Commissioner Terms

1. What You Are Commissioning

When you submit a commission through Artlance, you are paying for the creation and publication of independent, critical writing about your designated exhibition, event, or cultural production.

2. Non-Interference

You agree that you will have no contact with, visibility into, or influence over the assigned writer's work at any stage. This includes the writer's angle, argument, tone, voice, style, factual emphasis, editorial process, and revisions. All communication between you and the writer is mediated exclusively through Artlance LLC.

You will not receive any draft, outline, or preview of the commissioned work before publication. Artlance LLC's editorial review is independent of you and conducted solely in accordance with Artlance LLC's own standards.

Once a piece has been approved and published, you may not request its removal, suppression, or alteration. You may request factual corrections through Artlance LLC (see Section 8). You may also commission a separate response or rebuttal through Artlance or any other channel.

3. Fees and Payment

Commission fees are calculated based on Artlance LLC's prevailing rates. The current floor rate for writers is $1.00 per word. You pay the writer's fee plus a platform surcharge: 20% for commissions under 1,000 words, and 15% for commissions of 1,000 words and above. The total fee is disclosed to you before you authorize payment.

3.0 Payment Methods

Artlance LLC accepts the following payment methods:

ACH Bank Transfer (default). No additional processing fee. Payments clear in four to five (4-5) business days. Your commission goes live immediately upon submission.

Credit or Debit Card. Instant payment. A credit card processing fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction is added to the commission total. This fee covers Stripe's payment processing costs and is disclosed before you authorize payment.

Invoice / Wire Transfer. Available by arrangement for institutional commissioners. Manual payment confirmation is required before the commission goes live. No additional processing fee.

Payment is authorized via Stripe when you submit your commission. Payment is held by Artlance LLC and released to the writer upon verification of publication. Credit card processing fees are non-refundable.

3.1 No Refund for Content

Because you are paying for independent writing and not for any particular content outcome, you are not entitled to a refund because the published piece is critical, negative, or not to your liking. Refunds are available only as described in Sections 3.2 and 5.

3.2 Refund for Non-Delivery

If no writer claims the commission within seventy-two (72) hours of the stated deadline, you may request a full refund of the commission fee, including platform surcharge.

If a commission has been claimed but no publishable piece has been delivered within forty-eight (48) hours after the stated deadline, you may request a full refund of the commission fee, including platform surcharge.

Refunds under this section will be processed within ten (10) business days of the request. Refunds to bank accounts may take an additional five to ten (5-10) business days to arrive.

3.3 Commissioner-Initiated Cancellation

You may cancel a commission at any time before the piece has been editorially approved by Artlance LLC. Cancellation fees depend on the stage of the commission at the time of cancellation:

(a) Before a writer claims the commission: Full refund of all fees, including the platform surcharge. No cancellation fee.

(b) After a writer has claimed but before the writer submits to Artlance LLC editorial: The writer receives a kill fee of fifty percent (50%) of the writer fee. The full platform surcharge is refunded to you. The remaining fifty percent (50%) of the writer fee is refunded to you.

(c) After the writer has submitted to Artlance LLC editorial: The writer receives a kill fee of fifty percent (50%) of the writer fee. The platform surcharge is not refunded (editorial work has been performed). The remaining fifty percent (50%) of the writer fee is refunded to you.

(d) After editorial approval: No cancellation is permitted once a piece has been approved by Artlance LLC editorial. The commission proceeds to publication and payment.

In all cases where a commission is cancelled after a writer has claimed it, the writer retains copyright in any work produced and may publish it independently, but without the Artlance disclosure or any reference to Artlance commissioning.

Refunds under this section will be processed within ten (10) business days of the cancellation request. Refunds to bank accounts may take an additional five to ten (5-10) business days to arrive. Credit card processing fees are non-refundable.

3.4 Short-Deadline Commissions

A commission with a publication deadline fewer than fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of submission is classified as a short-deadline commission. Short-deadline commissions are subject to the following modified terms:

(a) Editorial approval required. Short-deadline commissions must be reviewed and approved by Artlance LLC editorial before they are posted to writers. Artlance LLC may reject a short-deadline commission at its discretion; rejected commissions receive a full refund.

(b) Risk of non-claim. Due to the compressed timeline, writers may not claim a short-deadline commission. If no writer claims the commission before the publication deadline, the commission expires automatically and you receive a full refund.

(c) Forfeiture of cancellation rights. If a writer claims a short-deadline commission, you forfeit all cancellation rights under Section 3.3. The full writer fee and platform surcharge are owed regardless of whether you subsequently wish to cancel. You may still cancel with a full refund before a writer claims the commission.

4. What You Get

4.1 Guaranteed Engagement

Artlance LLC guarantees that every commissioned piece substantively engages with the subject matter of your commission. This is enforced through Artlance LLC's Standards of Engagement and editorial process.

4.2 Timely Publication

Artlance targets a 15-day timeline from commission to approved publication. Timelines may vary. Artlance LLC will communicate any anticipated delays.

4.3 Amplification

Published pieces are amplified across the Artlance network: excerpted on the Artlance website, newsletter, and social channels; cross-posted by writers in the Artlance network; and indexed in the Artlance archive.

4.4 Conflict-of-Interest Protections

All Artlance writers are bound by conflict-of-interest obligations set out in the Artlance Charter and the Writer Terms. Writers must disclose any material conflict of interest — including financial relationships, governance relationships, family ties, and other personal connections — before claiming a commission, and may not claim a commission where a material conflict exists. In addition, certain conflicts are per-se disqualifying and cannot be waived: writers may not write about a current or recent romantic partner (within six months), may not write about family members, and may not claim commissions from any commissioner that has paid them for other work within the preceding three months. Artlance LLC reserves the right to revoke commissions, withhold payment, and remove published pieces if an undisclosed conflict is discovered after the fact.

In addition, all Artlance commissioned work must be published without a paywall and without being used to induce subscriptions or other individual-platform funding. Writers may publish on their own independent platforms or on approved collective critical projects that do not sell subscriptions or advertising. These structural requirements ensure that commissioned criticism is freely accessible to the public and cannot be leveraged for private benefit.

4.5 License to Use the Work

Upon publication, you receive a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, excerpt, and display the commissioned work for non-commercial purposes. This includes institutional archives, reports, educational materials, grant applications, internal communications, and display on your website and social media. All uses must include attribution to the writer and the Artlance disclosure.

This license does not extend to commercial use, including sale, syndication, paid publications, or advertising. Commercial use requires a separate agreement with the writer.

5. Standards of Engagement and Kill Clause

Artlance LLC requires that all writers engage substantively with the subject matter of a commission. Artlance LLC has sole discretion to determine whether a piece meets this standard. This determination is based on whether the writer engaged the subject, not on tone, conclusions, or your satisfaction.

If a piece does not meet Artlance LLC's Standards of Engagement, Artlance LLC returns it to the writer for revision. The writer may submit one revised draft. If the revision still does not meet the standard, the piece is killed and your full commission fee (including platform surcharge) is refunded. This is your sole remedy in the event of a killed piece.

6. Disclosure

All commissioned work carries the standardized Artlance disclosure: "Commissioned writing, independent opinion, facilitated by Artlance." This disclosure is a non-negotiable component of every commission and essential to the integrity of the platform.

7. Limitation of Liability

7.1 No Liability for Content

Artlance LLC is not responsible for the content, opinions, arguments, conclusions, or tone expressed in any commissioned work. Commissioned writing is the independent work product of the writer. Artlance LLC's editorial oversight extends only to copy cleaning, fact-checking, and Standards of Engagement review.

7.2 No Liability for Reputational Impact

7.3 Liability Cap

Artlance LLC's total liability under these terms shall not exceed the total commission fees you have paid through Artlance in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim.

7.4 Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Artlance LLC and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, losses, or expenses (including attorneys' fees) arising from: (a) your breach of these terms; (b) your interference with the editorial process; or (c) any unauthorized use of licensed content.

8. Post-Publication Corrections

You may submit factual correction requests to Artlance LLC after publication. Artlance LLC editors will mediate: if a claimed error is a verified factual inaccuracy, Artlance LLC will request the correction from the writer and follow up. If the dispute concerns critical opinion, interpretation, or emphasis, Artlance LLC sides with authorial independence. In such cases, Artlance LLC may suggest that you post your own response or commission another writer to respond.

9. General

These Commissioner Terms, together with the Artlance Terms of Service and the Artlance Charter, constitute the complete agreement between you and Artlance LLC regarding commissions submitted through the platform.

Artlance LLC may update these terms with thirty (30) days' notice. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California. Disputes are resolved by mediation, then binding arbitration under the AAA rules in San Jose, California.

If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.