Usage rights get talked about a lot in the UGC world—but let’s be honest, most of the advice is either confusing, influencer-specific, or *a little* out of touch with how actual agencies and brands operate.
Here’s the reality: if you’re a UGC creator, you need to understand usage rights. But not just from the creator POV, you need to understand the bigger picture.
Whether you choose to charge for them or include them in your rate, they impact how your content is used — and how much money you can (and should) be making.
This guide will break it all down. No fluff, no fear, just the facts.
What are usage rights?
Usage rights = permission. They determine how, where, and for how long a brand is allowed to use the content you’ve created.
And here’s the key: even if a brand pays for the video, you still own the content—unless you’ve explicitly transferred ownership (which you almost never should do).
Put simply, usage rights don’t give brands ownership. They give them access.
Why should you charge for usage rights?
It sounds logical at first. You’re not an influencer. You’re not selling your name, face, or audience—so why would brands need to pay extra just to use a video they already bought?
But here’s the catch: they’re not just buying the video. They’re buying the ability to make money from it.
Usage rights aren’t about followers. They’re about how much value the content creates once it leaves your hands. And if a brand is running your video as a paid ad for years, testing it across audiences, and driving real sales from it? That’s worth more than a flat fee.
Letting your content get amplified without any limits and without any additional pay undervalues the work you’ve done—and sets a precedent that’s hard to walk back from later.
Charging for usage rights isn’t about gatekeeping, it’s about aligning value with impact.
That said, the way you package your usage rights matters—and some methods are more creator-friendly (and agency-friendly) than others. Let’s break that down.
Why should you not charge for usage rights?
Let’s talk straight: there’s a difference between UGC creators and influencers.
Influencers have a personal brand, audience, and “likeness” that adds unique value. That’s why usage rights apply more heavily—they’re licensing themselves.
But most UGC creators are producing content to be white-labeled. There’s no image likeness, no voiceover tied to a known presence. It’s product-led, not personality-led.
Why do usage rights not always work?
Usage rights might make sense on paper, but they break down fast when applied to real-world brand and agency workflows. Here’s why:
- Agencies don’t always run the ads. The content you shoot might go to a brand’s internal team or their media buyer.
- Ads don’t always run for 30 straight days. They get paused, tested, swapped out.
- Creators work across multiple projects. Tracking every usage term across every campaign isn’t just time-consuming — it’s borderline impossible.
So from an operations standpoint, brands and agencies will often go with the creator who says, “Here’s my rate. It includes usage for 6–12 months.” That’s a partnership. And that’s who we’ll come back to.
How to charge for usage rights (without p*ssing off potential clients)
There’s no single right way to price usage, but here are three models that are widely used.
1. THE HIDDEN FEE MODEL
You include usage in your base rate — no tracking, no renewals, no added conversations.
- Add 10–20% to your base rate to cover usage
- Clearly outline this in your contract
- Great for building long-term agency relationships
✅ Streamlined process
✅ No admin-heavy back-and-forth
✅ More likely to get repeat work
Agency POV: This is by far the cleanest option. We might be working with 10+ creators across 10+ clients, each launching ads at different times. Managing individual usage timelines? Not realistic. And most of the time, we’re not the ones running the ads — those might be handled by in-house teams or media buyers. If we need to chase usage renewals across every creator and every platform, we just won’t. We’ll choose creators who build usage into their rate. Every time.
2. THE 12-MONTH STANDARD
This is a more traditional UGC approach and still widely used. As standard it’s normally around 3-6 months, but we say increase this (and by all means your fee) and include 12 months. Once again, it just reduces friction.
- Include 12 months of paid usage in your base fee
- Offer renewals at 30–50% of the original rate
- Ideal for creators working directly with brands or smaller businesses
The challenge here if opting for the lower 3-6 month time frames? Time tracking. Agencies (or brands) often don’t know exactly when an ad starts or stops — especially if we’re not running the campaigns. If the ad only ran for 10 out of the 90 paid days, is a renewal still fair? That grey area makes it hard to scale this model consistently.
3. THE ADD-ON
You charge for usage based on specific brand requests or ad placements
- Different rates for paid, digital, offline, etc.
- Customisable depending on the scope
- Great for large projects or direct-to-brand briefs
✅ High-value clients = higher rate potential
✅ Shows your professionalism
✅ Best for advanced creators with a strong portfolio
Unless you’re a sought-after creator, this can add friction to a project that some brands and agencies would rather avoid, but, it is definitely possible.
Warning: Usage in perpetuity
If you see the words “in perpetuity” in a contract—pause.
That means the brand wants to use your content forever. Without paying again. Possibly even edit it, remix it, or license it out.
Unless you’re being paid thousands and fully aligned with the brand, this is a red flag.
🧘♀️Final thoughts
Usage rights are a real part of the UGC business. But they’re not one-size-fits-all—and they shouldn’t be a dealbreaker if you’re working with trusted partners.
If you want to streamline your workflow, attract agency partners, and build a sustainable creator career, consider baking usage into your base rate. It’s easier for you, and it makes life 10x easier for us.
The creators who get the most repeat work? They understand how this fits into the bigger picture.
✍️ TL;DR
- 📜 Usage rights = permission, not ownership
- ⏱️ Tracking 30-day cycles across multiple clients = impossible
- 🚫 Never agree to “in perpetuity” unless the rate reflects it
- 🤝 Sustainable creators make usage rights work for everyone
