Hiring a video editor: what your contract needs

Your editor touches the core of your business: your footage, your voice and your unreleased videos. A short contract settles the questions that cause trouble later.

Ownership

Without a written assignment, an editor can keep the copyright in the edits you paid for. That matters when you license content to a brand or sell your channel. The contract should move ownership to you once each video is paid.

Footage and AI

Ask for your footage to be deleted after delivery and never uploaded to AI tools that train on user content. Ask the editor to tell you which AI tools they use, because purely AI-generated material may not be protected by copyright.

Scope and payment

List the number of videos, turnaround and revision rounds. In New York, Illinois and California, freelancers must get a written contract and be paid by the agreed date or within 30 days after the work is done.