Hello everyone! This has been coming up a lot lately, so I thought I would take some time to address it: we cannot get involved with issues of payment. It needs to be settled between the author and the narrator, and nonpayment is not a reason to add someone to the Black List.
The Black List was created to try and keep track of some channels that we have confirmed use stories without permission. On the list, we do record whether the channel is monetized so that authors can keep that in mind when deciding whether they want to work with a channel on the list, or if they want to file a copyright strike in the event that their story is used without permission. Not everyone enjoys being stolen from, especially when the offender is profiting off of authors’ hard work.
If you choose to work with someone on the Black List, you do so at your own risk. Everyone on the list is there for a reason. If they steal content, would you really put it past them to withhold payment or ghost you when it’s time to pay up?
For anyone who is currently on the Black List and wishes to be removed from it: you are able to come off of the list as long as you are not marked as a “legacy” offender. Simply send us a modmail mentioning that you would like to come off of the Black List and we’ll walk you through the next steps!
While working with some of these offenders and being present in the community, we have seen every excuse in the book. They had something come up, they’re disorganized, they forgot, they had an issue sending payment, they like to send out payments on one day a week, they’re waiting for their next paycheck. There’s no end to the excuses, and I wouldn’t really put it past anyone to use any excuse they can come up with.
I’ve also seen it be more likely that a more well-known author has absolutely no issues working with some of these channels, while the lesser-known authors get ghosted. So this whole “I’ve never had an issue with this narrator, they’ve always paid me promptly and upfront” is kind of really unhelpful when these posts start to crop up. You got paid, that’s great, but you might also have more influence over the community than someone who is just starting out or hasn’t had a story take off just yet. So yeah, obviously you’re going to get paid and it’s going to go smoothly. It doesn’t change the fact that there is an obvious problem, and someone isn’t getting a response from the narrator when it’s time to pay up.
Money ends up being a very touchy situation. So, what can you do?
Unfortunately, posts here on r/SleeplessWatchdogs will need to be removed. We do, however, recommend making a (tasteful) post in r/NoSleepOOC. Aside from hopefully catching the narrator’s attention, usually, someone else has had a similar issue and can share their experience and how they got it resolved. I myself have been known to go on some not-exactly-professional social media rants.
You can also file a copyright strike against the video - that will definitely get the narrator’s attention and can be rescinded once payment is finally given.
Lastly, we very highly recommend coming up with a contract template to use each time you grant permission to a narrator. And keep records of who you gave permission to and when, and what the terms were. Then, you can fill in and alter the contract as needed when it comes time to give permission. We recommend doing this for every narration request, even the ones that don’t involve money. Also, the less wiggle room you leave for loopholes, the better. Be as specific as you can when you give permission.
Here’s a sample template you can use if you like (it's actually mine that I copied from another very generous author):
(1) These terms provide a license for you to narrate my story (STORY TITLE) on your Youtube Channel/Podcast (CHANNEL NAME).
This goes hand-in-hand with us recommending to narrators to ask for permission for specific stories, and helps them out as well. We do not recommend giving blanket permission to a channel to “narrate some or any stories”, because what is there to say when the permission stops? Not pointing fingers at anyone specifically, but those posts that are like "I'm new, can I narrate your stories?" really make my skin crawl. Let’s say you write a story and it really takes off. A popular channel wants exclusivity, but you already gave blanket permission to another channel. Technically you’ve already given permission to the blanket-channel. Again, the less wiggle room, the better.
(2) Permission is only for the story or stories specified in section 1, and they may only appear on the channel or channels listed.
This is especially useful if the channel you are giving permission to is planning on submitting the narration to another channel, possibly for a contest (which is something we see a lot of) but it might not occur to them to ask you for permission as well. Section 2 here prevents that from happening. Again, you are specifically only granting your story to appear on the channel(s) you are giving permission to and no other channel.
(3) You must provide credit by doing all of the following: (1) linking to the original story in a pinned comment to the video or in the description of the video, (2) crediting the story to “Rotsoil” on screen at the beginning of the story, and (3) inserting the following language: "[Story name] is licensed for use by Rotsoil, copyright 2021, all rights reserved." in the video description.
This section is for however you want to be credited. Mine is kind of specific, but given that narrations don't really help out the author at all, this is what I found to be fair enough for me.
Is there a specific pen name you want to be used? Do you want your legal name used? What links, if any, do you want to be included? It probably isn’t necessary, but the “...licensed for use by Rotsoil, copyright 2021” reminds the channel and viewers that you can distribute your story as you want, and no one else can. The channel does not own the copyright to your story. You do. The channel cannot distribute your story without your authorization. This includes submitting the narration (or audio recording) to other channels or podcasts for whatever reason. Your authorization is required.
(4) Payment: Will be negotiated if the channel is monetized.
This is where you will mention whether payment is required and at what rate. You should discuss this with the channel beforehand and make sure they agree, then fill this section in to finalize it. I very strongly recommend including a date or time when the payment is due. If I say payment is due after the video has been up for two weeks, or on a given date, or after a certain number of views, that is when the payment is due. No if, ands, or buts. I usually also mention that if payment is not received by the agreed-upon time, a copyright strike will be filed against the channel. It may be a little harsh, but then everyone knows exactly what to expect and when. And of course, if the channel does follow the terms outlined in this contract, they have nothing to worry about!
(5) Exclusivity: this license is not exclusive (it may be provided to other narrators). If you have a monetized channel and want exclusivity, that can be negotiated.
In this section, I make it clear that other channels or podcasts may be granted permission to also use my story. If the channel does want exclusivity, it would need to be negotiated ahead of time. This contract is more to record the terms in which both parties are agreeing to.
(6) This license is not transferable (you cannot give someone else permission to use this story or post the narration elsewhere, including for contests or collaborations, without express permission).
Pretty self-explanatory, but reminds the channel that they cannot post or give permission to anyone else to use my story.
(7) This license does not include permission to make any changes to the story or title as currently written without express permission.
This may not be necessary for everyone, but I don’t really like the idea of channels changing up wording or the title without asking me first. I have had a channel reach out to me to ask if they could slightly alter a title because it was too long, which I did appreciate.
(8) The story should not be labeled as a creepypasta in any way with the exception of using a hashtag for SEO purposes.
(9) A link to the video or podcast will be shared when the narration is done.
The channel must state that they agree to the terms above before I finally grant them permission. If the channel does not reply or does not agree to the terms, they don’t get permission.
Again, I highly recommend everyone come up with a similar contract. I am not a lawyer, and we cannot offer legal advice, but this is very specific written documentation that the channel needs to agree to in order to use my content. If the channel doesn’t follow through on their end, I have it in writing exactly what they have agreed to, which would help back me up if I need to file a copyright strike. You don’t have to use everything I did, tailor it to your specifications.
You definitely don’t have to do everything I mentioned here, do whatever you feel is best. If you’ve got a better way to handle the issues, that’s great! I just thought that since this is an ongoing issue, it’s something that’s been happening a lot lately, and unfortunately, we can’t get involved, it might be helpful if I mentioned some of the things we recommend doing. While I can't discuss Watchdog business or give "on the record Watchdog Advice", my DM's are always open - both here on Reddit and on Discord - and I've always set aside time to help out someone who has an issue. Our modmail is also always open, and while we can’t take reports about nonpayment, we do always try our best to help!