Thoughts on Design Contests
Yesterday, though one of the many mailing lists to which I’m subscribed, I received a call for submissions of a new graphic design for a band. The payoff? An “engraved/autographed iPod” from the band and the possibility of the design being used for the band’s merch.
I wondered to myself: is that really worth it?
CARCC’s fees for images used in merchandise is “15% of the retail price of the entire production run, payable in advance”. That’s a far cry from the cost of an iPod, even if it’s engraved or autographed, and even if the band was paying the suggested retail price for the iPod.
Then, of course, I had to ask myself: do these types of contests really any impacts to professional artists?
After some thought, I decided that they are probably likely to attract the same type of professional artist who would submit work to a contest with a submission/entry fee. Although it is entirely possible for the band to receive entries of a high calibre, they are also selecting against the many artists who are not willing to work in exchange for an iPod and some free publicity.
But are contests like these and Penguin’s cover contest a real threat to the group of artists who would have otherwise have been commissioned to create that work? Are these marketing gimmicks, or are people starting to test the waters for this being a more standard alternative to hiring artists to do that work? At this point, it’s difficult to tell…but this is definitely worth watching.
Tags: art, artist fees, contests, copyrightRelated posts
By Julianna Yau
On December 4, 2007
At 8:10 pm
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