The Perils of Publishing and Living Off your Art

by (guest blogger) Elspeth Rushbrook

"Don’t give up your day job", the sarcastic saying goes. But what if you don’t have one? Then it is imperative that artists – whatever they create, be it music, poetry, painting – be fairly and properly remunerated.

Which is why the Artists' Bill of Rights is important. It’s not just competitions that may relieve us of our work – leaving comments and reviews on newspaper, cinema, and listings websites can mean the legal adoption of any author's creative children without further custody. Typically, terms ask you to unconditionally waive your moral rights, to give away the copyright, and give them freedom to republish, pass on, reproduce and store eternally without royalty or further payment – if you received any. Often you have to sign up before these terms become viewable.

Some examples:

• UK based Local Secrets "buys all copy rights and publication rights for use online and in any of its print publications in perpetuity…and may be republished at any time without further payment to (author)…who relinquishes all rights to the material".
• Odeon (UK cinema chain) "…you assign any rights (including intellectual property rights) you may have in them to ODEON…and agree not to assert any moral rights in such comments or materials."
• AmazonUser reviews grant perpetual, irrevocable, and royalty free licenses.
• Triond where contributors were paid per view - if in the US. This site seems to be defunct

If you ever doubted your photograph's value, doubt no more! 

In what can only be described as a very unfortunate move, Flickr recently decided to sell some of their users' Creative Commons licensed images for profit, mosty THEIR profit.

According to a November 24, 2014, Wall Street Journal article, "Fight Over Yahoo’s Use of Flickr Photos" (subscription only):

"…(a Flickr user is) not happy about a recent move by Yahoo Inc., Flickr’s owner, to make canvas prints from the photos she and others post to the site, sell them for up to $49 apiece and keep all of the profits." WSJ

Press Release

PROPOSED COPYRIGHT EXCEPTION
A THREAT TO CULTURAL WORK AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Canada needs fewer exceptions to its already weak copyright law, not more.

Oct.10, 2014 – The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC) is strongly opposed to the federal government's proposed copyright exception for political advertising. The very purpose of copyright and cultural creation is subverted and undermined by such a frivolous exception.

"It is absolutely critical that creators of a work be in the position to grant or deny permission for political uses of that work, in fact all uses of our work," insists TWUC Chair, Harry Thurston. "This proposed exception to the rights of journalists, broadcasters and all who create cultural content strips working Canadians of our moral right of refusal."

Deadline Extended to 31 January 2015!

Submit three of your best pictures taken in Asia and win a 15” Retina MacBook Pro AND a Wacom Tablet. Hurry up, only 1000 participants are allowed!

Do you know that the average photography contest has way more than 1000 participants? This is why at 1000for1 the competition closes as soon as 1000 entrants are reached: for a fraction of a normal entry fee you’ll have a higher chance of winning a world class prize.