A TikTok brand deal contract sets out what you post, what the brand can do with it afterwards, and what you give up in return. Before signing, UK creators should check four things: usage rights, the Spark Ads authorisation window, exclusivity, and payment terms. Each one is commonly negotiable.
TikTok deals come with mechanics that generic influencer contract advice does not cover. Spark Ads authorisation codes, boosting rights and raw footage requests all change what a contract is really asking for. The four checks below cover the clauses that do the most commercial damage when they go wrong, and the wording to look for in each one.
1. Usage rights: what happens to your video after you post it
Show: Find the section headed "Usage Rights", "Licence" or "Grant of Rights". The wording to watch: "perpetual", "irrevocable", "in perpetuity", and "worldwide, royalty-free licence in all media now known or later devised".
Decode: This clause decides whether the brand can keep using your video in its own marketing after the campaign ends. A licence with no end date typically means your content, and your face, can appear in the brand's advertising for years with no further payment to you. The fee you agreed covers one campaign, so check whether the licence wording runs longer.
Fix: Ask for a defined usage period before you sign. A say-it-aloud version: "I offer 12 months of organic usage and 90 days of paid usage, with extensions available at 25% of the original fee per additional 90 days." The exact percentage varies; the point is that extended usage is paid usage.
Two related guides go deeper: the perpetual usage clause and what "in perpetuity" means in a brand deal.
2. The Spark Ads window
Show: Look for wording that requires you to provide a "Spark Ads authorisation code" or "video code", together with a duration. TikTok's standard code durations run from 7 days up to 365. Watch for "for the maximum period available", or a duration that does not match the paid usage period stated elsewhere in the contract.
Decode: Spark Ads let a brand run paid advertising through your own handle, so the ad carries your name and your comment section. That is often good for you, since engagement lands on your account, but the authorisation window is the paid usage period in practice. A 365-day code attached to a 30-day campaign hands over eleven extra months.
Fix: Match the code duration to the paid usage period in the usage clause. Say: "I will authorise a 60-day Spark Ads code to match the paid usage period, and I am happy to reauthorise if the campaign extends."
The usage period clause guide covers how usage windows are commonly drafted.
3. Exclusivity
Show: Look for "Exclusivity" or "Non-compete" wording such as "Creator shall not promote, endorse or collaborate with any competing brand", together with a category definition and a time period.
Decode: On TikTok, posting volume drives growth, and brand work is how a 10k to 100k account earns from it. A wide category lock ("health and wellness" rather than three named competitors) lasting six months can cost you more in declined work than the deal pays. The category definition matters more than the time period.
Fix: Narrow the category to named competitors and shorten the window, or price the wider lock. Say: "I can offer exclusivity against these three named brands for 60 days from the final post. Category-wide exclusivity is available at an additional fee."
More on this in the category exclusivity clause guide.
4. Payment terms
Show: Find the section headed "Payment", "Fees" or "Invoicing". Check the amount is stated in £, with VAT treatment covered if you are registered, then look for the trigger ("upon approval of Deliverables" versus "upon delivery") and the term ("net 30", "net 60", "net 90").
Decode: The number sets how long the brand can hold your money after the clock starts; the trigger sets when the clock starts at all. Net 30 is common. Net 60 and net 90 push your cash flow out by months, and an approval trigger with no deadline leaves the start date in the brand's hands.
Fix: Ask to invoice on delivery of final files, and cap approval. Say: "I invoice on delivery, net 30, and content is deemed approved five working days after delivery unless written changes are requested."
Quick checks before you sign
Beyond the big four: cap approval rounds (two is common) so edit requests do not become unpaid work. Check for a kill fee, so a cancelled campaign still pays something for work already done. Look at who owns the concept, and whether raw footage must be handed over; raw footage typically carries the same usage questions as the finished video, with less of your control attached. And read any morality or conduct clause for vague wording about bringing the brand into "disrepute".