Non-Competition clause

[toodamnhip]

Does anyone here have experience with clauses that limit the ability to work for another music library, or submit songs to another music library after ones term of work or song contracts has ended? I am being asked to sign a clause stating I cannot work in the music library filed for 1 year should I leave the library I am with. I am also being asked to not contact anyone I have met through the library I have been employed by, nor may I pitch songs to other libraries we have had a relationship for a period of 1 year after contract with current library ends. Seems excessive to me. I would like to know what kind of non competition clauses are standard in the music library world?

[Art Munson]

I am being asked to sign a clause stating I cannot work in the music library filed for 1 year should I leave the library I am with.

They would have to pay me a lot of money to even consider that clause!

[Kubed]

Yeah, unless they pay you $1K per second of music you submit to them, run for the hills!

[Paul Biondi]

Does anyone here have experience with clauses that limit… Seems excessive to me

I have had experiences with clauses that asked me give up more than I was willing to give up. If this is a library you want to work with, and that clause is your only issue, it can’t hurt to ask them to remove it. Let us know what happens.

[LAwriter]

I’ve had non competition clauses that preclude me from “poaching” specific clients that a particular library has. And I think that’s fair. But never a clause that limits me working elsewhere in the industry. Either red-line (strike) that clause or move elsewhere. Those are HIGHLY unreasonable terms.

[MichaelL]

Ridiculous, and probably unenforceable. I wouldn’t agree to it, and the mere fact that they put that into their contract speaks volumes about the company.

[jdt9517]

Second what MichaelL says. The problem is not so much the enforceability but the taint you will have going forward. Prospective libraries may shy away from working with you if they find out about the clause. Even a remote possibility of getting involved in a lawsuit can scare them off.

[toodamnhip]

Looks like its unenforceable in my state of Cali anyway. I sent to the lawyer, we’ll see what he comes back with..

“In California, non-compete agreements between employers and employees are generally unenforceable. California Business and Professions Code section 16600 provides that “every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void.” A non-compete agreement is a restrictive covenant which forbids an employee from working for a competitor, generally for a specific length of time.”

Non-Compete Agreements in California

[LAwriter]

Generally composers are not “employees” of music libraries. They are independent contractors. There may be exceptions…

[MichaelL]

Generally composers are not “employees” of music libraries. They are independent contractors. There may be exceptions…

LAwriter is correct, which means that they are trying to control the activities of an independent, non-employee, which is an even more tenuous and fanciful idea. This clause is amateurish and shows a lot of insecurity on the part of the library. BTW, what would they have you do, deliver pizzas for a year while you wait for the clause to expire?

[Author]

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