Do You Need a Business License to Sell Your Own Art
At The Abundant Creative person, nosotros are passionate about teaching artists that information technology is entirely possible to make money from your art, fifty-fifty outside of the traditional gallery organization. In fact, many of our artists make a living from their work without ever setting foot in a gallery. A seldom-discussed aspect of the art industry, and somewhat mysterious to many artists, is fine art licensing. While it's not for everyone, it is a facet of the industry well worth exploring for artists who are well experienced with managing their upkeep and are interested in collaborating with corporations.
Several years ago, Cory interviewed an artist who licenses her art with a broad variety of companies and who founded ArtLicensingInfo.com. Tara Reed is a licensing expert with years of experience, so we use transcribed portions from our interview with her throughout this article, lightly edited for readability.
What is art licensing?
Fine art licensing is a way of making money wherein, equally licensing expert Tara Reed puts information technology, yous "rent" your artwork to companies to put on their products. An artist who chooses to license their fine art may not sell any originals at all, merely merely license the images for use on commercial products. There is tremendous potential in the globe of art licensing, but it requires a different way of approaching business than more traditional avenues of selling art such as selling originals and prints through galleries or direct to collectors.
Are you willing to collaborate with a tertiary political party on every slice of art you license?
Tara Reed gives us a rundown on the bones steps involved in an fine art licensing transaction:
"In our perfect world… I was just working on this collection this morning of art, and I'll end information technology probably tomorrow and I'll start sending it out to a couple of clients that I work with all the time. I or two of them might be similar "Oh yeah, we like it. Send us the files, nosotros'll knock something upward and see what happens."
So I've done the fine art, they're now going to consider it. A lot of what goes on in the manufacture now, information technology's a little unlike than ten years ago, is they store your art. And then they might show it to some of their cardinal accounts, they might testify information technology to a big account like Bed Bath and Beyond or whatever. They oft won't commit to yous until they know they're going to have decent placement. A little unlike than in years past. So they have to mock stuff upwards, they have to bear witness information technology to people. And then, okay, it's beautiful, somebody wants it. Then you lot're going to do the contract. If I've never worked with them before, we have to start from scratch. If it's a company I've worked from we have a basic contract, we'll exercise an amendment where we add "Okay, yep, now y'all're licensing this art in improver to what you've already done in the past." So you always have to exercise the contract thing. And so they accept to produce information technology, they have to sell information technology if information technology's going into mom-and-pop stuff, or they take to transport it, any. It can take, I think nine months is the shortest amount of time between when I finish something and when it has shipped. And you don't get paid until the quarter after it ships."
How does fine art licensing piece of work?
Companies that sell housewares, article of clothing, decor, kitchenwares, etc to retailers demand beautiful art to put on their merchandise. Where do they source that art? While some companies accept in-house designers and artists, many source their art from freelance artists. What many artists don't realize about the fine art licensing process is that information technology is non unremarkably a uncomplicated procession from finished artwork to expensive licensing deal.
So this is the first question to ask yourself if you lot are interested in licensing your art: are you lot willing to interact with a third political party on every piece of art you license? Tara Reed describes a typical instance of receiving feedback from a client:
"Perfect case in point… chalkboard is actually popular correct at present. If you're on Pinterest at all, yous see chalkboard stuff everywhere. So I've been playing a little bit with the chalkboard tendency with art that I similar. Then I did this one matter, and I sent it send information technology to one of my clients who does wall fine art. And I'm similar, "Okay. I call up this might be cool. It's kind of a combination of a chalkboard, and folksy." And she writes me dorsum, "It'due south a cool idea. Just it'southward too dark. I desire a white background, I want brighter yellow, I desire a lime dark-green." Basically, okay, yous like the image just zip else about it. It is so rare to bear witness somebody something and take them say "Perfect, send it over." There'due south almost e'er a change. xc to 95 percent of the time there'southward a change. In this item case I pretty much said "Okay, you like the theme. Merely y'all don't similar how I did it. Merely I'm gonna finish doing it this mode, see how information technology goes, and then I'll let you know when I practise a lighter, brighter version of the theme."
There are some artists who bristle at the thought of receiving creative feedback from a corporate entity, even an art director, who has been removed from the process of creating the piece and may not identify with (or even specially care nigh) the eye or message behind it. Other artists, such every bit professional illustrators, volition read nearly Tara's experience and say "Yeah, that sounds about right."
It is then rare to testify somebody something and have them say "Perfect, send it over." There's almost always a alter.
Hither is how Art Licensing Info puts it in a department titled The Basics of Art Licensing:
"For those individuals who are willing to work hard to create the necessary collections of art needed past manufacturers, to work with the legalities of a contract, who are willing to continually market themselves and their works, and willing to piece of work nether a organization that does not guarantee immediate income for the work being done, art licensing may be the route to have."
Then what are those "necessary collections of art"?
How do you create art manufacturers will want to license?
Art that sells well on manufactured items is fine art that both manufacturers and customers can chronicle to, according to Tara Reed. The betoken of art that works well for licensing is to sell the product. It needs to be something that a customer would want displayed in their dwelling house in some mode. Take a expect around your own dwelling and notice what products you've purchased with artwork on them without actually thinking about it: kitchen towels, tablecloths, cookie jars, clocks and wall art, placemats, etc. The fine art on licensed products may vary wildly from habitation to habitation, only it volition have some factors in common such as existence a coherent series as well as attractive and appealing to the heart.
For this purpose, in that location are likely to be some perfectly valid art serial that are non a skillful fit for licensing: overly political pieces, multimedia or 3-dimensional art, sculpture, etc.
If y'all've gotten this far and take decided that yous're interested in collaborating with corporate clients and you lot take series of fine art that may be a expert fit for licensing, the next step is to figure out how to get started. First, cheque out Tara Reed'south article The Art of Creating Art Licensing Collections.
How do y'all get started licensing your art?
This is i of the most mutual questions from artists who are overwhelmed past the prospect of art licensing. How does one fifty-fifty brainstorm to dip their toe into the vast and seemingly complicated world of fine art licensing? Once once again Tara Reed has come up to the rescue, with a really helpful research tactic she uses in order to observe manufacturers who may desire to license her piece of work:
"Information technology'south called shopping research, and information technology doesn't cost y'all anything. You go to the shop, and yous find something. You're like "Oh, that'due south actually pretty." A lot of products have the manufacturer on the lesser. So you take a picture of it or y'all write information technology down, and and then you go back to the internet and you look upward that visitor, and y'all try and figure out if they license fine art. And and so that's how I accept found some of my clients.
Some you'll go to their website and it'll say "Artist Submissions." So that's awesome, because they tell yous how they desire to talk to yous to begin with. Others, they might only show artists that, once you larn more than about the industry yous get a experience for who's in information technology. So if Paul Brent's art is on their product, they license fine art. Because he doesn't sell fine art, he merely licenses fine art."
So shopping research is also wonderful."
Another choice is to attend a trade testify. Among the most well-known shows is Surtex, an almanac merchandise show for the surface pattern manufacture. Co-ordinate to the Surtex website, Surtex "is the global sourcing destination for companies seeking unique art, designs, patterns and prints for commercial use on dwelling house textiles, paper products, bed & bathroom, lifestyle giftware, décor, apparel, dazzler, juvenile, trend services and more." Surtex is attended by manufacturers, retailers, marketers and make licensing companies. So whether an artist interested in growing their licensing clientele chose to exhibit or simply nourish, the networking possibilities for shows like Surtex are enormous and extremely helpful to growing a fledgling "surface design" business organization. Surtex claims that they are open up to any artist with designs or patterns that can be used on finished merchandise, including photographers, textile designers, illustrators, art agents.
The caveat to a show like Surtex is that information technology's in New York City. So unless y'all're local, you are looking at a pregnant traveling expense. As your licensing business grows you may find that information technology's worth it to work networking opportunities like this into your budget. But what if you can't afford Surtex? Look into other surface design trade shows. A small-scale list includes:
Blueprint (San Francisco 2020)
Progressive Greetings LIVE (UK)- this is sectional to greeting cards
Licensing Expo (Las Vegas)
Tara Reed describes the pick to show at expos (or not):
"75 to fourscore percent of my business I tin track back to either exhibiting at or going to an industry trade show. So it'due south not an cheap matter, but I go to New York every May. I prepare up my ten foot x booth, and that'southward where I meet a lot of the people that I work with.
Some people don't choose to practice that, they're non comfortable doing that. They don't have the budget to practice that. And so at that place's other ways to go equally well, there are a lot of agents in the manufacture. So if people only actually don't want to practise the business side, like they're super shy and yous're super intimidated by it, or they just truly desire to exist in their pajamas painting all the fourth dimension and not deal with all the others.
Well, find an agent. And so it's their job to make those connections for y'all, between your art and the manufacturers."
What does a off-white fine art licensing contract look similar?
Contracts vary wildly from company to company, and depending on the blazon of licensing bargain. The appeal of fine art licensing is that you tin can actually license the same piece of fine art for usage by multiple companies on dissimilar products, maximizing your earning potential. As Tara describes it, "Here's the beautiful part. Because you slice and die information technology through a contract, I'm still free to take the same Santa Clause that you're gonna put on wrapping paper and license it to somebody else to put on tissues, and to somebody else to put on paper plates, and to somebody else to put on ceramic plates, and to somebody else to put on wall fine art, and somebody else to put on stickers. It'south endless."
A off-white contract will provide you with an industry-standard royalty rate. For in-depth information on standard royalty rates, bank check out the mail Royalty Rates- What is the Standard?
Tara recommends working to negotiate the highest possible rate for yourself. (The Abundant Artist Association members have exclusive admission to a talk on negotiation tactics for artists in the call annal.)
The appeal of art licensing is that yous can actually license the same piece of fine art for usage past multiple companies on different products, maximizing your earning potential.
Only how do you lot make certain that the contract offered to you is completely on the up-and-upwards and isn't going to take advantage of yous? Do you absolutely have to hire a lawyer? Here's what Tara has to say:
"Contracts are part of this business. And yous do demand to sympathise them. The beautiful thing is you don't always have to have an attorney. Another creative person and I wrote an e-book called How to Understand Art Licensing Contracts . And so it goes through all of the pieces, like this is what you want in every unmarried contract."
The of import thing to notation is that while hiring a lawyer can be actually advantageous for clarifying the legalese in large contracts for large accounts, hiring a lawyer may besides cost y'all more than than y'all ever brand from the bargain.
"Depending on how you're building your business, how big of a bargain it is, some things might or might not exist important. I have worked off of contracts that are ane page long to twelve pages long… You can't weep "I'yard an artist, I can't understand it!" Considering it's really important to your business to at least understand it, fifty-fifty if y'all don't accept control over the whole thing.
When I first started, I had a friend who used to do contract negotiation, and she helped me learn. You basically have to learn to put on this hat that is the doom-and-gloom worst example scenario hat, and you read each paragraph, and you go "Okay, worst case scenario." Then say my fine art is on a mug. In my contract I indemnify this manufacturer against the fine art, so if anybody sues me and says I stole this art, they can't sue them. But they have to indemnify me against any issue with this mug."
Tara's last comment is an outcome that many artists are unlikely to consider when entering the globe of fine art licensing: should a customer feel a problem with the product, who is at fault? The artist or the manufacturer? Brand sure that these details are clarified in your contract.
For more bones contract assist, check out Resources for Writing a Solid Artist Contract .
Is art licensing a lucrative concern? How much tin I wait to get paid for licensing my fine art?
The respond to this question is a very bold it depends. A helpful resource to take in your library whether or not you lot pursue licensing is the Graphic Design Artists Club Handbook: Pricing & Upstanding Guidelines. Because of the nature of licensing, there is the potential for it to be extremely lucrative for a savvy and hard working artist who is non afraid to network. However, Tara warns us that artists should not get into licensing with the expectation of a steady income stream to pay adjacent month'south bills:
"You can make five dollars to millions of dollars a twelvemonth. That's a actually hard question to respond. I mean Mary Engelbreit, Thomas Kinkade, Susan Winget, they're all making very very big numbers, because they're very well-known brands, are very established. They have a big consumer base of operations. There are other people who are licensing their art that are making actually expert money too, similar six figures. And you may never know what their name is, because they may be licensing their designs to Target, and it merely has a target label on it. And then sometimes y'all license your art and you don't get that recognition. Your signature isn't on it, you lot're doing private characterization.
Some private label will have your name and your brand, and some, well information technology depends on what you agree to. There's people that are doing it very function-time, perhaps they're making a couple hundred, a couple 1000. I would say the artists that are making a living similar me, that have been in the concern, my best approximate… because nosotros all don't sit effectually and compare our paychecks, and it tin really vary from year to year. I mean, I recall you're doing well if you're making $40- to $100,000, you can make a living at this. It isn't super easy money. Information technology isn't like, "Oh, I'm gonna brand 5 things, license information technology in the next ten years, I'one thousand all gear up." Information technology's not that at all."
Besides of import for artists to note is the fact that the pay catamenia for fine art licensing is unremarkably quarterly. That means four paychecks a twelvemonth, which is why artists who are serious nearly pursuing licensing demand to exist very proficient at managing their money. Tara calls it the cash menstruation cycle of licensing, and information technology requires a solid handle of managing your cash menstruation for your business. Acquire more almost the cash period bike and much, much more than on Tara's free Interview Replays folio: http://www.artlicensinginfo.com/interview-replays/
Companies & Agents:
These are past no means exhaustive lists. Take Tara's communication and do some shopping therapy research of your own! As well run into this blog post from creative person Joan Beiriger for a very specific breakdown by product type.
A few companies that license art:
All of these companies license art onto their own products, then sell those products in larger retail bondage nationwide.
Demdaco: Gifts, fashion, and decor
LeaninTree: greeting cards
Andrews McMeel: calendars, paper gifts, etc
C&F Enterprises
Kikkerland
Art licensing agents:
MHS Licensing & Consulting
TSB & Co
Artistic Designs Grouping
Art Licensing
The Bright Agency
DSW Licensing
Gelsinger Licensing Group
IBD Licensing (UK)
Licensing Liaison
Painted Give-and-take Licensing
Wild Apple
Out of the Blue Licensing
Copyright & Protecting Your Work
An essential question to answer when considering selling the right to put your images on merchandise is: how tin can you protect your work from theft? The first thing to know is that if you create an original piece of fine art, you automatically ain the copyright to that work without filing any paperwork, and y'all may pursue legal recourse for copyright infringement. However, if you promise to sue the offending party for any kind of punitive honor, you will need to take your copyright a step farther by registering information technology with the U.s.a. Copyright Office.
Among the very best ways to protect your piece of work is to be well-known. Consider an all-too-common scenario: y'all've been licensing your work for a while too as selling prints and originals from your ain website. A collector of yours mentions that they didn't know you were selling your work and then cheap now. "What in the earth are you talking about?" you ask, and they straight you to a slick looking boutique website selling cheap apparel… and there'due south your art, unlicensed. Stolen.
A instance of copyright infringement (and beingness alerted past a third party) went viral several years agone and rocked the art world was that of Lisa Congdon vs. art wholesaler Cody Foster & Co. Enough has been written on the instance already, simply to make a long story short, Lisa was alerted past a friend to the fact that Cody Foster & Co was selling ornaments with a blueprint very similar to pieces that she had produced a few years before. Congdon filed a lawsuit against Cody Foster & Co, and the art world exploded with op-eds. Almost sided with Congdon. Many high-profile companies ended their partnerships with Cody Foster & Co every bit a result.
Why would information technology make a difference whether you're well known or not when it comes to protecting your fine art from theft? Every pair of eyes perusing the net that belongs to someone who would recognize your work if they saw information technology is a valuable ally. This is exactly how Lisa Congdon was alerted to copyright infringement of her fine art, and this happens much more ofttimes than you would think. In fact a search on Twitter for "my art was stolen" reveals that fine art theft happens daily, to all kinds of artists, at every skill level and beyond every genre, style, and medium. The more people who know your art, the more people who can let you know if they see it somewhere it shouldn't exist.
The solutions to protecting any work y'all mail service publicly online unremarkably entail diminishing the quality of the image including posting merely cropped sections, low-resolution or minor images, and using large watermarks. Understandably, this is troubling for many artists who sell primarily through the net and rely on collectors being able to encounter their work clearly online. This is why having a big network of fans, collectors, and boyfriend artists who recognize your fine art and have your back is so of import.
For regular discussions about copyright and protecting your work, Lisa Congdon and Kelly Rae Roberts are helpful artists to follow on social media. (Besides exist sure to check out our interview with Kelly Rae Roberts!)
Last thoughts
Art licensing is non for everyone. In addition to being willing to create art along pop trends, fashions, and color schemes that are almost probable to sell trade, you have to be willing to work with third parties, taking feedback and making changes that y'all may not feel are necessary. Additionally, while licensing tin be lucrative, it isn't going to be the solution for any greenbacks flow problems your business is experiencing. That being said, art licensing can be a keen fit for some artists. If you have other streams of income and can manage your coin well and the idea of working with businesses to create art that will sell merchandise doesn't brand you suspension out in hives, art licensing is well worth looking into. You don't even take to make it your full-time gig: as Tara Reed mentioned, many artists license their fine art but function fourth dimension every bit a supplemental income.
In the Information Age it is easier than always to brainstorm learning something new. Throughout this commodity we have shared multiple resources, both here on The Abundant Creative person and on the site Tara founded, that will help you get started. Why non give art licensing a try? Let us know how it goes!
Source: https://theabundantartist.com/art-licensing/