I had a friend return from Phoenix yesterday very upset with her investor and his total disregard for their partnership agreement. In fact, she’d tried to get him to sign the agreement before production commenced on her video podcast. But the lure of private jet travel to an exotic location to film several episodes of her new show got in the way of finalizing her deal.

It seems she’d found someone to bankroll her podcast and before she could complete production on all of her shows, he pulled the plug. Beyond having an understanding of how they would  monetize said content in the digital domain, they had a huge disagreement on the rights and who owned them in this new digital domain. (He might even continue the show - her idea - with another host for all she knows.) Moreover, to make her deal even more complex her show was going to be marketed and potentially sold in television syndication, too. So perhaps that should have been a separate deal altogether, or should it have been?

That raises another interesting question. Who ultimately owns the rights to your show if a Network or Cable outfit wants to migrate your content from the Web to television? (As my partner Richard wrote about in his posting below, it may all be moot once Apple TV converges all content to one programming module.) But it is absolutely essential that if you have partners, that ownership is very clear from the get-go. It’s easy to understand the migration from TV or film to podcasting, but even then I’m sure we’ll start to see messy lawsuits once podcasts become more and more monetized by sponsors and/or ad sales.

The rights to your program when money is being exchanged can complicate any reasonable relationship, especially if you have partners and/or sponsors who might think they’re entitled to some aspect of your programming. Beyond registering your show show with the Writers Guild, copyrighting your podcast’s name and logo, beyond just securing the URL domain name, one should take the time to understand the relationship with investors and/or producing partners.

But why bring in partners to produce your content? Why not keep it simple? For some video podcasters, it may be the only way to ensure the quality of the video; to bring in a production partner to help you shoot, edit, and post your content. It can be much more expensive if you’re looking to shoot with multiple cameras, mics, and various set-ups. We know that anyone who takes the time, can produce an audio podcast with minimal effort and expense. And Apple users will tell you that the new Macs make even easier.  But for some folks, this may not be an option. They may need a production arm to partner up with.

But the more layers of partners and sponsors you add to your audio or video podcast equation, the more complex the rights to ownership can become. It is essential that you have your partnership(s) sorted out in writing before you embark on your podcasting journey. If not, it can make for one helluva mess down the road. Nothing is forever, especially when it comes to creative relationships, so it’s best to get a less painful agreement out of the way before you embark on your journey.

peace.

Dusty

Mr. Wright is the co-founder of the smart culture site CultureCatch.com