By Tara Reed

So you’ve heard about art licensing and think it sounds amazing! You can create art and have several people pay you for the rights to use it. You don’t have to do any of the marketing, selling or credit card processing. Heck, you’ve heard about people who make millions doing it so why shouldn’t you?

Well… it’s not that easy.

I will begin by telling you it is possible to earn a living licensing your art and that it can be done. I built my business from the ground up and absolutely love the whole process.

I will also tell you that it isn’t for everyone. One of my missions in writing, teaching and speaking about art licensing is to give artists a realistic view of what this business is and not a pie-in-the-sky “anyone can do it!” perspective.

Reality Check

1. It takes time to start making money . . . and by time I mean it can take 1-3 years so you need an alternate source of income while you see if your art is a fit.

2.  Speaking of art being a fit, not all art is suited to licensing. Art for licensing is art that will work on and help sell products. That is the whole point. Manufacturers looks for designs to use on their products so consumers will buy them. There isn’t a lot of abstract art being licensed, for example. But you will never see snowmen or roosters leave the stores because people always seem to want to buy things with snowmen and roosters. (Not necessarily together, of course.)

3.  There is a lot of competition. In recent years more artists have become aware of the idea of licensing and there are more people talking about how to do it.  A lot of artists who used to work for manufacturers have been downsized and have entered the pool of artists licensing their work. This means your art has to be that much better. Manufacturers have a lot of choices so you need to put your best art forward to land that deal.

4.  You might be asked to create quickly. There are many times when deadlines will be tight so if you don’t like creating on the turn of a dime, you might not love the process of licensing your art.  Or, if you choose not to do things quickly (which is your choice since you are in business for yourself) you simply won’t get the deal.

5.  You need to be determined and you must be able to handle rejection . . . or crickets. (Meaning no response at all.)  Art licensing is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of work to create your art and market your art. It takes a firm sense of self and the ability to listen to and learn from feedback when your art isn’t selected. You also need to be able to keep creating and marketing when you submit art and never hear anything back.

6.  Changes to the art is more of a rule than an exception. In point #2 I mentioned that the whole purpose of the art in licensing is to help sell products. That could mean that a manufacturer who is interested in your work might ask for changes based on trends they are seeing in the marketplace or requests they are receiving from retailers. 

I would guess that about 80% of the work that I do is changed in some way between when I show it to a manufacturer and when it lands on a store shelf. It might be a color change, size change, or layout change. You have to know that you and the manufacturer are partners, trying to create the best product possible in hopes of lots and lots of sales. That is, after all, how you earn your living.  (Most art licensing deals are done as a royalty based on sales so the more products that sell, the higher your royalty check!)

I’m feeling like the first 6 points could be construed as a bit negative but they are simply some realities of this business. It is better to know about them before you devote a lot of time and energy to creating art for licensing, right? If you know you hate to work on a deadline you can save some time and look at other money making options for your art.

The Good Stuff

Let’s finish up with some things that I absolutely love about licensing! (You will find that some of these points were mentioned before as well.)

7.  When licensing your art is really working, you will be paid for the same art by multiple manufacturers. This is a concept I love. I love that I can create a holiday collection and license the rights to use the same art to different manufacturers for different projects. It makes sense to me. Why sell the art outright to a company who will only use it for paper plates and napkins? Instead I can license it to a company who makes paper plates and napkins, then to another who makes ceramic plates, and another who makes rubber stamps, etc. It is like a game to come up with art that will work across a variety of products and then connect with the people who choose the art.

8.  You get to collaborate with manufacturers. This is one of my favorite things. Like many artists, I work alone in my studio, which is in my home. Not a lot of water cooler talk or heading to lunch with the gang. My co-workers become the licensing managers and art directors across the country who I talk to and brainstorm about art and product design. Very often I have art that they like and then we come up with some changes or additions to make it really fit for them. It’s so exciting to later see it in the stores and remember the conversations when the ideas were born.

9.  You don’t have to focus on one product and manage all aspects – from production to marketing to sales to shipping and returns. Starting a greeting card business is a full time job. You have to study the market, create the art, invest in production and then figure out how to get the word out about your great creations. You don’t have time to also manufacture ceramic dishes, handbags and picture frames too! With licensing, you focus on the art and find the people who are making and selling and shipping – leaving you time to get back to creating the art.

10.  It is so incredibly cool to go into a store and see products for sale with your art on them! After 8 years licensing my art I am still delighted each and every time it happens and hope I never become immune to the feeling. I’ve heard artists say it’s selling out to have your art mass produced but I wholeheartedly disagree.  I think it is a very fun, interesting and satisfying way to make a living.

Tara Reed finds some of her designs on products on the shelf.

There you have some pluses and minuses of pursuing a career in art licensing. There are those who will read this and think to themselves, “This is simply not for me.” If you are one of them, I wish you much success in whatever you decide is a fit. Others will be intrigued and want to learn more. If you fall into that category, I invite you to visit my website and blog to learn more.

About the Guest Blogger
Tara Reed is a successful licensor of her art and teaches artists how to follow her path at ArtLicensingInfo.com. You can visit that link, sign up for her bi-weekly newsletter, and receive her Beginner Basics audio program for just $10. Her creative juices flow in her Portland, Oregon studio.

With so many good documentaries about art available, it’s time to update my list. Add them to your queue, watch them online when you can, or find clips on YouTube.

These are too good to miss.

Tops on My List

The PBS series art: 21. A pioneering series on artists making art today. Don’t miss a single episode.

How to Draw a Bunny  – The mysterious art, life, death of Ray Johnson. I haven’t seen it in a long while, but it made an impact and is still at the top of my list.

The Woodmans – I watched this in 2011 and had to move it toward the top of the list. The artistic family of ceramist Betty Woodman, the tragic death of her talented daughter, photographer Francesca Woodman, and how their art triumphs. (The rest here are in no particular order.)

My Architect – The life of Louis Kahn, through his son’s eyes.

Glaring omission from the original list (thanks for catching it, John) – #20: Rivers & Tides – Follows “landscape sculptor” Andy Goldsworth as he creates ephemeral works of art using objects found in nature. Terrible website, by the way – not at all reflective of the film.

A documentary on Morris Louis that I saw in his traveling retrospective. But I have no title or resource for it. It’s just terrific and I’d love to see it again.

Painters Painting - An amazing 2-part film featuring key figures in American art from 1940 to 1970.

Helvetica -Yep, a whole film about the typeface. Very fun to hear all of these designers talking about typefaces and visual communication.

Herb & Dorothy - Who hasn’t seen this lovely film about two unlike art collectors?

Valentino: The Last Emperor – I adored this movie about fashion designer Valentino. It’s gorgeous to look at.

Exit Through the Gift Shop – Banksy’s film about street art. Is it a documentary or not? It certainly makes us question how art is made.

Waste Land – More than a film about art, this is about an artist (Vik Muniz) affecting social change through art. The stories are heartwarming, the people are beautiful

Others Worth Watching

Rothko’s Rooms – About Mark Rothko’s Seagram paintings at the Tate Modern and the demand he put on exhibiting his work. Often available for viewing on OvationTV

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision

Any film about Christo and Jeanne-Claude – All of them show the amazing, unconventional (and laden with red tape!) process that these artists go through to make their vision a reality.

The Rape of Europa - The story of American GI’s whose duty it was to return art stolen by the Nazis.

The Art of the Steal – Definitely a one-sided view of relocation of the Barnes Collection from Merion, PA to Philadelphia.

Sketches of Frank Gehry – The Sydney Pollack documentary about the famed architect.

Matthew Barney: No Restraint – An inside peek at Barney’s work, with his partner and collaborator Björk, aboard a whaling ship. A little too bloody for my taste, if I recall.

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow – About the personal universe created by German artist Anselm Kiefer on the grounds of his estate in the South of France. Haunting soundtrack!

Add your own art documentary choices in a comment.

If you like this article, please tweet, share, or +1 using your link of choice below.

Coming up next: Fictional movies with an artist as the central character – real or imagined artists.

There are six principles of no-excuse art marketing that guide my teaching and my book.

The first principle, I believe, is the most important. It states:

You are in charge of your career. You have control over words, prices, artwork, and your image. People will take as much from you as you give them, so guard this power to remain in charge of your destiny. Accept 100% responsibility for your actions and make no excuses.

It might seem as though your power is in the hands of galleries, curators, granting agencies, collectors . . . anyone but you! But all of these people have only as much power over you as you give them.

In his book The Success Principles, which I never tire quoting, Jack Canfield writes:

You only have control over three things in your life – the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take (your behavior). How you use these three things determines everything you experience. If you don’t like what you are producing and experiencing, you have to change your responses. Change your negative thoughts to positive ones. Change what you daydream about. Change your habits. Change what you read. Change your friends. Change how you talk.

Commit to yourself that you will guide your own path – that you won’t accept situations that make your stomach turn, that you won’t adopt others’ definitions of success, and that you won’t bow to conventional ways of doing things in the art world if they don’t match your values and vision.

You know what’s best for you. Go after it! Seek guidance and inspiration when you need it, but trust your wise self.

Never blame anyone for your perceived failures. When you assume control, you bask in your successes – knowing that they were hard-earned. Likewise, you must also accept responsibility when things go wrong.

Seems like a fair deal to me.

I’m often asked by artists which Art Biz Coach resources might be best for them.

The thread that holds my material together is the emphasis on action.

Choices

Read the Book

Get my book, I’d Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion if you would like a reference source.

When you want to learn best practices for sending an email newsletter, open it up to that chapter. If you want to learn how to build your contacts list, you’ll find the answers in a different section of the book.

Lots of people read the book cover to cover, but it’s just a good thing to have on your shelf when you need some quick info.

When you buy it from me, you also get the e-book version and a free month in the Artist Conspiracy. (Read more about this below.)

Take a Class

Sign up for a class when you want information in a daily-lesson format. Like the book, classes are another way to gather information.

Some of the content in the classes duplicate what is in the book, but most of the content is different – and it’s delivered in a very different manner.

Class participation will help you do rather than just read if you make the commitment to participate. You can hold yourself accountable to the extent you want by acting on the daily email reminders and interacting on the private class blog.

Beware: The information in these classes is concentrated into 18 lessons. There’s a lot to learn in a short amount of time! I’d commit to at least 1 hour a day for most of the lessons, although it helps to look at the syllabus for each class. There might be certain lessons that you’re more savvy about than others. Consider those days for breathing.

In two days, my Blast Off class begins. It’s my most popular class and is scheduled just three times a year. Think about launching with us.

Become a Member

Join the Artist Conspiracy membership program for a higher level of accountability.

Unlike my classes, the Conspiracy isn’t for gathering information. Sure, there’s plenty of it there, but I’m more interested in how you use the knowledge you already have.

I started the Conspiracy for people who had taken all of my classes, read my book, and said, “Now what?” They liked being part of a group and missed the accountability aspect of the classes.

The Conspiracy requires a steadfast commitment to your career and a high level of personal responsibility for your actions.

In the Conspiracy, we set goals each month around a focus area. You can share your goals (if you like) in the active forums. We also have guest interviews and a monthly live Q&A session. Weekly updates are emailed to members rather than the daily ones in my classes.

This month we are focused on planning for a prosperous New Year. Read more about the Conspiracy.

Hire Me

You might request my personal help when you need a partner.

It’s difficult working by yourself all of the time. And you don’t always get the quality of feedback you’d like in a group situation.

I help individual artists with their goals, marketing and business plans, artist statements, and more. I especially enjoy working with artists who have participated in my classes, in the Conspiracy, and read my book. With that background, we have a solid foundation.

I hope this helps you decide what you need for your art career. Questions?

According to my unscientific method of discerning the best of the Art Biz Blog from the past year, these posts rose to the top of the crop of 219 posts to date.

Most Commented On

6 Limits for Donating Artwork

12 Tips for Pricing Your Art

You Promise Exposure, We Want to See Results

Attracting Good Karma

Artists’ Day Jobs – What’s Yours?

Is There a Downside to Teaching Your Art?

Social Media Is Only a Tool

Most Critical For Your Art Biz

What Artists are Getting Paid for Teaching

When To Invest In Your Art Business

7 Ways to Establish That Your Art Has Value

Quick Blog Fixes

How to Organize Photos of Your Art on Facebook

Your Marketing Strategy

Is It Okay to Add People to Your Email List?

Enlist Help Promoting Your Art

Take a Sales Tax Class

Rework Your Artist Statement with 3 Answers

Photo Ideas to Shake Up Your Online Presence

Checklist for Your Invitations

Feel Good

Just Because . . .

Feel Better About the M Word

Did you have a favorite Art Biz Blog post from 2011?

This week there’s a nice blend of inspirational quotes, practical how-to info, and entertainment. Enjoy!

Update on art inventory systems fr LisaMcShaneArt http://lisamcshane.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-favorite-art-inventory-system.html

Facebook changes revealed in NYT tech article http://is.gd/0989Wx

RT JulieMorgenstrn: Capture all your to-dos in one place. You have one life, use one planner! #timemanagement <YES!

RT KarenAnnJones: Site for printing checks with your art on them: http://bit.ly/pffTV3 < Thx!

Billionaire seeks divorce b/c he wants to be a painter http://is.gd/XKniXX

Create like a god, command like a king, work like a slave. – Francis Bacon Constantin Brancusi

Tax changes for 2012 – esp for PayPal, online sales. http://blog.lunariafinancial.com/2011/10/17/usepaypal/ via lunajaffe

Excellent post fr robertgenn re co-op galleries. http://clicks.robertgenn.com/co-op-gallery.php Things to consider

Intrigued that BlurbBooks is launching into e-book productions

An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision. – James McNeill Whistler

Fascinating. Eye-tracker software shows where ppl look on a painting

Don’t be stymied by someone telling you you’re doing it wrong. http://faso.com/fineartviews/35737/you-do-things-wrong fineartviews

from @markmcguinness Here’s a podcast I recorded with toddhenry about creativity, overcoming creative blocks etc. http://bit.ly/nQ1nl3

RT TylerGreenDC: Hilarity. MT cmonstah: J. Saltz talks art reality, fantasy green room demands + what it’… (cont)

 Please join me on Twitter!

1. Whenever you leave a comment and you’ve signed up for a Gravatar, we can mouse over your name and see more about you instantly – thanks to Hovercards. This isn’t just for this blog, but for any blog that uses Gravatar Hovercards. See the details of how this works.
2. For more than 3 years I recorded audio versions of my newsletter as the Art Marketing Action Podcast. They’re all here (click on that link) and you can also get them in iTunes.
3. The Art Marketing Action newsletter is (as of 9/7/11) sent only to subscribers’ inboxes, but you can catch past issues for the past few years in the newsletter archives. You can subscribe here.
4. The Art Biz Blog consistently ranks near the top of art blogs on Alltop, but one fine day last spring, I had 4 of the top 5 posts on the site!
5. Because of #4, I’m pitched to relentlessly by people who want me to tell you about their products and services. I protect you from most of these and am very particular about what I share with you. (On a side note, many of the people doing the pitching are terrible at what they do. They could stand to read a few of the posts here about building relationships.)
6. I have a blog policies that state you must be nice to one another and to me – even when we disagree. And I welcome disagreements. The policies also state you must be politically correct, identify yourself, and not use comments for advertising your own agenda.
7. The sidebar is updated frequently with the most current class offerings. Scroll down and you’ll see my live/travel schedule.
8. I accept guest posts. I’m picky, but I love to share your lessons with readers.
9. You can get every issue in your inbox! Subscribe to the email version of posts here.

The Art Newspaper recently reported that the gallery system is structurally weak.

A new report by the non-profit dealers’ federation Cinoa finds that fair-led and online business is taking over as the main source of revenue.

Let’s first acknowledge that they’re talking about a certain level of high-end galleries that attend major art fairs around the world.

But are even lower- to mid-range brick-and-mortar galleries in jeopardy?

How are your galleries doing?

Square credit card processor makes it easy for anyone in the U.S. with a smart phone* to accept and process credit cards.

The Square credit card processing device plugs in the top of my iPhone.

Steps to Accepting Credit Cards Using Square

1. Apply for a Square reader at SquareUp.com. The reader is FREE.
2. Wait for the reader to be sent to your home. (No shipping charges.)
3. Download the Square app for your phone.
4. Complete your profile on your Square account.
5. Get an order, swipe the card, enter amount, and email receipt to your customer. I did a couple of $1 tests before my first anticipated use.

There are a lot of articles out there that will review Square more in depth. I want to focus more on my personal experience.

Benefits

There are many things to love about Square. Among them:

• The reader is free, small (about 1″ square), and portable. In fact, Square is so small that you might forget it, as I did on a recent trip. I’ve recently to keep it in my purse at all times. I want to be prepared to make a sale at a moment’s notice. Otherwise, why have such a portable device?
• The ONLY charge is 2.75% on swiped-card purchases. (It’s 3.5% + $.15 on manually-entered transactions.) There are no monthly fees!
• Purchasers can sign on your phone with their finger and receive their receipt instantly via email.
• You can accept MasterCard, VISA, Discover, and American Express.
• You can use Square to track cash and check sales as well. (I have yet to use this feature.)
• You can process unlimited transactions. (See below for the downside.)

On the Downside

• Square relies on connectivity. If you don’t have good wireless broadband (wifi, 3G, 4G), you’ll have a hard time completing transactions. I suggest having a backup way to capture the customer’s information to process later.
• You must have an iPhone, Android, iPad, or iPod Touch.
• As of this post, Square can only be used in the 50 U.S. states (+ D.C.) with U.S.-friendly credit cards. No U.S. territories or international locations.
• I’ve found it difficult to connect the receipts I receive from Square with buyers’ names because I’m only sent buyers’ email addresses. Perhaps there’s a way to fix this in the settings that I’m unaware of.
• While you can process unlimited transactions, Square will only deposit up to $1000/week immediately for new users. This can change as build trust with Square and you can also petition them for a better deal (so it says on their site). But this could be limiting for artists who sell large purchases through credit card transactions.

There are downsides to every form of accepting credit cards, but I’m quite pleased with Square and see little risk in encouraging you to give it a try.

*Available for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Androids.

While the Art Marketing Action podcast was closed down last fall, there are still 189 episodes on iTunes. To my amazement, more and more artists continue to find these old, but still relevant, audio programs.

Maybe some of them will speak to you.

A few juicy ones

These are 5 of the best episodes (IMO) you can look up quickly on iTunes or click on the title next to the episode to listen on this blog.

Episode 27: Open Yourself to Possibility (practice saying Yes)

Episode 9: Get Better Results with a Personal Plea (personalize your email)

Episode 44: Exceed Expectations (in every way)

Episode 60: Believe in Your Art (you can’t sell something you don’t believe in)

Episode 94: Offer an Upgrade (yes, you can upsell your art!)

Do you have a favorite Art Marketing Action podcast episode?