Commission after you leave: how post-term clauses work

Most creators read the commission rate. Fewer read what happens to it after the contract ends. Some agreements keep paying the agency a share of your income for weeks, months or longer after you have left. This guide explains how these clauses are built, what they can cost, and how to get a clear answer before you sign.

Educational guide. Related criteria: Payments after you leave and Contract length and notice. General information, not legal advice.

What a post-term commission is

A post-term commission is any payment to the agency on income you earn after the contract's end date. Contracts call it different things: a tail, a trailing commission, a sunset clause, post-termination commission, or simply a sentence inside the termination section. The name does not matter. What matters is whether money keeps flowing to the agency once it has stopped working for you.

It is separate from the notice period. During the notice period the contract is still running, the agency usually still works on your account, and commission is normal. A post-term commission starts after that, when the agency's work has ended.

Why some agencies include it

It helps to understand the reasoning, because it tells you what to negotiate. An agency that built up your fan base or planned a library of content will point out that subscribers it brought in keep renewing, and content made during the contract keeps selling after the end date. A post-term clause is its way of being paid for work that keeps earning.

Other agencies take the opposite view: once the contract ends, so does the commission. Both approaches exist. The point of this guide is not that one is right, but that you should know which one you are signing.

The common shapes

Post-term clauses tend to follow one of these patterns:

• None. The agreement says plainly that no commission is due on income earned after the end date.
• A fixed period at the full rate. For example, the normal commission continues for a set number of months after the end date.
• A step-down. The rate falls month by month until it reaches zero.
• Limited to content made during the contract. Commission applies only when content produced while you worked together is sold after the end.
• Limited to fans brought in during the contract. Commission applies only to spending by subscribers who joined during the term. This is hard to measure, so ask how it would be tracked.
• Open-ended. Commission on content made during the term, with no end date. Read this kind very carefully, because it can last as long as that content keeps selling.

What it can cost

Take a creator with $6,000 a month in net earnings, a 40% commission on net, and a three-month post-term clause at the full rate. After leaving, the creator pays $2,400 a month for three months: $7,200 to an agency that is no longer doing any work.

Now suppose the creator joins a new agency at 35% the day after leaving. For those three months, the two commissions add up to 75% of net earnings. That is the situation to plan for: not only the cost of the clause, but the overlap with whatever comes next.

Add the notice period too. A 30-day notice period followed by a three-month tail means you pay commission for four months after deciding to leave.

How it gets measured

An agency can only calculate a post-term commission if it can see your earnings. That usually means one of three things: you send monthly statements, the agency keeps some level of account access, or the contract gives it a right to inspect your records. Each has consequences:

• If the agency keeps access, that conflicts with changing your password and 2FA when you leave. See our guide to login and 2FA.
• If you send statements, agree in advance which report, how often, and by what date.
• If the clause covers only certain fans or certain content, ask how those would be identified, because a platform statement does not usually label income that way.

Wording to read twice

These phrases often signal that commission continues past the end date. None of them is unusual on its own, but each one is worth a second read and a direct question:

• "All revenue derived from content created during the Term"
• "In perpetuity" or "for the life of the account"
• "Fans or subscribers introduced by the Agency"
• "Commission survives termination of this Agreement"
• "Any renewal, rebill or recurring payment originating during the Term"

Also check the definitions section. If "Revenue" is defined broadly, a short post-term clause can still reach a lot of income.

Points people commonly negotiate

If an agreement includes a post-term commission and you still want to sign, these are the levers creators and their advisers commonly look at:

• A fixed end date for the post-term period, rather than an open one.
• A lower rate after the end date, or a step-down to zero.
• Limiting it to content made during the term and sold within a set window.
• No post-term commission if the agency ends the contract, or if it did not deliver what the contract promised.
• A clear reporting method that does not require the agency to keep your login.

For anything you sign, a lawyer who reads entertainment or creator agreements is worth the fee.

How OF Agency Rankings scores this

We do not score whether a post-term clause is good or bad. We score whether the agency's public pages say what happens. Under rubric v1.0, the Payments after you leave criterion gives:

• 10 points for an explicit statement: either no commission after the end date, or the exact duration and rate;
• 5 points for a general exit statement that does not address commission after the end date, such as "leave anytime";
• 0 points when we found nothing on the agency's public pages.

The related Contract length and notice criterion covers the minimum term, the notice period and automatic renewal.

Questions to ask

1. After the contract ends, is any commission due on my income? If yes, for how long and at what rate?
2. Does it apply to all income, or only to content made or fans brought in during the contract?
3. How would it be calculated, and what would I need to send you?
4. Does it still apply if you end the contract, or if the contract ends early?
5. Can you point me to the exact clause in the agreement?

FAQ

Is a post-term commission normal?

Some agencies use one and some state that they do not. It is common enough that you should always ask, and specific enough that the answer should be in writing.

Can I stop paying by changing my password when I leave?

Changing your password protects your account, but it does not change what you agreed to. If the contract includes a post-term commission, that obligation may still apply. Read the clause and get advice before deciding.

What if the contract says nothing about it?

Silence can be read in different ways. Ask the agency to confirm in writing, before you sign, that no commission is due on income earned after the end date, and ideally have that sentence added to the agreement.

Does the notice period count as part of the post-term period?

Usually not. The notice period is part of the contract, and the post-term period starts after the end date. Add both together when you work out how long you will keep paying.