Licensing art?
December 16, 2009 9:13 AM Subscribe
Any advice on how much to charge a music label for "unlimited rights" to album art that I created?
I created album art for a fee of $2000. The label which is a major label, wants to know how much I'd charge for unlimited rights to use that cover art for whatever merch they want to make. They also want a fee for just shirts. This would be a flat rate, not royalties. Any advice on what to charge? thanks in advance.
I created album art for a fee of $2000. The label which is a major label, wants to know how much I'd charge for unlimited rights to use that cover art for whatever merch they want to make. They also want a fee for just shirts. This would be a flat rate, not royalties. Any advice on what to charge? thanks in advance.
You should talk to an intellectual property lawyer about this.
posted by Electrius at 10:00 AM on December 16, 2009
posted by Electrius at 10:00 AM on December 16, 2009
How many fans does the band have? This would greatly affect the revenue they can generate by selling merchandise, and thus the fee it would be reasonable to charge.
Is the art very band-specific, or does it have other potential commercial uses? If the latter, the exclusivity or otherwise of the licensing affects its value.
And, as Electrius says, you should consult with a professional IP lawyer.
posted by James Scott-Brown at 11:57 AM on December 16, 2009
Is the art very band-specific, or does it have other potential commercial uses? If the latter, the exclusivity or otherwise of the licensing affects its value.
And, as Electrius says, you should consult with a professional IP lawyer.
posted by James Scott-Brown at 11:57 AM on December 16, 2009
Large companies have nothing to lose by asking for unlimited rights. By giving them everything you are saving them a lot of hassle (keeping tracks of what they can and can't use the image for internally) and money (by not having to pay to license for other uses they maybe haven't thought of).
My first inclination (as a photographer who has licensed images to record labels) is to say "Well giving you unlimited rights would be very expensive to the tune of $insert_very_large_number, what rights do you actually need?" and go from there.
Worst case they pay for only the rights they actually need and you retain control in the future, best case you get a large amount of money.
posted by bradbane at 8:54 PM on December 16, 2009
My first inclination (as a photographer who has licensed images to record labels) is to say "Well giving you unlimited rights would be very expensive to the tune of $insert_very_large_number, what rights do you actually need?" and go from there.
Worst case they pay for only the rights they actually need and you retain control in the future, best case you get a large amount of money.
posted by bradbane at 8:54 PM on December 16, 2009
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posted by jedicus at 9:30 AM on December 16, 2009