NDAs Exposed
NDAs are legally binding confidentiality agreements. They are used repeatedly in the world of business and also in the world of celebrities to keep secrets and to stop people from revealing things that the stars themselves, or their teams don’t want getting out. Non-disclosure agreements are drawn up by the client/celebrities’ legal team and before anything proceeds such as a relationship, a hook-up or a party, these agreements must be signed.
There are at present three different types of ndas: unilateral, bilateral and multilateral disclosure agreements. Unilateral are the most common types of NDAs and are used at times to protect intellectual property. To my mind, these would be the most common type of NDAs used with artists and with people who artists begin relations with. The reason I’m saying that is that these agreements are where one party agrees to keep the confidential information shared private. This could apply to relationships and those who aren’t in the public eye having relationships with celebrities would have to sign this type of NDA to ensure that any confidential information isn’t shared with third parties, such as those in the media. If there is a leak then there would be severe consequences such as criminal proceedings, fines or dismissal if the person is an employee.
A second type of NDA is the bilateral or mutual disclosure agreement. These are usually effective for three to five years and cover confidential agreements between two or more parties. The bilateral disclosure agreement protects confidential information from being released and no information can be disclosed once the agreement has been signed. This preserves the value of information shared and defines what is protected information.
Every single NDA has a purpose and each one will detail the specifics of the NDA and what consequences are enforceable if the NDA is breached. Further, NDAs can have confidentiality clauses that last for a few years after the NDA has expired or can have terms that ensure that all aspects of the NDA are kept confidential indefinitely.
As such these types of contractual agreements, especially in business settings, are extremely commonplace and it’s understandable why because they protect company secrets from being shared and ensure that companies, such as those who create technology have confidentiality from employees or investors while objects are being built. They would also be extremely popular in film and TV industries and allow movies to be filmed in undisclosed locations or without cast members' names being leaked to the press before the movie has been announced, but there is a darker, more insidious side to confidentiality agreements within the film,TV and music industries.
The music industry, the film industry and the TV industry have all had scandals exposed about their practices and it’s not surprising that we as the general public, are only starting to find out about what happens behind the scenes of these industries. There have been, and still are many NDAs in place to ensure that the seedy underbelly of Hollywood, of film and TV and of the music industry are unexposed, but what we have found out is incredibly worrying, Rampant abuse of power, trafficking, homophobia, abuse, sexual assault and so much more. Since the Me Too movement there have been many people coming forward to speak about their experiences both in film, in the music industry and in the TV industries. There have been multiple accounts of former X Factor contestants, young actresses, models and reality TV contestants who have exposed the horrific details of their contracts and the abuses they’ve suffered but why haven’t more come forward?
There’s a simple answer for this and that is NDAs. So many artists, actors, actresses, models and those in entertainment have signed multiple NDAs, that to talk about what they have experienced at the hands of these entertainment industries would ruin them. These agreements cover those who are just starting out to household names such as One Direction, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and many, many more. Every single person in the entertainment world will have signed multiple NDAs, but who do they protect- tthe artist or the companies that they work for?
NDAs have very recently come under fire in NME, The Times and Rolling Stone where it was exposed that they have been used on multiple occasions to protect perpetrators of sexual assault in the music industry. These NDAs have led to perpetrators getting away time and again with sexual assault, trafficking and abuse of artists. Artists who are bound by multiple NDAs cannot speak out about the mistreatment they suffer and as such are subject to further abuse and abusive contracts because they cannot discuss the terms of these contracts.
Fans of music and of artists have come to the realisation that NDAs aren’t always good things. As explained by Katie Waisell amongst others, ndas can be used to silence victims of sexual assault and to protect perpetrators of sexual assault from the consequences of their actions. NDAs can also be used to stop information getting out, to contractually closet LGBT+ celebrities and to ensure that abuse and mistreatment isn’t brought to light by artists.
How do we, as fans of music know about this? We know because we have had some artists come out and speak publicly about the mistreatment that happens behind contracts in the music industry- abuse by labels, by management companies or by the media. Celebrities can have their confidential information leaked by unscrupulous parties involved in the media; an example of this is when Rebel Wilson’s relationship and sexuality was almost exposed by someone in the Australian media and Rebel was given two days’ notice before being forced to come out herself.
However, on the flip side of the coin, NDAs can be used by record labels and management companies to give artists fake relationships with others. There are PR friendships and relationships that are used to garner media interest in projects by those in the world of celebrities. An example of this most recently was the ‘relationship’ between Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde. This was clearly a PR relationship that was beneficial to Olivia as the director of the movie, Harry’s record label Columbia and Harry’s management company as they have worked hard to keep Harry in the closet.
How does this involve NDAs- you may be asking. Well the simple answer to that question is that Harry is bound by multiple NDAs and any person he is ever supposedly in a relationship with must also sign an NDA prior to this ‘relationship’ becoming public. The reasons for this will be tenfold. Firstly because Harry is a closeted celebrity so anyone involved publicly with Harry is bound to keeping this confidential and ensuring that he looks as straight as possible to the general public. Secondly because there are multiple other NDAs that have been signed over the last fourteen years with regards to Harry’s supposed relationships with females, especially when there are such high profile names as Taylor Swift and Kendal Jenner.
Another aspect of NDAs is that people around the singer, actor, actress, model etc will also have to sign NDAs too and those include family members, members of their management teams, friends and both current and former partners. In part this is to protect celebrities’ confidential information, such as addresses, relationships and past history, but these can also lead to abuse as they can ensure that closeted celebrities are further caged by their own families and friends. Those around the celebrities would also have to engage with the fake partner and because they would have signed the agreement couldn’t act in a way that exposes the ‘relationship’ to be anything other than real.
Imagine how isolating that must be for people! NDAs can be a good thing because they can protect the privacy of celebrities, allowing them a life away from the public eye and preventing previous partners from selling them out to the media for cash - however, there is a downside. They can be, and are utilised by record labels, management companies and those with a vested interest in closeting, abusing and harming those in the public eye. There’s no easy way out, but one thing is for certain, the work of Katie Waisell, Rebecca Ferguson and others to expose these NDAs and to try and get them banned when they are involved in abuse by government is definitely a step that needs to be taken.
People should be free to disclose abuse and sexual assault and should not be coerced into signing agreements that protect those responsible and letting them act with impunity because it allows them to continue the cycles of abuse that have been happening for decades. Protecting people with an NDA is one thing, but using them, as the entertainment industry does to protect abuse and abusers is another story altogether.
Behind The Curtains
https://internationalmusician.org/the-truth-about-non-disclosure-agreements/
https://ra.co/news/80190#
https://ironcladapp.com/journal/contracts/types-of-nda/
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nda.asp
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