Brand Deals, Sponsorship & Business
Equity deal
Also called: equity partnership, shares for content
An equity deal swaps guaranteed money for a stake in whether the brand succeeds. The upside is real when the company grows, and creators have earned more from a small percentage of one client than from years of flat fees.
Most of these arrangements end up worth nothing, because most companies never reach an exit and shares in a private company cannot easily be sold. Ask precisely what you are getting, since options at a strike price, plain shares, phantom equity and a revenue share carry different rights and different tax treatment. Take equity on top of a fee that already pays for the work.