brand agreed to twelve months of paid-ad use and a thirty-day window.
One written markup
One 30-minute video call
One round of changes with the brand
- Flat fee
A song written by three
Two writers and a producer left a Saturday session with a hook and no paperwork. A one-page split sheet put 40, 40 and 20 in writing, and all three signed that night.
The sheet, ready to sign
Signatures collected online
A copy for every writer
- Flat fee
The podcast that found a sponsor
Two hosts, no agreement and a first sponsor on the way. A hosts' agreement said who owns the show name and the feed, how revenue is shared and what happens if one of them leaves.
A hosts' agreement for two
One 45-minute video call
A short sponsor checklist
- Flat fee
A short film headed to festivals
A cast of six, three locations and not one release signed. I wrote a release for each kind of person and place, then checked the paper trail before the first submission.
Cast, crew and location releases
A rights checklist for submissions
One review of the final package
Sample jobs with invented clients and figures. Each quote depends on the deal, and government filing fees are separate.
Bring me the deal before the deadline
Tell me what the contract is, the date it's due and what worries you. On a short video call I'll say whether it's a quick review or something bigger, and what it costs, before you pay anything.
Please don't send confidential details through this site.