From time to time we may send to you automated email messages about briefs, applications and other on-site activity, as well as marketing emails, in order to keep you up-to-date with relevant activity on Creative Commission.

If you would like to fine-tune your email settings to control the types of emails you receive from us or to unsubscribe from all Creative Commission emails, you can manage your email subscription settings via your Account page.

When a commissioner follows a creative the creative is notified via a message within notifications but also via the email digest which is sent with recent Creative Commission activity.  

Send us a message or an email with a request and we'll sort this for you.

Make sure to include your new username, so we can sort this as soon as possible.

If you would like us to delete your account and profile entirely and remove all of your details from our database please email [email protected] with the subject line ‘Delete my account’ and we will delete your account from Creative Commission within five working days.

After deleting your account we will no longer store any account information about you, you will be removed from all mailing lists and we will send a final email confirming the actioning of your request.

Your profile is visible to other users on the site, (including commissioners) and is often used by commissioners to get a wider context on your work above and beyond the projects you may have included within your application. 

It's worth taking the time to ensure your profile is comprehensive and represents you.  

We will soon be launching a feature that will allow you to receive a profile review as well as verify non-CC commissioned projects on your profile, (plus some other great features to be announced shortly) if you'd like to be considered for this once launched please drop an email to [email protected] expressing your interest.  

A commissioner can respond to an application for a brief, a share for an open brief and a DM via your profile, any initial communication from a commissioner will go into the Messages section within your profile and a notification sent to you via email. 

Creative Commission does not charge a fee or take a percentage for any briefs successfully commissioned via the platform.

Our 0% commission business model means that when the time comes for the creative to be paid fully and fairly for the pre-agreed budget fee, the payment is sent directly between parties.

As members of CC can be spread all over the world, please be sure to refer to local laws, taxes and regulations before any contractual obligations are agreed.

Kill fees, instalments and deposits

It is important at the pre-commission stage to agree the payment plan and outline at which milestones or dates during the commission that payment is due.

A common method to protect both parties during the commissioning process, is to agree a kill fee (also called a cancellation fee) up-front. According to The Balance Small Business, a kill fee is "a payment... to the freelancer when their assigned article is killed or canceled. It is generally expressed as a percentage of the total payment, and it's used to afford the freelancer with a certain sense of confidence."

Some designers may specify that the deposit, which is usually a percentage of the project estimate, serves as a kill fee. Lifewire explains: "a non-refundable deposit and cancellation clause protects [the creative] from having hours of uncompensated work during the critical research, brainstorming and conceptualization phase of a project."

With some video projects, it may require the fee and budget to be split across the life of the project so for example, half on being commissioned, (to cover costs for example) with the balance due on delivery of the video.  

A project is designed to be just that, a single item of content or a project completed. The reason for this is that projects are used to give commissioners examples of work you have completed in a style similar to what they are looking for.

A showreel isn't specific enough to make an application with. 

For example, if a commissioner is looking for anime-style animation and you recently completed a project in that style, you can share that project with your application, demonstrating to the commissioner that not only have you got an understanding of that style but you have the ability to execute it also. A showreel won't be able to demonstrate this as effectively.    

Yes, but please ensure the work is categorised properly, is relevant to Creative Commission and shows off your core skills. Overt, text-heavy, adverts of your services are strongly discouraged and may be removed by an Administrator.

A Project is an example of creative work that you've completed previously which you would like to share with the creative community, highlight to a commissioner and include within your CC profile.

Think of Projects as a chance to create a space to showcase a specific example of your work. We use Projects as the creative currency on Creative Commission as we feel it's the best way to demonstrate your skills and ability to everyone within the community and qualify your suitability for the briefs posted. 

You can find an overview of your projects via this link.

To personalise your project, just go to Projects in your navigation and click on view my projects to see and edit all projects you’ve uploaded so far. 

Once you’ve clicked to edit a project, you’ll see Appearance settings at the bottom of the page.

COVER

When your Project is displayed across Creative Commission (such as on your profile, in the projects feed and when attached to Brief applications or Network submissions) we will automatically add a cover thumbnail from your first image or video added to your project. However, for extra personalisation, you can override the cover by uploading a square image in the Appearance section. Files must be either a png, gif, jpg or jpeg, have to be less than 5 MB in size and must be bigger than 300x300 pixels.

MAIN THEME

Another feature you can change here is the main theme of your project. This will change the way that your projects look. We automatically detect a colour theme from the media that you add to your project. If you’d like to override this select one of the following options:

• Dark (blurred background image, dark text box background, white text)
• Light (blurred background image, light text box background, dark text)
• Clear (no background image, no text box background, dark text)

PREVIEW TEXT

When your Project is displayed across Creative Commission (such as on your profile, in the projects feed and when attached to Brief applications or Network submissions) we will automatically add a blurred background with white text and buttons. If you’d like to change the text colour then tick the ‘make preview text dark’ option.

There are many reasons why it’s worth the time spending an hour or so every month to keep your Projects fresh.

To begin with, it's the most effective way to make your Profile sparkle. A large number of creatives' profile pages on Creative Commission feature very few examples of their work and so this is your ideal foot-in-the-door when a commissioner from a major label, independent record company or artist manager comes looking for someone just like you.

Feedback from our recent meetings with commissioners in the music industry (we meet with lots of labels and managers each week) is that they'd like to see more examples of what creatives on our platform are capable of - so why not show off more of what of the type of projects you've recently created?

PRO

If you're an upgraded member of CC, you can use your Projects each time you apply to a Brief by attaching examples of your work to the Application. This will save you a lot of time when repeating the need to add similar examples to your Application. If you'd prefer to hide secret projects from the rest of the world then you can do so when adding a new Project.

If your Projects are set to 'public' display mode then they will show on your profile page and in the public Projects feed.

If you are an upgraded member of Creative Commission applying to Briefs, then your Projects will also display underneath the Brief application form for you to easily attach up to four projects to your applications.

When you are logged in as a creative, simply click below to add a new Project.

Add project

You can visit your list of Projects here to see all items, even if they are set to 'public' or 'private', in order to edit them; only you can see this page. Select Edit against the Project that you'd like to tune-up and then remember to hit save to commit your changes.

Your projects can have up to three tags (for example; art direction, graphic design and artwork).

You can give your project a title, also. This will make it easier for you to distinguish your different projects, both public and private.

You can visit your list of Projects here to see all items, even if they are set to 'public' or 'private', in order to delete them; only you can see this page. Select Delete against the Project that you'd like to remove to wave goodbye permanently to this item. This cannot be undone or retrieved.

The Projects feed is displayed in an order of relevance, based on a combination of fresh, applicable, popular and suggested Projects that have been posted on CC recently. Each person sees a bespoke version of the feed, although the best projects will naturally rise higher and appear in more people's feed if they perform well in terms of views and Likes.

You can visit your list of Projects here to see all items, even if they are set to 'public' or 'private', in order to delete them; only you can see this page. Select Delete against the Project that you'd like to remove to wave goodbye permanently to this item. This cannot be undone or retrieved.

By liking other people's Projects you can show your support for their creative handiwork and you'll also start to see more examples from these creatives over time.

Projects is a great way to see what your peers are doing in the music industry and beyond as well as finding out about Success projects which have come through the platform so please share the love!

Any images and videos currently displayed on profiles will remain for the foreseeable future but they will eventually be permanently replaced by Projects. We will give plenty of notice when this is due to happen. 

When uploading a project to the site you can choose to make it private or public. 

A public project is included within the searchable directory of projects, it will show up in external searches and is linked to a public URL, it is also visible on your CC profile.  

A private project can be used for applications, won't be shown on your profile and isn't visible within any external search results. 

A private project can be made public and vice versa at any time by editing the project, switching the permissions and saving.  

Creative Commission's application process makes it as quick and convenient as possible for creatives to apply to commissioners' written briefs. In an application a creative can easily provide key details about themselves and how and why they want to work on a given project.

Most music industry commissioners require a large amount of creative content for each of their artist's campaigns, which means that they often need to find new people to work with on a regular basis who have the right blend of experience and a visual style which matches the artist and their campaign. That's how Creative Commission steps in to make this complicated process more streamlined and efficient.

The Brief and the Application are the two key components of Creative Commission, with each part dovetailing neatly together to form a call-and-response method between what the commissioner needs and what each creative can uniquely provide.

Here's an overview below about the application process.

OVERVIEW

• Only creative members of CC who have an active and upgraded Pro membership can apply to a brief
• Each open brief posted is available to apply to once per creative before it expires on its deadline date
• Once you have applied to a brief you cannot edit, amend or delete it (similar to sending or retrieving an email)
• Some briefs are restricted to creatives situated in a given location, for instance a music video shoot in London
• As a reminder to apply, you can pin a brief by clicking the icon on the top right of a brief

Your application is private between you, the commissioner and, if they opt to send a sharable secret URL link, with the commissioner's colleagues or other representatives of the artist (such as label, management or the artist). Applications are viewable for up to 90 days, upon which time they will be auto-archived by our system.

Please note that Administrators of Creative Commission can also view each application for quality control and moderation purposes and to ensure that the application process system is not being misused.

Here's what happens to an Application after it has been submitted.

WE EMAIL THE COMMISSIONER

After an application is submitted, a unique URL link to read the application, along with the application headline, applicant's username and their profile picture, is added to a compiled daily round-up email. This digest email is sent directly to the commissioner's email inbox every afternoon. We also email the commissioner when a brief closes with a link to the full list of applications that they have received.

Of course, most commissioners head to CC several times per day during the brief's lifespan too to check their applications, which are listed in the right sidebar for logged-in commissioners.

When an application is sent it is added to the Applications page, where you will see this icon to let you know that your application has been sent.

FAVOURITING, SHORTLISTING AND REJECTING

As applications roll in for a brief, the next stage is for the commissioner to separate them to distinguish between which creatives they would like to explore working with and those they would like to reject. This icon on the Applications page denotes that the application has been seen and is awaiting a response from the commissioner.

DECLINED

Declined applicants will see this icon and, if provided, the commissioner's reason and feedback will be viewable against the application itself (above the headline).

FAVOURITES

Commissioners can now favourite applications as they go through the commissioning process without needing to add potential suitors to a shortlist at that stage. Simply click the icon against an application to bookmark this creative for future reference.

COMMISSIONERS: SHARING YOUR APPLICATIONS

As detailed here, once the commissioner has removed any applications that they do not want to pursue by rejecting them, they can then share the remaining applications with team members or fellow representatives of the artist, such as with label or management, for a second opinion. One really helpful new addition to the Share page is that anyone who has been sent the secret share link can also use the icon to provide feedback to the commissioner about their favourite respondents.

SHORTLIST

If your application is shortlisted, you'll see this icon which means that you are being considered for the project.

THE COMMISSIONER EMAILS YOU

If an applicant has been shortlisted, and the commissioner opts to contact them, then the commissioner can contact you via Messages, where it is likely that the applicant will be asked additional questions or invited for a meeting, call or coffee to discuss things further.

It is possible to make edits to your application within a 24-hour window - should you need to make changes past this time you'll need to contact the CC administrators at [email protected]

The ability to edit an application is designed more for an attachment not uploading, or a spelling mistake, it is less to make many small adjustments as you go or to save an application to come back to later, once you hit submit your application is 

An application is a vital way for the applicant to engage with, and introduce themselves to, the commissioner.

It can be viewed either as a foot-in-the-door or a way of sealing the deal (depending on the requirements of the brief and the style of the application), and so, even though we have made the process as efficient as possible, we advise that each applicant spends a few extra moments to read the brief fully as it's the best way to present a strong case for being commissioned.

The two most common errors which we regularly see on CC (and which have the lowest success rate for a commission) are: when applicants copy-and-paste a generic, broad written application and send the same application to all briefs without any tailored response; and secondly, when applications feature only a written paragraph, omitting embedded videos and images or attaching files or projects, which can result in the application having less of an impact on the commissioner versus those which do include these items.

Therefore our advice for submitting better applications is as follows.

Top tips

• Be professional, concise, warm and friendly with your written approach
• Tell the commissioner about you, your work and your experience
• Demonstrate you have read the brief and know about the artist in question
• Convey a balanced sense of excitement and competency to execute the job well
• Underpin your application with strong, relevant examples of your work
• Go for impact and make full use of adding videos, images, files and projects
• Don't go for everything: keep your creative energy up for the briefs you really want to go for

Read our guide to submitting better applications

Get in touch, we can look at ways we can help.

The main advice we can give though is to ensure you are applying for briefs you can demonstrate you are suitable for, address commissioners and projects by name, avoid anything which feels like a copy and paste and put forward why you have a genuine passion for the project. 

We do sometimes manage briefs for commissioners and assist them in reaching out to creatives. Should you be contacted by members of the Creative Commission admin team this is usually to help the commissioner identify someone to collaborate with before we pass them over to you directly via email. 

We are very transparent about this and should you ever have any questions please do reach out. 

One of our favourite things about Creative Commission is that we can provide you with specialised updates by learning more about you as you complete your profile information and use the site over time.

This article provides an overview of the information you’ve allowed us to collect, and guidance for how to change the permissions on some of this information.

This article is just a guide, so be sure to read our Privacy Policy for the most comprehensive information about your relationship with us. 

YOUR PROFILE, DATA AND CONTENT

While you have a Creative Commission account, certain information will always be publicly viewable:

• Your username and month of registration, plus, if you have added them,
• Your profile photo
• Cover photo
• Portfolio images
• Showreel and videos
• Public projects
• Links to your other websites and social media profiles
• Listed skills, and
• Your profile description

Remember: Information that is publicly available, may be used, linked to, or re-shared by others on the service or across the web.

To remove your data totally from our platform and servers, and to delete your account entirely, please email [email protected].

Seven years ago, we set out to become the primary commissioning resource in the music industry and we have, together, grown the reputation of the business within the music industry into what it is today: respected, successful and a prosperous source of incredibly talented creative people (like you). 

Code

In order to maintain these high standards of professionalism, we have introduced a code of conduct for our members, which outlines how we expect our members to communicate with each other, commissioners and members of the CC team.

The code of conduct has been added to the Help section and here’s a summary of it below.

• Be polite and professional to each other
• Follow the brief process and do not circumnavigate the platform
• Be confidential with brief information and audio
• Raise concerns so we can help correct and mediate
• Ask us for assistance or clarity

Polite and Professional

Acting with integrity is about more than CC’s image: it’s about sustaining a place which we are all proud to be a part of. Ultimately, it’s about each of us knowing that we can operate in a friendly, professional and positive environment. This means acting honestly and treating each other fairly and with dignity. Let’s be friendly with each other via Messages, email and on Live Chat - we love hearing from and working with you.

Follow the Brief Process

The brief process is structured to provide global creative members of the community with a fresh range of opportunities to find paid work and forge long-term successful working relationships with new companies. It is also designed to help commissioners collate all information required to make their key decisions about who to reject, shortlist and commission.

Please do not circumnavigate the platform or go direct to the commissioner after reading or applying to a brief. If you have any questions about the Brief process, please contact us via Live Chat or email us at [email protected] - we’d be happy to help.

Be confidential

All briefs posted on Creative Commission spark the inception of a creative collaboration process which usually coincides with an undisclosed release of a product or event. Therefore confidentiality is a prerequisite requirement for Pro members of the platform and we ask you not to share information or audio links, as well as your logins, with other people outside of the platform.

Raise concerns

We all have an obligation to uphold the ethical standards of Creative Commission. If you observe behaviour that concerns you, or that may represent a violation of our Code, raise the issue promptly to an admin via Live Chat or emailing [email protected]. 

Doing so will allow us an opportunity to deal with the issue and correct it before it becomes a violation of conduct or damages the platform’s reputation.

Ask for assistance or clarity

We’re here to help answers your questions, fix bugs, and improve the platform from Monday to Friday. If you have any burning questions about a brief or you’d like us to ask the commissioner for clarity about something then come to us so we can add extra information to the brief. Please do not circumnavigate the platform and ask questions directly to the commissioner as this reflects badly on all of us, please ask us so we can help.

We endeavour to cancel subscriptions as quickly as possible and try to ensure that you are never charged after notifying us of your request to cancel your Pro subscription. If you feel you have been charged erroneously please email [email protected] with the subject line ‘Subscription charge’ and we will look into this for you as soon as possible to attempt to reach a resolution.

Cancelling your subscription is easy. Simply email [email protected] with the subject line 'Cancel my subscription' ahead of your subscription renewal date and we will cancel your subscription within one working day. 

You can upgrade to our affordable, recurring Pro subscription via this link. 

If you upgraded to Pro and would like to update your payment details, head to your Subscription page to add your new card details in. Your changes will take effect on your next payment.

If you subscribed to Creative Commission through PayPal, you’ll need to log into PayPal and amend your details.

We offer two great payment tiers to upgrade to Pro: monthly and annual. Depending on your chosen currency:

GBP £

• Monthly - £15
• Annual - £120

USD $

• Monthly - $20
• Annual - $160

All subscriptions are automatically recurring until you notify us otherwise of your request to cancel. Please see ‘How do I cancel my subscription?’ for further information.

Yes, all subscriptions are automatically recurring until you notify us otherwise of your request to cancel. Please see ‘How do I cancel my subscription?’ for further information.

Head over to the Billing page to access and download all of your receipts.

Please note: if you have just upgraded your account it can take a little while for your Billing page to update (less than 24 hours normally). Please email us at [email protected] with the subject line ‘My receipts’ and we’ll happily provide you with copies of your receipts for your chosen date period as soon as possible.

If you are a PayPal customer, copies of your payment receipts will be listed in your PayPal account.

We will fully refund a subscription if you have been charged for your plan but notified us via email prior to your subscription renewal date.

We will require email proof, such as forwarding a copy of your subscription cancellation email, sent and dated within the previous period.

Of course, if a duplicate subscription was made in error when you initially upgraded, which is very uncommon but can happen with an accidental double-click, we will happily rectify this for you.

Also, if you accidentally upgraded to the wrong payment plan, for instance Quarterly instead of Monthly, then new customers can downgrade within two working days of your initial subscription and receive a refund of the difference in your overpayment.

You can find all information on our subscriptions right here.

You can find all information on our subscriptions right here.