If you’re an influencer, content creator, YouTuber, or podcaster looking to get married, a standard prenup is simply not enough.
For most people, a prenuptial agreement is typically underpinned by bank accounts, real estate, and businesses. But for creators, the most valuable asset is your brand.
Let’s uncover what you need to do to protect your brand before tying the knot.
BEFORE getting married, what conversations about MONEY should you have with your partner?
Use this guide to discuss budgets, assets, debts, goals, joints bank accounts and more.
Get the guideBrand Protection
Many creators spend years building their platforms before they ever get married, with assets like:
- Social media accounts
- YouTube channels
- Podcasts
- Blogs
- Email lists
- Subscriber communities
- Digital products
- Brand partnerships
- Online courses
- Personal trademarks
- Content libraries
If you own brand assets before marriage and aim to keep them separate, the prenup needs to clearly identify what existed before the marriage, who owns it, and how the income connected to those assets will be treated.
Future Growth
If you expect your brand to increase in value, a prenup should address how future growth will be handled. For example:
- Will the business’s growth remain separate property?
- Will your spouse receive any interest in the increased value during the marriage?
- Will community property have any claim to income generated during the marriage, and if so, what types of income?
Without a clear agreement, the brand’s growth during the marriage may become a source of dispute later. Then, the issue becomes more expensive, more emotional, and more difficult to resolve.
A good prenup creates the rules ahead of time, while both people are on the same page.
Intellectual Property
Creators own intellectual property (IP), even if they do not always think of it that way.
IP can include copyrights, trademarks, books, artwork, digital products, licensing deals, course materials, scripts, music, designs, photography, logos, and even certain handles or branding assets.
These assets should be addressed in the prenup, which should define who controls the future use of that intellectual property.
This is especially important for creators because old content can keep producing money for years. A video, podcast episode, course, or digital download may continue to generate income long after it was created.
If ownership and revenue rights are not clearly defined, those assets can become a major issue in divorce.
Ownership of Accounts and Content Libraries
Unlike a traditional business owner, you, as an influencer, are the brand.
That makes ownership and control more complicated.
A prenup should address who owns the social media accounts, who controls the login credentials, who owns the content library, and who has the right to monetize the content in the future.
This can include:
- Instagram accounts
- TikTok accounts
- YouTube channels
- Podcast feeds
- Websites
- Email lists
- Membership platforms
- Patreon or subscription accounts
- Brand partnership accounts
- Content archives
You do not want to be litigating ownership of a YouTube channel or Instagram account during a divorce.
If one spouse is the face of the brand but both spouses helped build the business, the prenup should define how each spouse’s contribution will be treated. If one spouse is only helping behind the scenes, the agreement should also clarify whether that creates any ownership interest.
The more public and personal the brand is, the more important it becomes to define control.
Jointly Created Content
It’s not uncommon for creator couples to make content together.
That may be part of the brand. It may be casual at first. But over time, jointly created content can become valuable.
The prenup should address what happens to that content if the marriage ends.
- Can either spouse continue using old videos or photos?
- Can one spouse remove content from a platform?
- Can the content stay monetized?
- Who receives the income?
- Can one spouse use the other spouse’s name, image, or likeness after divorce?
These are not small issues when the content is public and generating revenue. The agreement should make clear what happens to jointly created content, both during the marriage and after a divorce.
Privacy and Confidentiality Protections
For influencers and creators, privacy can be just as important as money.
A divorce can expose personal, business, and financial information, as well as private marital details. For someone with a public platform, that exposure can be damaging.
A prenup may include confidentiality provisions that restrict what can be shared publicly during the marriage and in the event of divorce.
That may include restrictions on posting about:
- Private marital issues
- Financial information
- Business information
- Brand deals
- Personal communications
- Family matters
- Divorce negotiations
- Legal disputes
These provisions are especially important when one or both spouses have a public audience.
A creator’s reputation is often directly tied to their income. A public post, a video, or a series of accusations can affect brand partnerships, sponsorships, followers, and long-term business opportunities.
The prenup should protect against unnecessary public exposure.
Final Thoughts for Influencers and Content Creators
Your prenup is about protecting assets and the brand you have worked hard to build.
Your prenup’s purpose is to clarify what you are building together and what each person brings to the marriage. When your personal brand is also your business, the prenup needs to reflect that
If you’d like legal support to navigate the nuances of prenups for creators, reach out to me. I’d be happy to help walk you through the process of crafting a customized prenup that meets your needs.