PSA: Full Copyright Transfers are Expensive!!
This is a rehash of a thread I wrote for Twitter that I think is important to share here as well!
some disclaimers:
- I don't speak for all artists (but artists, if you didn't know this please look up info about copyright transfer law bc you could be losing out on lots of money)
- I'm not a lawyer, this is not legal advice
- I can only speak to my knowledge and experience working as a freelance Illustrator & Art Director in the United States. Laws will be different for other countries.
dear anyone who’s looking for art for their projects:
Full copyright transfers (FCT) are expensive. If you want a full copyright transfer (ie to OWN the art), expect to pay AT LEAST $1,000 (artists should be charging at LEAST double their base price)
Why?
A FCT means you now own the art and can do anything you want with it: make and sell merch/prints, edit it, resell the rights to someone else, etc
Most people/projects don’t NEED a FCT. There are other options for commercial licenses that allow artists to retain rights & are cheaper for the client. I am BEGGING indie game designers to understand this and to stop lowballing artists when asking for exclusivity.
If you want exclusivity, you gotta PAY for that— however: