What Is a Kill Fee and Why Your Contract Needs One

You spent a week brainstorming concepts, went back and forth on scripts, filmed three different versions, and then — out of nowhere — the brand emails you to say the campaign is cancelled. No explanation, no apology, and (if you didn't have a kill fee contract clause) no payment. If that scenario makes your stomach drop, you're not alone. This happens to creators more often than you'd think, and it's exactly why a kill fee is one of the most important things you can have in any brand deal agreement.

So, What Exactly Is a Kill Fee?

A kill fee is a set amount of money a brand agrees to pay you if they cancel a project after you've already started working on it. Think of it as a safety net — a financial cushion that makes sure your time, energy, and creative effort don't go completely unpaid just because a brand changed its mind.

Kill fees are usually written as a percentage of the total project fee. A common range is anywhere from 25% to 50% of what you would have been paid if the project had gone forward. So if your deal was worth $2,000 and the brand cancels mid-way through, a 50% kill fee means you'd still walk away with $1,000. It's not the full amount, but it's something — and something is a whole lot better than nothing.

Why Do Brands Cancel in the First Place?

Brands cancel campaigns for all kinds of reasons — budget cuts, internal restructuring, a PR crisis, a shift in marketing strategy, or sometimes just a new marketing manager who wants to take things in a completely different direction. None of those reasons are your fault, but without a kill fee, you're the one left holding the bag.

Here's the thing: by the time a brand cancels, you've almost certainly already put in serious work. You've had discovery calls, read through briefs, ideated concepts, maybe even written a full script or shot preliminary footage. That's real time you could have spent on another paid project. A kill fee acknowledges that your time has value — even when a deal falls through.

What Does a Kill Fee Clause Actually Look Like in a Contract?

A solid kill fee clause will spell out a few key things: when it kicks in, how much it is, and how it gets paid. Here's a simplified example of what that language might look like: 'In the event that Brand cancels this agreement after Creator has begun production, Brand agrees to pay Creator a kill fee equal to 50% of the total project fee within 14 days of cancellation notice.'

The key details to look for — or negotiate for — are: the percentage (higher is better for you), what counts as 'beginning production' (ideally this should include any pre-production work like scripting and concepting), the payment timeline, and whether the kill fee increases the further along in production you are. Some contracts have tiered kill fees, where you get 25% if cancelled before filming, but 75% if cancelled after you've delivered a draft.

What If the Brand's Contract Doesn't Include a Kill Fee?

This is actually really common, especially with smaller brands or companies that don't have a lot of experience working with creators. The good news? You can ask for one to be added. Negotiating contract terms can feel intimidating, but requesting a kill fee is a completely standard and professional ask. You're not being difficult — you're being smart.

A simple way to bring it up: 'I'd love to include a kill fee clause to protect both of us in case the campaign direction changes — is that something we can add?' Framing it as a mutual protection (because it kind of is — it also gives the brand a clear, agreed-upon off-ramp) makes it easier for everyone to say yes.

If a brand flat-out refuses to include any kill fee provision, that's worth paying attention to. It doesn't automatically mean the deal is bad, but it does mean you're taking on more risk. At minimum, you might want to ask for a larger upfront deposit to offset that.

Kill Fees vs. Deposits: What's the Difference?

These two terms get mixed up a lot, so let's clear it up. A deposit is money paid upfront before any work begins — it's a good-faith payment that also helps cover your initial time investment. A kill fee is specifically what happens when a project gets cancelled after it's already underway. They serve different purposes, but both are important layers of financial protection for creators.

Ideally, your brand deal contract has both: a deposit (typically 25-50% of the total fee) paid at signing, and a kill fee clause that protects you if things fall apart mid-project. Together, they make sure you're never walking away empty-handed no matter what happens.

The Bottom Line: Protect Your Time and Your Income

Your creativity and your time are your most valuable assets as a creator. A kill fee clause in your contract is one of the simplest ways to make sure those assets are respected — even when a brand deal doesn't go as planned. The more you normalize including them in your agreements, the more you build a business that can weather the unpredictable nature of brand partnerships.

Before you sign your next brand deal, take a close look at whether the contract includes a kill fee — and if it doesn't, you now know exactly what to ask for. Want to check your own contract? Upload it to CreatorTerms for a free preview and find out in minutes what's in there, what's missing, and what you should ask to change.