Should I sellout now or should I wait hoping for a payoff?

[macselite]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA

I recently filmed some classes for a client that they taught. They are really good at what they do and I know they will be successful. It's just a matter of when they will be successful, because it's either all or nothing with them. They either want their own show, or they want nothing. They don't really want to work their way up, because they have already had their own show teaching the same thing before. Granted, it was on cable, but still.

Their goal is to have their own network TV show. They are also an actor and want their own sitcom, but for now, they are sticking with teaching.

They also seem to self-sabotage themselves sometimes, which is a hard habit to break without increasing your self-image, and they tend to have an attitude at times.

In any respect, we never had anything in writing, but we had a verbal agreement that we would create a product, market it online, and split any and all online proceeds 50/50. So I helped them A LOT, filmed 4 of their classes, consulted them on marketing for many hours, set up their Facebook fan page, set up two Twitter accounts for them, set up their YouTube channel, edited some videos adding banners to the videos with their website address along with a call to action for the viewers to join their email list so the viewers could buy their book, promoted their Twitter and YouTube accounts, as well as their Facebook fan page, on my accounts, and more.

I tallied up the values of everything, and came up with a total of $5400. I was thinking of a buyout price of $6000 before I tallied them up, and I'm still thinking that amount for the buyout price considering their economic situation. The buyout price includes compensation for everything that I did for them, as well as unlimited use of all of the raw footage that I shot, and the passwords to the Twitter and YouTube accounts that I set up for them.

They don't really have a lot of money, which is why I am pricing it accordingly.

My questions are the following:

1. Should I sell out at $6k and just be done with it, or should I hold out and ask for some money upfront, as well as require a percentage of any income/revenue that is generated from the use and/or submission of the videos? If the latter, then how much upfront would you suggest, and what percentage of any income/revenue?

Keep in mind that they are in their mid forties, so who knows how much longer it will take for them to hit it big. And I could use the money right now to invest in my own business, however there is no guarantee that they will pay that either. They may just opt to film everything all over again.

Please advise.

 

[justalayman]

I do not see you as having any rights to sell if they aren't buying let alone ask for any money up front if you do not sell out. You agreed to do the work you did in exchange for a cut of the sales. That is your contract.

, as well as unlimited use of all of the raw footage that I shot, and the passwords to the Twitter and YouTube accounts that I set up for them.

sorry, but unless they breach their contract, they already own the raw footage and the twitter and youtube accounts.

They may just opt to film everything all over again.

why should they do that? They already have what you filmed. Now, if they do not share the proceeds as agreed, you will have a claim against them and your claimed value of $5400 will be important then but until and unless something happens, you already made a deal for your work.

 

[macselite]

There is something that I neglected to mention. *1st, I still have the videos of the classes that I filmed. *They do not have copies of the videos. *

I was going to edit them soon after we filmed them, and upload them to their YouTube channel that I created for them, but we had a bit of a falling out before that happened, because they were not patient enough to wait for me to send my original proposal to them. *So they asked for the videos of the classes that I had filmed so they could have someone else work on them, and they were not offering any compensation for all that I did for them. *In essence, they were cutting me out of the deal that I helped create.

So, I did not respond. *I wanted time to think of a strategy that would allow me to be compensated for the time I put into the project, and for the marketing advice and strategies I gave them for their business. *

But, as often happens to many of us, I got busy with life and did not get around to coming up with a proposal to square things away business-wise. *It was on my mind of things to do. *I just had other priorities at the time.

Then, recently a producer that is working on getting this person their own network TV show called me asking for the videos. *They said that they would "give me credit."

I'm not interested in credit at this point, because who knows if they will be successful in getting this person's work out there. *The producer had not even checked out the YouTube channel I set up to see what kind of videos they were and/or the quality of them.

However, one thing I will say is that this person who I helped does hustle, and manifests things in their life. *Recently they managed to have one of the major TV networks ask them for some content to put on the network's blog. *And that is the very same network where they would like to have their show.

Also, when I was working with them, *a personal assistant of a famous celebrity approached them for a possible business relationship, and I consulted with them on how to handle the meeting so they could maximize their business relationship with that celebrity. *I'm not sure what came of that relationship, because soon after, we had a falling out.

So they definitely have the talent and potential, and they have also been doing this for years. *So they have the experience as well.

In any respect, bottom line is I have the videos, they want them, and I want to either be compensated for my time & ideas, and for waiving my rights to any future earnings that these videos and my ideas may produce, either directly or indirectly, OR be compensated somewhat now, and then a great deal more in the future in ongoing residuals.

Hope that gives you a better picture of the situation.

 

[justalayman]

In any respect, bottom line is I have the videos, they want them, and I want to either be compensated for my time & ideas, and for waiving my rights to any future earnings that these videos and my ideas may produce, either directly or indirectly, OR be compensated somewhat now, and then a great deal more in the future in ongoing residuals.

Hope that gives you a better picture of the situation.

yes it does. It sounds like they have a great case to sue you for breach of contract.

 

[macselite]

They are the ones who breached the contract. They are trying to cut me out of a deal that I helped create with no compensation whatsoever. Tell me how they honored the contract. I'd love to know.

We agreed to split the proceeds 50/50 and now they want me out of the deal, but want the work that I did for free. Until they give me compensation for the videos and for the waiving of the rights to future earnings that those videos produce, then those videos are mine. I filmed them with my equipment with their consent, and did not agree to work for free.

 

[justalayman]

and until they refuse to pay you as agreed, they have done nothing improper. As since you have refused to provide them with your part of the bargain, they have a right to dispute payment to you anyway. At least, they would be able to claim you are owed less than the agreed amount as you have failed to provide all what you agreed to.

However, one thing I will say is that this person who I helped does hustle, and manifests things in their life. *Recently they managed to have one of the major TV networks ask them for some content to put on the network's blog. *And that is the very same network where they would like to have their show.

Also, when I was working with them, *a personal assistant of a famous celebrity approached them for a possible business relationship, and I consulted with them on how to handle the meeting so they could maximize their business relationship with that celebrity. *I'm not sure what came of that relationship, because soon after, we had a falling out.

in reality, it sounds like they really don't need you anyway. They seem to be doing just fine without your video and can likely replace it in short order if needed.



So, offer whatever you want because as it stands now, you have breached the agreement and as such, gave them grounds to invalidate the agreement. You might be able to make a valid claim for time spent performing what little you did..

oh, wait. You maintain control of the websites.

I guess they will have to create new ones and then sue you for using any trademarks or copyrighted material you continue to display.


this is a good lesson;

a properly written contract is needed in any relationship such as this. The days of the handshake deals are long gone.