"I signed an employment contract without reading it. Lesson learned."
March 23, 2021 1:07 PM   Subscribe

 
Y'know, gang, I'm really starting to have some misgivings about this whole "capitalism" business...
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:17 PM on March 23, 2021 [30 favorites]


People will know and help the person. Hopefully he regains footing and has the opportunity to do what he'd hoped.

And people will know about the CEO as well, it doesn't matter how hard the company tries to twist, or cover it up, or positively wash it.

..gross.
posted by firstdaffodils at 1:18 PM on March 23, 2021


Mr. Callaghan’s image became commodified as merchandise. “I remember being in my house and seeing my best friend’s face on air fresheners, Hawaiian shirts and I.P.A. beer cans,” said Mr. Kahn. There were also action figures.

“My son… showed me his favorite all-Mormon sketch comedy troupe. They had all met and started performing comedy at Brigham Young University, but they stayed together after graduation and were now putting out two videos a week for their two million Youtube subscribers. They were wildly popular, and like all wildly popular things these days, no one had ever heard of them.”
— John Hodgman, Medallion Status
posted by Going To Maine at 1:30 PM on March 23, 2021 [16 favorites]


I hadn't seen this before.

This situation isn't cool, someone should pitch this person a better deal.

It's always protocol to read contracts beforehand, but these guys seem great and it seems really unfortunate this happened to a project that largely appeared to be brainstormed by one person.
posted by firstdaffodils at 1:32 PM on March 23, 2021


"Mr. Callaghan is still working on the longform project with Abso Lutely and Doing Things."

So even though he managed to get a deal with Tim and Eric, Doing Things is still getting a cut? That young man needs a lawyer.
posted by gladly at 1:39 PM on March 23, 2021 [5 favorites]


And people will know about the CEO as well, it doesn't matter how hard the company tries to twist, or cover it up, or positively wash it.

And people will also not send their contracts to their lawyers, and also think a company will give them an RV and $45k a year, hire two of their friends, and somehow be shocked when that company expects to have a say in what content gets made with those resources.

Read your contracts kids. Or better yet have a lawyer read them. You can't take someone's money with one hand, and then expect to give them the finger with the other.
posted by sideshow at 1:41 PM on March 23, 2021 [24 favorites]


Cannot disagree.
posted by firstdaffodils at 1:42 PM on March 23, 2021


Mr. Callaghan had also signed over the rights to the brand’s intellectual property and the name “All Gas No Brakes” to Doing Things.

The venture seems to have ended on a bad note, but...I don't necessarily see any party as being the "bad" guy in this. There was some pushing, resistance, back-and-forth stuff, yes - but no twirly-moustache-level wrong-doing, to my mind. And if Callaghan chose to sign over the rights...well...that was a decision he made.
posted by davidmsc at 1:43 PM on March 23, 2021 [3 favorites]


Sadly this tale is a lot like any author who signs a publishing contract on their own, because they want to save money on an agent.
posted by PhineasGage at 1:50 PM on March 23, 2021 [2 favorites]


Agree with no bad guys or almost no bad guys.

Still, if a project is popular and has a young demographic passionate enough to float a decent patreon, it's in better taste to carry out better faith between parties or work out something.*

That boy needs an attorney.
posted by firstdaffodils at 1:54 PM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


Wow, I had not heard of this guy (I guess I'm out of touch now) but his videos from the protests are amazing. I hope he can get this contract bullshit sorted out and keep making the things he wants to.
posted by wilberforce at 2:02 PM on March 23, 2021 [2 favorites]


I don't necessarily see any party as being the "bad" guy in this.

You don't need a "bad" guy for things to get fucked up by situations no one thought through of ahead of time.

Maybe the company thought that this kid was only going to party stuff. Maybe they they were going to be hands off, but the party stuff paid the bills, and the kid didn't want to do that any more. Maybe the kid always planned on doing party stuff, but his thinking evolved over time and he eventually wanted only wanted to do hard news. Etc etc etc.

Having a lawyers read the contact and lay out everything to all sides starts the venture on a note of understanding. Maybe "the company is going to want to set the direction of your content" would have been a deal breaker, or maybe "for every 3 party stories, you can do one thing where you get final cut" etc etc.

The very worst business blow outs (like, "I'll fucking kill you if I see you again" type stuff) I have been involved with (fortunately only peripherally) started off as just some bros coming together to make some cool shit, and lawyers were seen as not just an added cost, but somehow also an omen that things were destined to fail. The happiest and smoothest ventures started with iron clad legal documents before anything got started.
posted by sideshow at 2:04 PM on March 23, 2021 [15 favorites]


It's kind of the story of a zillion musical acts isn't it, though? Thrilled to sign a contract, it seems like so much money and such a good deal, and then they realize how thoroughly they've been screwed after a couple of years. And they are usually young as well. So sure, he made decisions but that doesn't mean he didn't get screwed over either.
posted by tavella at 2:04 PM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


lawyers were seen as not just an added cost, but somehow also an omen that things were destined to fail

quoted for truth. A good contract is minimally about how things are handled when it's all working well. they are primarily about everyone protecting their interests in the event of the unexpected.

It's a lot like buying life insurance. Not fun, but essential if you want your current intentions to survive the accident.
posted by meinvt at 2:11 PM on March 23, 2021 [9 favorites]


He still has a ton of potential. If he can find an agent and a willing attorney, he may be able to back out and recreate work with the creative control he deserves. It won't be the same, but he may be able to direct work himself.

Poor little dude. He clearly knows how to work. He just can't Wayne's world a work contract, ever again.
posted by firstdaffodils at 2:12 PM on March 23, 2021 [4 favorites]


The fact that the show stopped when Callaghan stopped is a good sign! It means that the owners of the show (Doing Things Media, not Callaghan) didn't have a team ready to swoop and take control. Callaghan can use the obvious hole in programming to get his own audience ready to jump onto his next endeavor, assuming he didn't sign any crazy non-compete clauses.

He thought he was an owner, but he was actually an employee. But with his history, he can probably raise funds himself or sign with a management company that will work with him instead of owning his work.
posted by meowzilla at 2:49 PM on March 23, 2021 [4 favorites]


Surely this!!^
posted by firstdaffodils at 2:54 PM on March 23, 2021


I was really worried Abso Lutely productions made life difficult for him, because I really admire Tim Heidecker’s work ethic and jaded view of American unexceptionalism.

Hoping for even better things once he gets a new project off the ground. All Gas was great. It balanced the off-the-wall interviews with social commentary thoughtfully.
posted by glaucon at 3:25 PM on March 23, 2021 [2 favorites]


Same, glaucon. I saw Heidecker and thought "..what?" It may be this is a learning lesson. I could see it working out positively, it's just a mess, for now.
posted by firstdaffodils at 3:39 PM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]


Who get's to keep the RV?

What is not clear to me is why it had to be binary. Why couldn't they continue to produce content under AGNB that was well received and funded and then start another sitch with the more serious journalism. Have your cake and eat it to. Make money and start a side gig that hopefully can pay the bills come 2022.

I back traders. The way it started when I was a tadpole was the money guy got 50% and the trader, usually a young kid with no money, would get the other 50% for doing the work. I trained them on how to trade and set them out. I took all the risk. I made them sign a two year contract. It was a two way contract. I trained them and took all the financial risk and they got 50% of the profits. If they stayed to the end of the contract, I would bonus them another 20%. They had a non-compete that lasted to the end of the contract or 6 months, whichever was LESS. Most traders, I lost money on. Either they did not have what it took to be profitable or they left before they broke out profit wise. I made my money on traders who stayed with me over time. And I would pay them more and more of their profits. I got up to paying out some traders 90%. I can tell you that 10% of $1 million is worth way more than 50% of nothing.

My point is that while these kids should have read the contract, they were only slightly taken advantage of, they got a great benefit from the financial guys. The Doing Things people paid them a salary, gave them an RV and equipment while they learned their craft. Pretty good deal for Callaghan. I am surprised that both sides could not compromise to a higher payout or more intellectual freedom. Standing on principle like a contract is costly. The folks behind Doing Things could have continued to reap rewards by paying out more and more of the profits. They seem small minded in their thinking. Looking for short term reward when a smaller percentage over a longer period of time would have probably been much more lucrative for both sides.

What both sides failed to understand was that their interests were not aligned over the long run. As the AGNB business started doing well, it swung from being a good contract for them to a bad one. In the beginning they were getting paid and took no financial risk. Once they started to make money or want to change the content to something unproven to both sides as a way to generate profits, their interests conflicted. What I would have done is set up a contract that got my money paid back faster than they got paid and then the more money they made, the higher the percentage of payout they would get. Then they both had their interests aligned.

When it comes to creatives, a contract that limits their creativity and keeps the intellectual property is really not a great contract. While Doing Things owns the name AGNB and has the old content, Callaghan can create new content and has the name recognition. If I, as a content consumer heard that Callaghan had a new gig and Doing Things had new content for AGNB, and I could only watch one, I am watching Callaghan. The kid is 24. I would like to think his best content is still yet to come.
posted by AugustWest at 5:00 PM on March 23, 2021 [40 favorites]


That was a very interesting comment, AugustWest. Your story on that side of the trading industry was new to me. Thanks for sharing. It's sad how seldom people understand the potential value of cooperation.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:24 PM on March 23, 2021 [2 favorites]


Most relevant comment poppin' off
posted by firstdaffodils at 5:33 PM on March 23, 2021


Sadly this tale is a lot like any author who signs a publishing contract on their own, because they want to save money on an agent.

Yep. This is also how too many writers and other creatives learn about the concept of "work for hire."

We all have a certain number of things we have to learn the hard way, because we don't know what we need to know, and nobody else knows how to teach it all to us.
posted by Orlop at 6:33 PM on March 23, 2021 [2 favorites]


Coming by to echo: Agents, lawyers, managers. These are important things. Yes they cost money (20% of what I gross, combined). Yes they are absolutely worth it.
posted by jscalzi at 7:03 PM on March 23, 2021 [9 favorites]


As a a former COBOL programmer and a retired lawyer (not much of a Venn diagram there) - I analysed a good contract the same way I analysed a good programme. Define
1. the environment -country, industry, medium, language
2. the variables - people, legal structures, property, rights
3. the processes - money, payments, defaults
4. the outcomes - starting, ending, disputing, (re)negotiating

And 95% of the effort goes to defining the outcomes.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 7:29 PM on March 23, 2021 [9 favorites]


For those not familiar with All Gas No Brakes, Vice made a short documentary about them a few months ago. Well worth watching.

I'm saddened by this news. I enjoy Callaghan's AGNB style and it's unfortunate he couldn't work things out with the money guys. Doubly so that he's lost the brand. Maybe I'm jaded, but his account of things in the NYT article gives me the impression that two things are simultaneously true: He'd signed a contract that wasn't a great deal for himself, and that he also hadn't been holding up his end of the deal by producing content on the agreed upon schedule. Maybe he can raise money to buy the brand back - I can't imagine them successfully replacing him with a new guy. Callaghan is AGNB.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 11:34 PM on March 23, 2021


I watched the bigfoot episode and thought “this is my kind of weird”. Then I watched the midwest furfest episode and thought well, nope, never mind. I definitely get the Tim and Eric vibe.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:32 PM on March 24, 2021




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