After 18 months of development and industry consultation, the Creators Guild of America (CGA) released the “CGA Rider,” the first standardized legal document specifically designed to protect creators from exploitative payment terms, content ownership disputes, and AI usage concerns.
This new rider gives individual creators—from micro-influencers to major content producers—the same negotiating tools previously available only to those with expensive legal teams.
“There were so many Wild West practices in the influencer marketing and creator economy business, particularly around predatory representation. I was seeing people at clubs who brought deals and were taking 30-50% of creator earnings, and agencies with unreasonable payment terms,” explains Jason Davis, Vice President at the CGA. “The fragmentation in our industry needed to be addressed in a collective organization.”
Without centralized standards or protections, individual creators—even successful ones—have remained vulnerable to exploitative business practices, unclear contract terms, and payment issues. The CGA aims to change that power dynamic through standardization and collective advocacy.
“In nascent industries like the creator economy, it requires organization and people willing to give up their time to oversee elements of bringing people together,” Jason explains. “It’s not just about what we’re doing with the Rider—it’s about opening up a dialogue.”
The development process brought together voices from across the creator ecosystem. CGA board member Paige Kaplan, an experienced lawyer, led the legal development while industry launch partners, including Ben Jeffries, Neil Waller, and Neal Jean, recognized the Rider.
“Everyone was instrumental in defining certain principles around payment terms,” Jason notes. “We heard about the pain points from media agencies managing brand relationships, as well as from talent and their representatives. The Rider is made by creators and people in the creative community for them.”
Founded by Daniel Abas and his sister Demiana Abas, who were then joined by Jason, the CGA is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization that advocates for and empowers professionals throughout the creator economy. Jason, who started in traditional talent representation in Australia before founding Unbridled Management (a talent firm acquired in 2018), brings firsthand industry growth experience.
How the Rider Tackles Industry Pain Points
The CGA Rider addresses several longstanding challenges creators face when working with brands and platforms. Payment terms—often a source of frustration for creators who may wait months for compensation—are now clearly defined with specific timelines.
Content ownership rights receive particular attention in the document, as oversight in this department may leave many creators vulnerable to having their work repurposed without additional compensation or control over its use.
AI protection emerged as another key component during the development process. “AI provisions were pretty hotly debated both externally and internally as something that’s a future thing,” Jason acknowledges. As artificial intelligence technologies advance, these protections aim to prevent unauthorized digital replications or manipulations of creator content and likeness.
The CGA Rider also standardizes creator access to analytics—vital information professionals need to demonstrate their value to brands and negotiate fair compensation based on actual performance metrics rather than arbitrary valuations.
By addressing these core concerns, the document provides creators with a template for fairer working relationships, particularly benefiting those who are just starting out. As Jason notes, “for the underrepresented and those who are starting this journey, maybe they’re a micro-creator at 50,000 followers and getting their first brand partnerships. This is absolutely going to be something which they can utilize as a reference point.”
Implementation and Enforcement
The practical application of the Rider is designed to be straightforward. “In any brand partnership negotiation, whether directly or through an agency, a creator can use some or all of the Rider to redline, change, or renegotiate terms with the other party,” Jason explains. “My feeling is, in many scenarios, if you’re utilizing a document like the Rider, it is going to be like a document to refer to and see best practices.”
For creators who encounter violations of agreed-upon terms, the CGA offers direct support. “A creator can get in touch with us via email and inform us of any potential breaches, and we’ll aim to clarify the situation with the other party,” Jason says. “We’re not looking to rush to judgment. We want to advocate for creators, better understand the situation, and then be that middle party.”
This approach reflects the CGA’s commitment to improving industry practices rather than calling out bad actors. However, Jason notes that the organization will track patterns of violations: “Continual reports of breaches will be taken into account by the CGA and shared with our membership and industry peers.”
Industry Response and Adoption
Since its launch in April, the Rider has received “uniformly positive” feedback, particularly from creators and their representatives who have long sought standardized protections.
Jason has been particularly struck by the reaction from established creators. “I have been pretty shocked by how few people—even large-scale creators doing a lot of brand partnerships each quarter—haven’t even really considered content ownership and AI protection,” he observes. “These are people with teams, lawyers, managers, agents. That did surprise me.”
Currently, the Rider is available exclusively to CGA members, though Jason emphasizes that the organization is open to broader adoption. “It is the aim for this Rider to begin the process of standardization industry-wide,” he confirms. Creators can apply for membership on the CGA website for a fee of $99 or become associates for free.
“If a creator or someone reaches out and says, ‘Can we please utilize this?’ there’s never going to be like, ‘No, you can’t,’” Jason clarifies. “We want this to be utilized, and we’re always open to including it. We’d ask that we get some feedback from it and hopefully help you negotiate something and move forward.”
Image: CGA Team
The Future of Creator Rights
The CGA Rider represents the beginning of what Jason sees as a necessary progression in creator economy standards. He draws parallels between the current state of the creator economy and the early days of the gig economy when services like Uber and food delivery were just beginning to transform labor markets.
“Anything in life takes consistency, relevance, and momentum,” Jason observes. “The Rider offers momentum. It opens a dialogue around creator rights.” He adds that this dialogue becomes increasingly important as the creator economy matures and more people pursue content creation as their primary career.
“We’re now living at a nexus where the only standard of distribution relevant in the 21st century—whether we talk about entertainment, commerce, politics—is all played out on social platforms,” Jason notes. “It’s going to become necessary to progress the legal conversation.”
Beyond the Rider, the CGA’s plans include building more support systems for creators, including 1:1 concierge-like support, creating technology to trace and amplify creators’ professional work, and holding in-person events and conferences highlighting various perspectives from the creator economy.
The organization is also beginning conversations with policymakers in Washington about creator protections at the federal level.
For Jason, the ultimate goal extends beyond legal documents to a shift in how the creator economy functions. “For me, it’s really about equity and having a more equitable industry,” he says. “I would love for the CGA to be a conduit between all the relevant parties—media agencies, platforms, talent management, and creators themselves.”
His vision includes clearer industry standards across legal, ethical, and business practices, with the CGA helping to hold all parties accountable. As the creator economy enters a new phase of maturity—where content creation is a primary livelihood, not a side gig, Jason emphasizes the need for the industry to gain appropriate recognition and respect.
“It’s going to be critical that we embrace this industry as a standard that is not just a sideline thing, but very much one of the major professions that deserves the same amount of respect as any other,” Jason concludes.
Nii A. Ahene is the founder and managing director of Net Influencer, a website dedicated to offering insights into the influencer marketing industry. Together with its newsletter, Influencer Weekly, Net Influencer provides news, commentary, and analysis of the events shaping the creator and influencer marketing space. Through interviews with startups, influencers, brands, and platforms, Nii and his team explore how influencer marketing is being effectively used to benefit businesses and personal brands alike.
After 18 months of development and industry consultation, the Creators Guild of America (CGA) released the “CGA Rider,” the first standardized legal document specifically designed to protect creators from exploitative payment terms, content ownership disputes, and AI usage concerns.
This new rider gives individual creators—from micro-influencers to major content producers—the same negotiating tools previously available only to those with expensive legal teams.
“There were so many Wild West practices in the influencer marketing and creator economy business, particularly around predatory representation. I was seeing people at clubs who brought deals and were taking 30-50% of creator earnings, and agencies with unreasonable payment terms,” explains Jason Davis, Vice President at the CGA. “The fragmentation in our industry needed to be addressed in a collective organization.”
Without centralized standards or protections, individual creators—even successful ones—have remained vulnerable to exploitative business practices, unclear contract terms, and payment issues. The CGA aims to change that power dynamic through standardization and collective advocacy.
“In nascent industries like the creator economy, it requires organization and people willing to give up their time to oversee elements of bringing people together,” Jason explains. “It’s not just about what we’re doing with the Rider—it’s about opening up a dialogue.”
The development process brought together voices from across the creator ecosystem. CGA board member Paige Kaplan, an experienced lawyer, led the legal development while industry launch partners, including Ben Jeffries, Neil Waller, and Neal Jean, recognized the Rider.
“Everyone was instrumental in defining certain principles around payment terms,” Jason notes. “We heard about the pain points from media agencies managing brand relationships, as well as from talent and their representatives. The Rider is made by creators and people in the creative community for them.”
Founded by Daniel Abas and his sister Demiana Abas, who were then joined by Jason, the CGA is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization that advocates for and empowers professionals throughout the creator economy. Jason, who started in traditional talent representation in Australia before founding Unbridled Management (a talent firm acquired in 2018), brings firsthand industry growth experience.
How the Rider Tackles Industry Pain Points
The CGA Rider addresses several longstanding challenges creators face when working with brands and platforms. Payment terms—often a source of frustration for creators who may wait months for compensation—are now clearly defined with specific timelines.
Content ownership rights receive particular attention in the document, as oversight in this department may leave many creators vulnerable to having their work repurposed without additional compensation or control over its use.
AI protection emerged as another key component during the development process. “AI provisions were pretty hotly debated both externally and internally as something that’s a future thing,” Jason acknowledges. As artificial intelligence technologies advance, these protections aim to prevent unauthorized digital replications or manipulations of creator content and likeness.
The CGA Rider also standardizes creator access to analytics—vital information professionals need to demonstrate their value to brands and negotiate fair compensation based on actual performance metrics rather than arbitrary valuations.
By addressing these core concerns, the document provides creators with a template for fairer working relationships, particularly benefiting those who are just starting out. As Jason notes, “for the underrepresented and those who are starting this journey, maybe they’re a micro-creator at 50,000 followers and getting their first brand partnerships. This is absolutely going to be something which they can utilize as a reference point.”
Implementation and Enforcement
The practical application of the Rider is designed to be straightforward. “In any brand partnership negotiation, whether directly or through an agency, a creator can use some or all of the Rider to redline, change, or renegotiate terms with the other party,” Jason explains. “My feeling is, in many scenarios, if you’re utilizing a document like the Rider, it is going to be like a document to refer to and see best practices.”
For creators who encounter violations of agreed-upon terms, the CGA offers direct support. “A creator can get in touch with us via email and inform us of any potential breaches, and we’ll aim to clarify the situation with the other party,” Jason says. “We’re not looking to rush to judgment. We want to advocate for creators, better understand the situation, and then be that middle party.”
This approach reflects the CGA’s commitment to improving industry practices rather than calling out bad actors. However, Jason notes that the organization will track patterns of violations: “Continual reports of breaches will be taken into account by the CGA and shared with our membership and industry peers.”
Industry Response and Adoption
Since its launch in April, the Rider has received “uniformly positive” feedback, particularly from creators and their representatives who have long sought standardized protections.
Jason has been particularly struck by the reaction from established creators. “I have been pretty shocked by how few people—even large-scale creators doing a lot of brand partnerships each quarter—haven’t even really considered content ownership and AI protection,” he observes. “These are people with teams, lawyers, managers, agents. That did surprise me.”
Currently, the Rider is available exclusively to CGA members, though Jason emphasizes that the organization is open to broader adoption. “It is the aim for this Rider to begin the process of standardization industry-wide,” he confirms. Creators can apply for membership on the CGA website for a fee of $99 or become associates for free.
“If a creator or someone reaches out and says, ‘Can we please utilize this?’ there’s never going to be like, ‘No, you can’t,’” Jason clarifies. “We want this to be utilized, and we’re always open to including it. We’d ask that we get some feedback from it and hopefully help you negotiate something and move forward.”
Image: CGA Team
The Future of Creator Rights
The CGA Rider represents the beginning of what Jason sees as a necessary progression in creator economy standards. He draws parallels between the current state of the creator economy and the early days of the gig economy when services like Uber and food delivery were just beginning to transform labor markets.
“Anything in life takes consistency, relevance, and momentum,” Jason observes. “The Rider offers momentum. It opens a dialogue around creator rights.” He adds that this dialogue becomes increasingly important as the creator economy matures and more people pursue content creation as their primary career.
“We’re now living at a nexus where the only standard of distribution relevant in the 21st century—whether we talk about entertainment, commerce, politics—is all played out on social platforms,” Jason notes. “It’s going to become necessary to progress the legal conversation.”
Beyond the Rider, the CGA’s plans include building more support systems for creators, including 1:1 concierge-like support, creating technology to trace and amplify creators’ professional work, and holding in-person events and conferences highlighting various perspectives from the creator economy.
The organization is also beginning conversations with policymakers in Washington about creator protections at the federal level.
For Jason, the ultimate goal extends beyond legal documents to a shift in how the creator economy functions. “For me, it’s really about equity and having a more equitable industry,” he says. “I would love for the CGA to be a conduit between all the relevant parties—media agencies, platforms, talent management, and creators themselves.”
His vision includes clearer industry standards across legal, ethical, and business practices, with the CGA helping to hold all parties accountable. As the creator economy enters a new phase of maturity—where content creation is a primary livelihood, not a side gig, Jason emphasizes the need for the industry to gain appropriate recognition and respect.
“It’s going to be critical that we embrace this industry as a standard that is not just a sideline thing, but very much one of the major professions that deserves the same amount of respect as any other,” Jason concludes.