Can I discuss photography commission rates?

September 25, 2010 8:40 PM

Can I discuss with other photographers the rates that various agencies pay me?

I am totally clueless about this. Can I discuss the various rates that agencies pay photographers? Can I publish the rates on my blog? Or is that against some kind of law about price fixing? The information is not secret. It is written on their websites. I just vaguely remember learning about price fixing in school and I don't know if I can discuss it openly. I am in the United States.

posted by anonymous to Law & Government (3 answers total)

You can definitely discuss the rates you're being paid... and I have a guess at why you're asking this question. Plenty of discussion of rates happens very publicly at http://www.microstockgroup.com/ for instance.
I'd suggest not over exposing yourself though - for a variety of reasons. Feel free to email me though if you'd like to discuss it one on one.
posted by blaneyphoto at 9:11 PM on September 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

TINLA ... but ... Sure you can, competition law kicks in where you have possibility of distorting the market ... Lenovo, Dell and HP chatting about government tenders they're responding to = bad. A couple of guys who are small players in a broad and competitive market with a low cost of entry, discussing their rates = fine. If the information is public, doubly fine, as is blogging about it.

Just be careful of any agreements you have with publishers about the terms of your agreement with them being confidential.
posted by jannw at 12:27 AM on September 26, 2010

I know the APA forums forbid discussion of pricing but I think because they are such a large organization they want to make sure they don't even come close to collusion regulations. Before you start publishing rates keep in mind the same agencies are paying some people more and some people less than what they are paying you. Exposing the details of that will likely not make the agencies (and some of your colleagues) very happy.
posted by Wolfie at 7:50 AM on September 26, 2010