A beauty brand sends you a contract for a TikTok campaign. The rate feels fair. The brief looks good. You're excited. And then you actually read the contract.
We ran this exact contract through Countersign and found five red flags that most creators would have missed. Here's a breakdown of each one — and what you should do about them before you sign anything like this.
The contract at a glance
This is a fictional influencer deal between Glow Theory Beauty LLC and a creator called Jamie Rivers. The deliverables are reasonable — three TikToks, four Stories, two Reels, and a YouTube Short. The rate is $650. On the surface it looks fine. But the clauses tell a very different story.
The 5 red flags Countersign found
The contract specifies payment within 120 days of final approval. That's four months after the brand signs off on your content. Industry standard is Net 30. Net 120 means you could be waiting until November for work you delivered in July.
This is one of the most common and most overlooked red flags in brand deal contracts. Creators focus on the rate and miss the payment timeline entirely. Always check the payment terms — and always push for Net 15 or Net 30.
The brand gets a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use your content forever — in paid ads, on TV, on billboards, in any format that exists now or is invented in the future. You get $650. Once. And they can use that content for the rest of time without paying you again.
We broke this one down in depth in our Red Flag Ep. 1 post. The short version: push for a 12-month usage license with paid renewal after that.
For a full year after your last posting date, you cannot work with any brand that Glow Theory decides is competitive — and they get to define what that means. One year. In the entire beauty category. For $650.
We covered exclusivity clauses in Red Flag Ep. 2. A 365-day full-category exclusivity clause on a $650 deal is one of the most lopsided terms we've seen. Push back hard on both the length and the definition.
The brand can request unlimited rounds of revisions until they are "completely satisfied" — and you have to complete each one within 2 business days. There's no cap on rounds, no additional compensation for revisions, and missing the 2-day window is a material breach of contract.
This combination — unlimited rounds plus a hard turnaround deadline — essentially means the brand can keep you working indefinitely with no additional pay and penalize you legally if you can't keep up. Always negotiate a specific revision limit. Two to three rounds is standard.
If the brand decides — in its sole judgment — that anything you do, say, or post is inconsistent with their values, they can terminate the contract immediately and demand every dollar back within 7 days. There's no definition of what "inconsistent with Brand values" means. They decide. You repay.
Morality clauses aren't inherently bad — brands have legitimate reasons to protect their image. But a morality clause with no definition, no cure period, and a 7-day full clawback is extreme. A fair morality clause gives you notice, a chance to remedy the situation, and prorates any clawback based on work completed.
So — would you sign it?
The answer most creators give when they see the rate is yes. The answer most creators give when they read the contract is no. The problem is that most creators never get from the first answer to the second one.
This contract has five significant red flags. None of them are immediately obvious. All of them are negotiable. And every single one of them was flagged automatically when we ran it through Countersign in about 30 seconds.
Don't sign it as written. Counter on payment terms (Net 30), usage rights (12-month license), exclusivity (30 days, direct competitors only), revisions (3 rounds maximum), and the morality clause (add a definition and a cure period). Most brands will negotiate — they're just counting on you not knowing what to ask for.
The reveal is coming 👀
We're posting the full Countersign analysis — risk score, every red flag, and exactly what to negotiate — on TikTok soon. Follow @countersignapp so you don't miss it.
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