The Hidden Cost of Unlimited Usage Rights.
You just wrapped up a brand deal. The post went live, engagement looked great, payment hit your account. Everyone’s happy.
Until you see that same piece of content pop up six months later. Then a year later. Then on a billboard in another country.
This is the hidden cost of unlimited usage rights.
When you agree to let a brand use your content forever, in any way they want, you are giving them an asset with no expiration date. That asset is not just a video or a photo. It is your likeness, your creative work, and your audience trust, and once it’s gone, you cannot get it back.
Why it matters more than you think
For brands, your content is an investment. If they can run an ad that is proven to work, why stop? If you signed away unlimited usage, they don’t have to. That means your face could be promoting a product for years, even after you’ve moved on, raised your rates, or shifted your brand in a completely different direction.
We’ve seen creators who charged $2,500 for a video in 2021 still showing up in Instagram ads in 2025. No renewal fee, no new contract, no conversation. The brand is essentially getting free advertising with a stamp of authenticity that still resonates with your followers.
The real math
Let’s say you create a short-form video that a brand uses in their paid ads. It gets them a great return, so they keep running it. Over 18 months, the ad generates $250,000 in sales. Your earnings from it? The original $2,500. That’s one percent of the revenue your work helped drive.
What to do instead
Unlimited usage rights sound harmless when you’re just trying to close a deal, but there’s a better way to handle it:
Set a time limit. Three months, six months, or one year are common.
Charge for renewals. If the content is performing well, the brand will happily pay to keep using it.
Differentiate organic from paid use. Organic reposting might be fine indefinitely. Paid ads, especially across multiple channels, should have stricter limits.
Price accordingly. Usage rights are not a throw-in. They are a product, just like the content itself.
How brands really feel about it
A lot of creators worry that putting limits on usage rights will make them look “difficult” or kill the deal. In reality, most brands, especially those who run influencer campaigns regularly, are used to these terms. Media buying teams know that ad assets expire. If a brand pushes back hard, it’s often because they plan to extract long-term value without paying long-term rates.
Think of it like renting out a property
You wouldn’t rent out a house for a one-time fee and let the tenant live there forever. You’d charge monthly rent, review the agreement every year, and adjust for market value. Your content is no different. Once it’s out there working for a brand, it should continue to work for you too.
Bottom line
Unlimited usage almost always means unlimited benefit for them, not you. Protect your work. Protect your value. And the next time “unlimited usage rights” lands in your inbox, remember that it is not just a legal term — it is a financial decision that could follow you for years.
