Termination fee or exit penalty
What this clause does
You pay money to leave.
Why it hurts you
An exit fee converts a bad relationship into an expensive one. It is a core driver of creator/agency disputes, and agencies use it to make leaving financially impossible rather than to compensate genuine loss.
What a fair version looks like
No exit fee. Both sides can walk on reasonable notice.
Wording you can send back
Neither party shall owe any fee, penalty, or liquidated damages upon termination.
Paste this into your reply. Asking for a specific change is far more effective than asking them to "soften" a clause.
How to spot it
Search your contract for these words:
termination feeearly terminationliquidated damagesbreak feepenaltybuyout
Check your actual contract
Paste or upload it and we'll find this clause and the other 17, quote the exact language back to you, and generate a negotiation letter. Free, no card.
Review my contractOther things to check
This is an automated review to help you spot common problems — not legal advice, and not a substitute for a lawyer. We can miss things, and a clause that looks fine in isolation can still be a problem in context. Have a lawyer review anything you are about to sign.