Pricing for small editorial print license

[Ryan_]

Hello,

I've been contacted by a commission wanting to use my photo for the cover of an annual report they put out. It is a wildlife photo I took. There are 400 physical copies that get sent out, along with it being digitally distributed and put on the website.

I've been trying to find contracts for licenses to fit this situation but I'm not exactly sure what they should look like. I found this template on a forum:

"Subject to the terms and conditions below, John Smith the licensor ("Licensor") of the work ("Work") referenced in this document (number xxxxxx) hereby grants to Client Name, Inc. defined herein ("Licensee") a Non-Exclusive license to use the CLIENT SELECTS ONLY as chosen by the Licensee or representative of the Licensee. This license shall be valid in the following geographic region(s) only: The United States. This license shall be valid for a one time use and shall cover publication of the Work in the following media only: Magazine Name, December 2009 Issue. The number of reproductions of the Work authorized by this license is limited to 150,000. The only credit line to be associated with the Work is "Copyright 2009, Stephen Faust". Any other use of the Work by the Licensee shall require a separately negotiated license. Copyright remains with the Licensor, and all other rights are reserved."

For one, does this seem adequate? I would replace the obvious variables with data relevant to this specific situation. And if not adequate, is there a website I can buy a license from to use? I've been looking but again, I'm not sure what this is supposed to look like. I assume they should sign it and send it back to me?

And two, any guidance on the pricing for this? 400 copies seems like a small number.


Any insight would be appreciated, thank you

 

[LDS]

Looks a good starting point to me.

1) Non-exclusive (for the licensee) - you can keep on selling the image to others
2) Limits geographic use
3) Limits usage rights, only for the specified use, and up to a given number of reproductions

You may request your name photo title (if any), and the copyright explicitly appears somewhere, usually the colophon. Good publishers will do it anyway, but not all.

 

[unfocused]

What do you want out of this?

I'm guessing a nominal fee, Retain the rights to the photo (non-exclusive), a credit/ copyright somewhere and some free copies for your portfolio. I would drop the geographic limitations. If they are publishing to a website that's moot anyway. The value of having it published is more valuable than the small fee you may get and being reasonable will be better for the prospect of future work.

 

[LDS]

I didn't consider the digital distribution part, only the physical one.

You may use the same license, or use separate ones for the physical prints, and digital use. Because the latter means your work may be reused without your knowledge, unless you spend the time and effort to track its use. Price should also take this into account.

You may also want to deliver the image in a different format - i.e. maybe not a full resolution TIFF - still good for their needs, but which may hinder a full reuse by someone else. You'd need to know their specification, though.

 

[Ryan_]

Looks a good starting point to me.

1) Non-exclusive (for the licensee) - you can keep on selling the image to others
2) Limits geographic use
3) Limits usage rights, only for the specified use, and up to a given number of reproductions

You may request your name photo title (if any), and the copyright explicitly appears somewhere, usually the colophon. Good publishers will do it anyway, but not all.

Thank you. They did say that on top of my fee they would add photo credit.

What do you want out of this?

I'm guessing a nominal fee, Retain the rights to the photo (non-exclusive), a credit/ copyright somewhere and some free copies for your portfolio. I would drop the geographic limitations. If they are publishing to a website that's moot anyway. The value of having it published is more valuable than the small fee you may get and being reasonable will be better for the prospect of future work.

Thank you. Good point on the geographic limitation. I will remove that.
I’m not looking to get rich but it is nice to get paid for what you do, especially in my current situation. I have a feeling they are non profit organization but not positive. I work for a non for profit and believe me, services/products do not come free to us.
Do you have any recommendations for price? I was thinking anywhere from $250-500 which is about what I make for general small time photoshoots. Again I’ve never licensed a photo before, so I don’t have a good baseline to go off.

 

[pwp]

Photo credits are a funny thing. They are a valid acknowledgement, but I think they primarily stroke the ego.

Across multi decades, I'm pretty sure I've never pulled new or additional work as a direct result of a photo credit. Around 85% of my new work comes from referrals, and the balance from web search hits.

-pw