i've been asked by a local musician about using a photo of mine as cover art for a CD he's releasing. he's a small-time player who wants to go national, and i'm an amateur photographer who'd like to make my hobby a paying proposition (i've sold a few prints, but that's it). i have no experience with this sort of thing, so i'm in need of advice.
the musician is offering me $300 for a 3-year exclusive license. to me, that seems awfully low; i know i can make a lot more than that in 3 years just selling prints! what's a fair price under the circumstances, and should i even consider an exclusive license? he's also mentioned a non-exclusive license with first right of refusal, which would still let me license the image to someone else, but only if he could not or would not match their offer... i think i'd be okay with that arrangement.
what's a fair fee for a CD cover photo for the kind of license he's asking for? what about royalties - is that a normal part of the agreement for that kind of distribution? like i said, i'm a complete noob at this kind of thing. i don't want to price myself out of contention - the exposure of having my work on a nationally marketed CD cover would be great - but i don't want to give away the farm, either! help!
It depends on the size of the run. We don't discuss price here at NPN due to concerns about antitrust violations, however. Here is a handy source to add to your bookmark folder.
If licensing your photography is somthing you see yourself doing in the future (and by your post, it does), then investing in a copy of Fotoquote or other pricing software would be a good idea. It would pay for itself with this sale.
Posted by Walter Rowe on August 2, 2006 at 2:05 PM
I second Rod's recommendation for FotoQuote. If you purchase FotoBiz, you get FotoQuote for free. The two combined let you track sales and customers and generate quotes from right in the software. Seth Resnick also has a good price guide on his web site.
Discussion
3 repliesthe musician is offering me $300 for a 3-year exclusive license. to me, that seems awfully low; i know i can make a lot more than that in 3 years just selling prints! what's a fair price under the circumstances, and should i even consider an exclusive license? he's also mentioned a non-exclusive license with first right of refusal, which would still let me license the image to someone else, but only if he could not or would not match their offer... i think i'd be okay with that arrangement.
what's a fair fee for a CD cover photo for the kind of license he's asking for? what about royalties - is that a normal part of the agreement for that kind of distribution? like i said, i'm a complete noob at this kind of thing. i don't want to price myself out of contention - the exposure of having my work on a nationally marketed CD cover would be great - but i don't want to give away the farm, either! help!