I have stepped away from the studio for awhile to focus more on networking my art to companies where feel it has relevance, such as real-estate/drafting. Name *. Tara Reed describes the choice to show at expos (or not): 75 to 80 percent of my business I can track back to either exhibiting at or going to an industry trade show. Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Put the letter on your letterhead . Licensing artwork allows the customer to be able to have options for expressing their personality. Thank you for this well thought out article. 6. No matter what kind of artist you are, learning how to license your artworks is a valuable skill that will help you build your art-related income. Build on yourself as a brand. A mass-market chain might offer you royalties as low as 3-5%, however, they are likely to bring in a much greater volume of sales than a smaller operator. Limited License to Use: This is where you stipulate any limitations of the use of your artwork. Licensing artwork can be a flat fee arrangement or you can negotiate a percentage of royalties if youd like residual income, however the royalties are usually small unless you are a well known artist with a large body of work. Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Building Connections To License Artwork. DDFA Licensing acts as a licensing agency supplying publishers and manufacturers with artwork to use on a variety of products. You might be using an unsupported or outdated browser. Buy this online by visiting Art.com below. Meet the press and take part in interviews, vox pops and PR opportunities. How to Sell Art Online | Online Marketing for Artists. If youre not great with photography, consider hiring a local photographer or collaborating with one in exchange for free products. Visiting the manufacturers website will to show that youve researched them and that youre familiar with their company and that you can follow their directions. Time: Some licenses carry an expiration date or clearly defined time period at which the license ends or can be renewed. So say you plan to sell on Etsy, it may be wise to also sell on Society6 to boost your online visibility. Kelly is an SMB Editor specializing in starting and marketing new ventures. The most important step is to follow up after submitting your art to a manufacturer. There are various print-on-demand services such as Printful or Printify that can make this process fast and easy. Licensing is all about leasing your intellectual property or copyright entity in conjunction with products, services or promotions. If its a small business and they only want to print your artwork once, on lets say on one canvas inside of an interior designers showroom, you can agree to a flat rate to license your artwork and ask for credit as the artist. You go to the store, and you find something. Licensing allows you to do just that, by monetizing your body of work to someone else who will use that artwork in commercial products from calendars to clothing to homeware and gifts in exchange for a fee. Start to build a name for yourself as an artist (through a website, public relations, social media, and exhibiting), and start building relationships with the decision-makers, brands, and trendsetters for the niche you have selected. Bentley licenses the rights to reproduce selected images in both offset and digital printing technologies, on paper, canvas, and other newer substrates like aluminum or Plexiglas. 5. Very helpful! How does one even begin to dip their toe into the vast and seemingly complicated world of art licensing? To keep this website and its information free for you and all artists, most links are Amazon affiliate links. (The Abundant Artist Association members have exclusive access to a talk on negotiation tactics for artists in the call archive.). Tara Reed gives us a rundown on the basic steps involved in an art licensing transaction: In our perfect world I was just working on this collection this morning of art, and Ill finish it probably tomorrow and Ill start sending it out to a couple of clients that I work with all the time. . So you take a picture of it or you write it down, and then you go back to the internet and you look up that company, and you try and figure out if they license art. Artists can become brand influencersbecause audiences engage more when they can relate to a person, image or narrative. They are professional, easy to work with, and have many amazing artists. Click the button for a full guide to copyright for artists. With over 150 artists, we have high resolution digital artwork files from some of the UKs best artists. Licensers will often get paid quarterly, and it can take up to 9 months from the very start of a project for an artist to see their first check. Posters. For nearly 30 years weve been making our customers jobs easier by being a full-service art and design partner. 1.) Dont randomly approach potential licensees without first understanding the type of artwork they are looking for. Learn more about the cash flow cycle and much, much more on Taras free Interview Replays page: http://www.artlicensinginfo.com/interview-replays/. Past performance is not indicative of future results. You might want to price these items higher because they are individually created. When you find companies you're interested in working with, call and ask who you should speak with in regard to artwork licensing. Perpetual License: A royalty payment is made once upfront, after which the licensee can use your artwork in perpetuity. Well, find an agent. ", "For over 8 years MHS has been a great source for Pavilion's licensing needs. Company News. It depends on your needs. If you want to do toys, create some with your work. Our designs are available to license for over 50 products including stationery, giftware & homeware. The benefit of using a print-on-demand partner is that you dont need to hold any stock or make items in advance, you only pay when you make a sale and they take care of all of the fulfillment. Whats great about print on demand is that you have no overhead, so you dont need to invest in ordering a bunch of shirts or hoodies to sell. A small list includes: Progressive Greetings LIVE (UK)- this is exclusive to greeting cards. It can take, I think nine months is the shortest amount of time between when I finish something and when it has shipped. Others, they might just show artists that, once you learn more about the industry you get a feel for whos in it. Depending on how youre building your business, how big of a deal it is, some things might or might not be important. As a licensing agency, MHS represents artists, brands, patent, and trademark owners (licensors) looking to monetize their intellectual properties by licensing their assets to manufacturers of consumer products. Working in home decor has its own set of unique challenges. As an artist, you want to spend as much time as possible creating a portfolio of work, exploring new artistic ideas, and immersing yourself in your art. In addition to being willing to create art along popular trends, fashions, and color schemes that are most likely to sell merchandise, you have to be willing to work with third parties, taking feedback and making changes that you may not feel are necessary. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. Thanks for the article. Roam around your favorite stores and pick up the products. How you define time can affect how you chose to price your license (annual renewal fee or ongoing?). Are you willing to collaborate with a third party on every piece of art you license? From quick turnarounds to responsive communication, the level of reliability, attentiveness, and trust we offer is unmatched in the art licensing world. Putting together a presentation to show to potential licensees is the best way to show what you do. C&F Enterprises. So Ive been playing a little bit with the chalkboard trend with art that I like. Once again Tara Reed has come to the rescue, with a really helpful research tactic she uses in order to find manufacturers who may want to license her work: Its called shopping research, and it doesnt cost you anything. This will prove that you created the artwork on a certain date, showing and describing exactly what designs you have registered and when. Take Taras advice and do some shopping therapy research of your own! Your source for art licensing and wholesale wall decor prints & POD by top-selling artists. Do you have high-resolution images of all of your work? If you created it, its good enough! The Forbes Advisor editorial team is independent and objective. DDFA LimitedLymington Business Centre,Cannon Street, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 0DB, UK, Register for an account | Artwork Submissions | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy. Art agencies know how important it is to be persistent, and I have heard that they continue . You can register as a sole proprietorship for free, but it might be a better idea to submit paperwork and register as an LLC. Often manufacturers do not respond to submissions. Trade shows are an opportunity to meet industry decision-makers, agents, exhibit your work and stay ahead of trends. Jurisdiction and Venue: This determines the legal jurisdiction your license agreement is written under, and therefore would be disputed under in the case of a legal battle. However, Tara warns us that artists should not get into licensing with the expectation of a steady income stream to pay next months bills: You can make five dollars to millions of dollars a year. Alternatively, upload your artwork to products on print-on-demand websites such as Printful or Red Bubble, and receive a royalty based on a percentage of each sale made. You must continue to write letters showcasing different and new art. What in the world are you talking about? you ask, and they direct you to a slick looking boutique website selling cheap apparel and theres your art, unlicensed. By far my favorite way to find manufacturers is to go shopping. When I first started, I had a friend who used to do contract negotiation, and she helped me learn. An average percentage licensing fee for consumer products that can be found in Target, Ikea or Bed Bath and Beyond can fall between 3 to 7 percent of the wholesale price in royalties. After the artwork is created, the manufacturing company will make sure they have a decent place to sell your work before they commit to you. We are really excited about this and I'd like to tell you why. 3. As Tara describes it, Heres the beautiful part. To get royalties for your artwork, license your images to people who need artwork for their products and in return, you can earn a fee. Household items such as cups, sheets, towels: 3% to 8%. But Im gonna finish doing it this way, see how it goes, and then Ill let you know when I do 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 particularly care about) the heart or message behind it. Pillows, blankets and other soft goods. I have worked off of contracts that are one page long to twelve pages long You cant cry Im an artist, I cant understand it! Because its really important to your business to at least understand it, even if you dont take control over the whole thing. Some platforms are free to use, while others have a monthly fee. You dont even have to make it your full-time gig: as Tara Reed mentioned, many artists license their art only part time as a supplemental income. For this purpose, there are likely to be some perfectly valid art series that are not a good fit for licensing: overly political pieces, multimedia or 3-dimensional art, sculpture, etc. However, this is becoming a less common practice for all but the most in-demand artists. Your Website. Below are some royalty estimates, though note that these vary considerably depending on the size and resources of the company with which you are negotiating: Greeting cards and gift wrap: 2% to 5%. If you have other streams of income and can manage your money well and the idea of working with businesses to create art that will sell merchandise doesnt make you break out in hives, art licensing is well worth looking into. Weve been working with Farida for quite a few years now and are always struck by her gorgeous use of color and ability to mix texture and tone into a gorgeous collection of art. The artists and brands they represent are among the best in the business. This is a great chance to try new materials and mediums to take your artwork to new levels. How To Find The Cheapest Travel Insurance, 1. See how we do it. If youre selling digital prints and reproductions printed on items, you might want to keep costs down to get your products out to more customers. Another option is to attend a trade show. She is always smiling and brings warmth to everything she does. Otherwise, purchase a lightbox. However, some agents will already have powerful industry contacts and can open doors that you might find difficult to open yourself. From conception, art direction and creation to digitization, marketing and more, it takes a large team to produce a catalogue of imagery for art publishing and licensing, We value each artist that is part of the Wild Apple family and look forward to growing that family every year with the introduction of new artists. An advance against a typical 4%-6% royalty may run from $150 to $300. Upfront cash for signing a licensing deal is rare, however it happens when the artist has invested in building a brand, has expertise and connections, is promoting the artwork independently or has molds because once you have perceived value then you have leverage. Look into other surface design trade shows. Pricing your artwork for licensing can range. For example, if the licensee believes that they can sell 2,500 units, and youre making $0.25 per unit sold, that gives you the potential to make $625 which is not a lot of money, however its a start. Discover art licensing agents who could represent you and your work. Then they have to produce it, they have to sell it if its going into mom-and-pop stuff, or they have to ship it, whatever. Make a plan as to how you want your licensing program to work, what types of companies you want to license with, where you want your art to be sold,where you don't . This would provide more variety for your customers and allow you to support other up-and-coming artists. A note on working with agents: always seek legal advice before signing a contract and be sure of what your obligations and liabilities will be under any contract you sign. What is an artwork licensing trade show? You can generally do this by referring to your states Secretary of State or Business Division. We received several offers from inside and outside the industry, and . The specific products your artwork will be used on. Surtex claims that they are open to any artist with designs or patterns that can be used on finished merchandise, including photographers, textile designers, illustrators, art agents. It starts out with a real name. MHS has over 100 years of combined experience guiding artists and manufacturers along the complicated road of licensing. An art licensing company, on the other hand, is a business that licenses artwork from artists and uses it on its own products. They dont have the budget to do that. For regular discussions about copyright and protecting your work, Lisa Congdon and Kelly Rae Roberts are helpful artists to follow on social media. It isnt like, Oh, Im gonna make five things, license it in the next ten years, Im all set. Its not that at all., Also important for artists to note is the fact that the pay period for art licensing is normally quarterly. 1. It isnt essential to attend trade shows, but they do form an important part of the design cycle for many companies, and buying decisions are often made according to specific seasonal dates. Under a flat-fee basis, ownership rights are typically turned over to the publisher. After establishing a presence online, whether thats through your own online store or seller accounts through marketplaces such as Etsy, its time to begin marketing your art so that it reaches people who are looking for the types of artwork you sell. 2. Ouch. 12. If Ive never worked with them before, we have to start from scratch. This will help you reach a larger audience and drive more sales. From a single-use license for a one-time event to ongoing agreements with manufacturers making multiple production runs. We received several offers from inside and outside the industry, and chose the one that we believe will be best for the company. This will help you stay on track, and produce the right types of art that reinforces your brand and helps you go in the right direction. Make sure that these details are clarified in your contract. Login to see our latest curated collections of art and designs for wall decor and licensing. This compensation comes from two main sources. It is important to learn about the industry and be able to decipher a contract on your own as well.