Real Black may Own ALL your Ad Inventory

This edition of how not to run an ad network stars Real Black; Essence’s Glam-like blog aggregator and ad network. Real Black announced the launch of their redesigned website (you can see a sneak peak on their twitter page) as well as new ad tags and literature for publishers. It seems as if Real Black’s new platform will now be powered by Adify instead of Customerforce. But the real news lies in Real Black’s new publisher agreement. Real Black is demanding that they serve as the exclusive agent for all ad inventory on your blog, as well as your micro or sub-sites, mirror sites, white label sites, modules, chat rooms, boards, postings, wikkis, or social networks derived out of or related to your Site and/or its creator/blogger. I’ve included the entire clause below.

7. Exclusivity. During the Term of this Agreement, we shall be the exclusive agent for all ad inventory on your Site (including, but not limited to, any permutations, micro or sub-sites, mirror sites, white label sites, modules, chat rooms, boards, postings, wikkis, or social networks derived out of or related to your Site and/or its creator/blogger). Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may continue to utilize the services of Google AdSense on your site provided you have a pre-existing deal with Google AdSense covering said services at the time of execution of this Agreement. In addition, during the Term, we shall exclusively represent all ad inventory in connection with your Site’s owned and/or licensed content in whatever medium said content is distributed, licensed, and/or sub-distributed off of the site.

Verifying that this was normal language, I browsed  through a few advertising network agreements, and found similar language in Glam’s agreement:

Affiliate hereby grants Glam the exclusive, worldwide right to manage and sell all Prime Time Ad-units.  Prime Time Ads are defined by Glam as advertisements that are above the fold with the following pixel Dimensions, according the Interactive Advertising Bureau, IAB 728×90, 160×600, and 300×250.  Glam will allow Affiliate to continue to engage in other non-competing revenue generating advertising programs such as non-site-specific blind networks that are pre-approved by Glam until Glam can offer a similar program that will adequately replace those revenues.  Affiliate agrees to keep Glam informed of sales activities in order to ensure maximum revenue potential for the Affiliate and make certain that there are no channel conflict issues.

Glam also asks for exclusive management rights to what they deem as “Prime Time Ad-units”, but the Essence language seems to ask for rights to your micro and sub sites. Poor wording, or is Essence trying to pull the wool over their publisher’s eyes? Regardless, please make sure you read your ad networks agreement before signing up.