Quick tip: Don’t sign any contract like this?!
I was recently invited to guest on a podcast for entrepreneurs.
1.5 minute read
And I almost agreed… until I saw their Terms & Conditions.
They asked to own and make unrestricted use of my voice and likeness, real or edited, for all time, in any medium, for no money.
Check out this clause in their contract (boldface by me):
You grant [NAME] permission to copyright and use, reuse, publish, and republish audio, video, and photographic images of you, or in which you may be included, or composite or distorted in character or form, without restriction as to changes or transformations, made through any medium anywhere, including any media not yet invented, including but not limited to distribution over the internet for advertising, art, editorial, illustration, or promotional purposes, or any other purpose whatsoever.
Would you sign that?? I sure didn’t. And here are three reasons why not.
Ursula’s theft of the Little Mermaid’s voice may be possible soon!
Don’t sign reason #1: They can make you say anything
AI apps can take a sample of your voice and generate a believable clone.
Maybe the quality isn’t perfect today.
But imagine how good AI voice cloning will be in a year or two.
Someone could make a believable sound clip of you:
- Begging family and friends for money
- Endorsing products, causes, or politicians you don’t like
- Uttering threats or slurs
- Testifying to things you didn’t see
- Confessing to crimes you didn’t do
Don’t sign reason #2: They can show you doing anything
With a digital sample of your face and body, AI software could also make a believable video of you:
- Doing everything in the list above
- Having sex with anyone or anything
- Committing any type of crime
- Assaulting or killing anyone, anywhere
Is your mind reeling? Mine is.
Don’t sign reason #3: They will own your future
This touches on a major cause of the 2023 strike by the Screen Actor’s Guild.
Studios and producers wanted to grab the rights to the digital voice, face, and body of actors to use forever. For free.
Actors rightly saw this could mean the end of their careers, maybe even the end of acting as a profession.
So they fought and won some big concessions.
Be like the actors: Resist. Do yourself a favor and don’t sign away your future.
If you see a contract anything like this, don’t sign it.
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