Do you have a pitch prepared to present your artwork to buyers in a clear and professional way? 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. As Tara describes it, Heres the beautiful part. But its too dark. Its no secret that it takes incredible talent to create top-selling collections of art for the home.Our artists are the heart of our business, our creative partners and inspiration. Of his current licensing partners, many have maintained product lines using Greg's art for over 15 years. She makes you want to settle down with a cup of tea and chat [], BY SUE SCHLABACH ArtistSilviaVassileva grew up in Bulgaria and has spent her adulthood in Japan and California. 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. Our site allows you to search over 100 categories for both fine art and contemporary images. The Armani brand was one of the first to establish a model licensing agreement globally and it spread into the entertainment business in America with Disney products. Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Very helpful! Then youre going to do the contract. Putting together a presentation to show to potential licensees is the best way to show what you do. If you are a customer and want to make sure you are getting our fab customer email, please email [emailprotected]. Theres people that are doing it very part-time, maybe theyre making a couple hundred, a couple thousand. 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. Keep in mind that you will need to be registered as a business in order to have an employer identification number (EIN), which is typically required to set up a business bank account. Companies that sell housewares, clothing, decor, kitchenwares, etc to retailers need beautiful art to put on their merchandise. 6): Please attach up to 6 jpegs that represent your work (57 at 72 dpi, or under 1 MB each, please) Drop files here or. The caveat to a show like Surtex is that its in New York City. If you work with digital art or are interested in leveraging your time by selling copies of your original photography or art, you can sell prints of your work in various sizes. The Forbes Advisor editorial team is independent and objective. You can maintain the right to license the same exact artwork to several companies at one time if its a non-exclusive agreement. Artwork licensing can provide you with an ongoing passive income, and comes with none of the headaches involved in manufacturing and marketing a product range of your own. MHS represents designers across all artistic styles and mediums, providing a distinct competitive advantage for their licensee partners; a one stop shop for manufacturers seeking on-trend, diverse art solutions that garner buyer and retailer attention. . The best way to communicate with companies that are looking for creative ideas is to start by visiting their website to see if they have a submitting form for sending in your artwork. There are other people who are licensing their art that are making really good money as well, like six figures. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. 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. First, check out Tara Reeds article The Art of Creating Art Licensing Collections. The artwork can be a logo, sketch, slogan, image, design or brand that another company has permission to use within a certain territory and duration. This is exactly how Lisa Congdon was alerted to copyright infringement of her art, and this happens much more often than you would think. Some agents will represent a handful of artists and some may represent hundreds of artists, it all depends on the agency. Many greeting card companies look for art created for specific occasions at specific times throughout the year. Your email address will not be published. For example, if youre selling on Amazon or Etsy, you could use ads to promote your listings. Do you have high-resolution images of all of your work? Use Pound sterling instead. Before you start selling and making income from your artwork, it's important to have all of your paperwork in order. DDFA Licensing acts as a licensing agency supplying publishers and manufacturers with artwork to use on a variety of products. The type of products people license artwork for vary enormously but include ceramics, gifts and greetings cards, tea towels and homeware, puzzles, toys, stationery, fabrics, and wallpaper. Additionally, she manages a column at Inc. Magazine. By far my favorite way to find manufacturers is to go shopping. Most importantly, Shawn values the creative process . If you are creating your own licensing agreement, it is also worth having your agreement professionally reviewed before signing it. It needs to be something that a customer would want displayed in their home in some fashion. (Also be sure to check out our interview with Kelly Rae Roberts!). This is a legal contract, so its important to understand what it contains. "Traditional art licensing deals allow artists to receive a royalty payment, typically doled out quarterly, for the products with their art on them that have sold," George says. 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. The money you receive from licensing your artwork is known as royalties. 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. You must continue to write letters showcasing different and new art. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Meet the press and take part in interviews, vox pops and PR opportunities. But what if you cant afford Surtex? WHAT IS ART LICENSING? Most companies that are seeking to license artwork are looking for something to use across a product range, comprising variations on a theme. Make sure that these details are clarified in your contract. Many companies that license art have a standard policy of paying per piece. When you first meet Laura you are struck by her kindness and generosity of spirit. From Santa to carol singers, robins to Christmas villages, weve got over 5000 Christmas designs! So if people just really dont want to do the business side, like theyre super shy and youre super intimidated by it, or they just truly want to be in their pajamas painting all the time and not deal with all the others. Additionally, you can also make money selling other peoples artwork online if you build a network of artists and a website to sell their art. To start youll need to decide exactly what to sell and how to sell it. The cost to start an online store to sell art varies depending on the platform you choose and the features you need. Because he doesnt sell art, he only licenses art.. At SURTEX, companies source unique designs, patterns and prints for commercial use in every category imaginable, from home textiles and giftware to dcor, apparel . If youve gotten this far and have decided that youre interested in collaborating with corporate clients and you have series of art that may be a good fit for licensing, the next step is to figure out how to get started. You go to the store, and you find something. An art licensing company, on the other hand, is a business that licenses artwork from artists and uses it on its own products. I know it can sometimes be difficult to find the names for contacts, but taking the time to do your research can help in establishing a connection. There are various print-on-demand services such as Printful or Printify that can make this process fast and easy. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. It really is that simple. Please visit. Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. Theres a lot of networking behind gaining several substantial licensing deals that can provide passive income. Your email address will not be published. They specialize in fine art, such as wildlife art, nostalgic art and figurative art licensing. Many platforms for selling your work as an independent artist online exist from Etsy and Zazzle to Creative Market and Instagram, not to mention directly through your own online store. I want a white background, I want brighter yellow, I want a lime green. Basically, okay, you like the image but nothing else about it. 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. Meet industry players, decision-makers and brands interested in licensing artwork. Exit and dispute terms if there are problems or changes in circumstance. We can license our designs for almost any product or usage including; Bags, Books, Bowls, Calendars, Candles, Ceramic Cards, Ceramic Plates, Chopping Boards, Clocks, Coasters, Cushions, Decorative Plates, Door Toppers, Dressing screens, Envelopes, Gift Wrap, Greeting Cards, Jigsaw Puzzles, Laptrays, Letterheads, Lithopanes, Memo Boards, Metal Plaques, Mugs, Music Boxes, Napkins, Notelets, Notepads, Placemats, Plates, Paint by Numbers, Prints, Rugs, Stickers, Stitchery Kits, T-Shirts, Tea Towels, Teapot Stands, Tins, Trays, Trivets, Wallpaper. For nearly 30 years weve been making our customers jobs easier by being a full-service art and design partner. Typically you will cap this at the value of the license agreement, though licensees will ask for more. Not only can you sell your original artwork, which is rarer and therefore typically involves a higher price point, but you can also sell digital files or prints of your work to further leverage your time and make money over and over with one piece. An advance against a typical 4%-6% royalty may run from $150 to $300. If youre producing original pieces of art to sell, you should consider pricing those higher because so much of your work went into the creation. Artists can also hire an agency that will license their work to a . Figure out if its worth pursuing a manufacturing company. There is nothing stopping you from reaching out and making your own licensing deals with companies. An essential question to answer when considering selling the right to put your images on merchandise is: how can you protect your work from theft? Art licensing is a way for artists to earn money by allowing their artwork to be used for commercial purposes, such as on products like clothing, home decor, and stationery. 2. And Im like, Okay. The answer to this question is a very bold it depends. Typically this refers to field of use, geography, time and exclusivity rights. If youre using print-on-demand services, websites such as Society6 or Printful might satisfy your needs. Throughout this article we have shared multiple resources, both here on The Abundant Artist and on the site Tara founded, that will help you get started. 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. What are the alternatives to artwork licensing? It can be sensible to limit the scope of your warranty to copyright protections you have already granted, as these are most enforceable. Social media is also a great way to build new connections and be a genuine source of friendship and value. Pillows, blankets and other soft goods. 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. 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. Art licensing is not for everyone. One or two of them might be like Oh yeah, we like it. Artist and Illustrator Farida Zaman is a creator as bright and filled with creative energy as her art. I mean, I think youre doing well if youre making $40- to $100,000, you can make a living at this. T-shirts and other clothing. Working in home decor has its own set of unique challenges. But they have to indemnify me against any issue with this mug.. The appeal of art licensing is that you can actually license the same piece of art for usage by multiple companies on different products, maximizing your earning potential. As an LLC, you can more easily keep track of your business expenses and start hiring employees if and when you need them. Here is how Art Licensing Info puts it in a section titled The Basics of Art Licensing: For those individuals who are willing to work hard to create the necessary collections of art needed by manufacturers, to work with the legalities of a contract, who are willing to continually market themselves and their works, and willing to work under a system that does not guarantee immediate income for the work being done, art licensing may be the route to take.. And then its their job to make those connections for you, between your art and the manufacturers., Contracts vary wildly from company to company, and depending on the type of licensing deal.