A post at Digg related to Podshow’s draft contract with podcasters is generating a lot of discussion, but it seems like little insight into what a contract should be.  The details of the contract were discussed on Keith and The Girl Podcast and the terms of the contract deemed eggregious.  Much of the commentary at Digg it seems tobe focused on the the terms of the contract, and how bad it is for the podcaster.

Having not read the document myself, I can only observe that a document is just just a starting point and not a really contract until both sides agree and sign the document.  And in the corporate world, draft contracts get lots of edits before they get signed.  The more Podshow wants to sign a podcaster the more leverage the podcaster will have to ask and get changes to the document.  Most podcasters are probably not familiar with this type of contract negiotiation, and if  they are considering signing a contract they should get some professional advice from someone who understands contract law and contract negotiation.

Podcasters should be looking at the development of Podshow in a more positive light.  Someone has a contract to offer, and hopefully some money to back it up.  This means that more podcasters will be able to make some money from their podcasts by joining Podshow or another podcast network.  Just remember this is not like buying a car where the government provides a standard contract, a podcaster signing up with a podcast network is entering into a business relationship with a custom contract.  Make sure to follow the number one rule of contract negotiations, your lawyers need to be as good or better than theirs.