How to Create an Event Licensing Agreement
Licensors give rights to use a venue, arena or stadium to licensees by using an event licensing agreement (also known as a use agreement). Event sites include many different types of properties, from small clubs to the Hollywood Bowl. Initially, licensing agreements dealt with copyright and patents issued in the late 18th century, but today they facilitate artists, performers, circuses and every imaginable occasion to use popular venues for performances.
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Instructions
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Select a venue. Make sure that the venue is appropriate for the type of event planned. For example, if the event is a rock concert by an alternative band expected to draw 500 people, booking Madison Square Garden in New York City is probably a mistake. In addition to the venue being size-appropriate, it's essential for the potential venue to have the necessary infrastructure for the event. A wildly popular singer may attract 10,000 fans, but if the venue only has the ability to plug in one microphone and two amplifiers, many fans would be disappointed, and would reflect poorly on the artist and the venue.
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Negotiate an agreement. Frequently, venues have their own event licensing agreements that they prefer to use. Many terms of these agreements are essentially non-negotiable, since the venues have legal considerations that regularly come up, and there is little need to change their form agreement. The Make-A-Wish Foundation, for example, uses a standard event licensing agreement. Similarly, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts uses a longstanding and well-established licensing agreement. Any final agreement should address and incorporate the specific event requirements of the licensee.
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Write an agreement, if necessary. You can hire an attorney to draft an event licensing agreement, or you could write one yourself. There are several websites which provide self-help legal forms, such as LegalZoom, LawDepot and FindForms. Alternatively, an event licensing agreement form could be obtained from the legal collection of a local library or local law library. Many office supply stores also sell legal forms that can be crafted into an event licensing agreement.
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Tips & Warnings
it is important to be as detailed as possible when negotiating. Always try to plan for the worst-case scenario.
Many venues have a take-it-or-leave-it approach to licensing agreement negotiations. If the venue management insists on using its form agreement, make sure that you understand and accept all the terms of that agreement.
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