Exclusivity · Video
Exclusivity in video: what is normal
Video exclusivity mostly appears in retainers and ongoing brand work; one-off projects rarely justify it.
Typical range
None on one-off productions. On retainers or category-sensitive brand work, a narrow exclusivity on named competitors for the engagement term plus a short tail (often 30-90 days), reflected in the rate.
Off-market
A clause blocking the videographer from working with any brand in a broad category, extending well past the project, with no retainer or premium to compensate.
One-line fix
"For the term of this engagement plus [60 days], Freelancer will not produce competing content for [named competitors]. This is reflected in the agreed rate."
What we see
For one-off video work, exclusivity is usually unnecessary and out of place. A freelancer who shoots one campaign for a brand has not agreed to stop shooting for that brand's whole category, and a clause that assumes otherwise is over-reaching for the fee involved.
Exclusivity makes more sense in retainer or ongoing brand relationships, where the freelancer is effectively part of the brand's content operation. Even then, the healthy version names specific competitors, runs for the engagement plus a short tail, and is priced into the rate, because the freelancer is turning away a defined slice of work.
The version to challenge is broad-category exclusivity with a long tail on a project contract. "No work in [category] for 12 months after this shoot" attached to a single production is taking a year of a freelancer's addressable market in exchange for one project fee. Narrow it to named competitors and a short window, or attach a retainer.
Paste your actual contract into our free scanner and see exactly how its exclusivity compares.
Check a contract freeNo signup. Results in under 15 seconds.