Glossary
What Is Exclusivity?
An exclusivity clause stops a creator from working with, or creating content for, competing brands for a set period. It is a legitimate ask — a brand paying for a campaign has a reasonable interest in not funding a competitor's message through the same creator in the same window — but it is only fair when it is scoped tightly and paid for on its own.
Three tests decide whether an exclusivity clause is reasonable: is the category specific rather than a broad sector like "beauty, wellness or lifestyle," is the duration short rather than open-ended, and does it carry its own fee on top of the content rate. If any of the three answers is no, the clause needs redlining before signature.
What it costs in practice tracks duration: roughly 20 percent of the base rate for 30 days, rising toward 50 to 80 percent for six months. What to watch for is scope creep — a category drawn so broadly that it functions as a non-compete against most of a creator's income for a year, in exchange for a single post's fee. The fix is always the same shape: narrow the category to named, direct competitors, shorten the term to 30 to 90 days, and confirm the fee is itemised as its own line rather than folded silently into the base rate.
In practice
A contract asks for exclusivity across "the beauty, wellness or lifestyle categories" for 12 months. The creator counters with a narrower scope — direct competitors in skincare only, for 60 days from go-live — and the fee stays as quoted because the actual restriction is now proportionate.
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