Kickstarter share between an indie team

Hello!

i would like to ask you how you would handle the revenue share of a project (kickstarter and further) to be fair between all team members assuming they all worth the same in the project and that the team is international working through internet.

Do you have your own experience to share or any link that would give some advice on this matter ?

Your help would be very much appreciated

Thanks!

 

If all team members are worth the same then they should all get paid the same... Why is this a hard question?

Typically all members of the team are not the same value, which makes things more complicated. Most of these endeavors are split into core team members, who earn a share of any profits (and wear any losses) the team makes. Then there are contractors who get paid a set amount for completing a set amount of work. Contractors don't get any share of the profits, but they don't take any risk either, they get paid regardless of success or failure of the game as a whole.

 

Yes sorry i wasn't clear, "all member are worth the same" is to make it simpler here. The question was more about legal ways to do this, contract example that could be use as starting point may be ?
Would setting up an LLC with one of our USA member help at all or should we avoid it ?

I am searching something that would feel clear / precise for everyone in the team. So i was wondering if others have been in the same situation and how they handled the legal part, i could discuss in private if it becomes sensitive

 

... make it a "pool" and for each hour worked there is reward taken from pool??
or something?

just some idea, i dunno squat about business

 

Or for each task that is completed.

 

That's why I hate team collaborations. Throw all the money into a company or other legal entity. Give it a ceo to be 'the boss'. Then pay people salaries commiserate to their contribution.

 

You need to watch out if you are classing people as employees &/or payment as salary etc. some countries may require you to withhold taxes etc. Seek professional accounting advice if you are working with overseas partners if you will eventually release the game & they will be entitled to any profit share/royalties/salary/bonuses etc because that could change the way you start with the endeavour.

 

Good call. This becomes an issue no matter how you give people money.

 

If you want to do it properly, setup a company and register each person as a director having an equal share.

Now the next thing you need is a shareholders agreement. The more you have defined in the shareholders agreement, the less chance there is of something ending up in dispute, or even worse, going to court.

While there are plenty of examples on the internet of what a shareholders agreements constitutes, you might want to specify what happens in the following cases...

- What happens if someone stops working on the project or is no longer able to commit their equal share of time/money?
- If someone leaves the company, will they be paid out, and if so how much?
- If someone leaves the company, do they own any rights to the source code/assets they have created?
- How much will be re-invested into the company, and how much salary will each director take, and how much will be paid out as dividends?
- How will future game titles work after the first title has been released, how will they be created, which source code can they use? Will directors be able to use source code/assets for their own non-company projects?

Try and think of every possible scenario that can happen down the line, and put it in the shareholders agreement.

Remember, legal agreements are there to keep you out of court...

 

lol taxes suck

chyeah like i said im not a business guy

 

I never made enough money off it that anyone cared. I guess you would keep some of the money for taxes, and give him some of the left over net.

 

^^ Don't listen to this guy

 

A large % of bankrupt companies are forced into liquidation by revenue agencies/tax departments for unpaid taxes that have interest added to them & then fines/penalties put against the directors (personal fines owed by them, not the company). If you are serious about the game & a career do it properly, set up a proper legal structure & get proper legal & financial/corporate advice relevant to your country.

 

Thanks for all the replies!

We are going for something more or less like Meltdown explained

Spoiler

Don't hesitate if you have more to share on this!