Advice from an art licensing agent for walking a trade show
SURTEX is nearly here – I’m busy with final preparations and packing and lots of questions are flying around about etiquette for walking the show and in particular, for talking to agents.
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Art licensing agent Alicia Dauber of Licensing Liaison and I are teaching the Basics of Art Licensing – Part 2 together on Sunday so I asked her for some quick tips that I could share. Here is what she had to say -
Although most agents are interested in seeing new work and meeting new artists, please keep in mind that the trade show floor is not the place to review your portfolios! Trade show expenses including the cost of a booth are extremely high and the agent has spent thousands of dollars to be there. They have to make it pay for themselves and the artist partners they represent by following up on as many appointments as they can for the artists that are currently in their stable.
It is absolutely acceptable to unobtrusively leave a business card or flyer on their table while making a note of the agent’s name for future follow up after the show. If the agent is not busy speaking to a client when you walk by, a quick hello and that you would like to email him or her about your work after the show is completed is fine.
Have fun!! Wear comfortable shoes, enjoy the show and the education about the industry that it brings you while being appropriate and considerate of those who have paid to be there to work. And BEST wishes to you in your search for an agent!
This advice is great in regards to artists as well. I love meeting people who read this blog, listen to the Ask Calls and more but it can be overwhelming to try and juggle meeting artists with the main reason I’m there – to meet manufacturers. So if you are there and I’m busy – be sure to wave and if I’m not – say hi!
Alicia and I would love to see you on Sunday in our class – click here to get all the details. You can register in advance or in New York – your choice!
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
Art that likely WON’T work in licensing
Recently an artist left a comment on a post about an art licensing agency. I have chosen not to leave the comment because it really isn’t the best way to find an agent and based on the comment, I don’t think they are a fit for licensing. Here is why…
The artist described their work this way: I paint that which is meant to cause shock and aw, and educate not decorate.
Well… I don’t think this artist understands licensing at all. Art that is licensed is used to make products more appeals to consumers. Does the average consumer want to be shocked by the image on their coffee mug first thing in the morning? I think not. Do they want to be educated (I’m really not sure what that means but I don’t think they are talking about ABC art for kids) by art on their shower curtain? Again, I don’t think so.
The purpose of the art is to help sell products. It’s commercial. It’s – dare I say – decorative?
Find your niche – the way or ways of making money with your art that make you happy and that are a fit for what you do.
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
P.S. I don’t think you will find an agent by leaving information in the comments of a blog post – the post gave details about how to contact the agents, definitely a better way to go. Be proactive because I highly doubt they come to look for artists in the comments of a post from months ago.
P.P.S. If you are looking for an agent, we have a great list of agencies and their contact information on the blog – click the AGENTS tab at the top!
Another great Art Licensing Info Ask Call last night…
We had over 100 artists on the line last night – hope you were able to join us! We covered lots of great information, tweeted, Facebooked and had a great time! Thanks to artists like you who submit questions and the experts who join me – this is a valuable resource for learning about art licensing. The replay is now available for purchase – $20 thru March 31st – a great deal for an hour of education and your purchase helps offset the cost and time involved and helps me pay Maria for her time to help. (Thank you again Maria!)
What we covered on the call…
- Did you have a substantial body of work already created and ready to go before you started trying to license your work or did you create designs as you went along?
- If I sign a exclusive deal with a greeting card company for my photographs can I sell the same image to another company for a different product?
- Besides the general questions how about some of the nitty-gritty, like besides the art image, what other information do you include in your portfolio?
- Being self employed and/or working from home how do you separate work from home? How do you get things accomplished without a boss to answer to?
- Is it ever ”too early” to go after the ”big whale”? Should relatively unknown artists go after the bigger brands?
- How can a new artist best take advantage of walking a trade show like Surtex, when they are not an exhibitor?
- Is it necessary to go to the trade shows to get started, or is contacting licensees on your own a viable way of working?
- Where do you get contracts from when you are starting and how/when are changes made, if any?
- I am not interested in licensing my designs to products that will be produced in China. This is a big moral dilemma for me. How much will I be ”shooting myself in the foot” if I stay true to that?
Remember – the replay is on sale for $20 thru Saturday, March 31st so grab your copy at the discounted price now!
Resources we mentioned on the call…
I recommended a book – Strengths Finder 2.0 – more about it on the blog next week. Click here* if you want to check it out now… http://amzn.to/GGtDuN
Maria mentioned a blog post she wrote, Our Biggest Mistake Ever – As an Artist, and why she doesn’t think it’s the best idea for artists to become manufacturers. Read it here >> http://mariabrophy.com/business-of-art/our-biggest-mistake-ever-as-an-artist.html
We also talked a lot about contracts and mentioned the eBook Maria & I co-authored – How to Understand Art Licensing Contracts. We are both very proud of this book and have received great feedback – check it out >> ArtLicensingInfo.com/contracts.html
What’s Up Next…
The next call is with Paul Brent on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 and will be his third SURTEX Recap and question call. He does an amazing job summing up his impressions of the show, the industry and trends the week after the SURTEX show – be sure to join us! He will also answer some questions so submit them at www.AskPaulBrent.com when you are ready!
Art Licensing Agency Overview: MGL Licensing
In case you aren’t already aware, there is an “AGENTS” tab on this blog with a growing list of art licensing agents and their contact information. 13 of them contributed to the eBook, How to Find an Art Licensing Agent, and others have requested to be included on the list over time. I invite any agent / agency to submit information about them and what they are looking for to the blog in order to help you (the artists) learn a little bit more about who is out there.
If you are interested in contacting the agency, please do not leave a comment on the blog – you need to contact them directly.
Below is information from MGL Licensing – a UK based art licensing agency.
MGL has become one of the world’s leading art licensing companies, with the work of over 70 artists represented within a growing archive of over 15,000 images, photographs and graphic properties.
We are known for our high quality art as well as our ability to create design concepts. We represent some of the most sought after contemporary graphic artists and offer a very diverse collection of work spanning anything from wildlife, landscapes, fantasy, fashion, florals and photography.
We have established relationships with a large number of international manufacturers and retailers, with many licensees dealing with us on a continuous basis, either licensing existing art and photography or commissioning new images to suit their products. The types of merchandise that our clients produce range from Cards, Calendars and Stationery, to Jigsaws, Apparel and Homewares.
In addition to our archive of art images we offer a range of branded children and teenage graphic character concepts. These properties provide an original and fun alternative to the usual entertainment brands. Our character ranges have appeared on licensed campaigns and products worldwide and are represented in other territories by a network of licensing agents.
MGL provides full style guides, logos, branding with all our properties as well as customised additional artwork.
We are always happy to meet with new creatives.
Contact information:
MGL Licensing
5 Risborough Street
London, SE1 0HF, UK
Phone: +44 (0)20 7593 0507
www.mgllicensing.com
Contact: Adam Meiklejohn (CEO)
info@mgllicensing.com
Remember, finding and choosing an agent is like choosing a spouse or life partner – they will be the other half of your business so don’t jump at the first offer but make sure it feels like a fit for you and your business.
Here’s to your creative success -
Tara Reed
Question: Is it better to go with an art publisher or an art licensing agent?
I’ve been getting some interesting questions lately that have caused me to really think about what I would do. An artist recently emailed me with what I consider a very high class problem – they have submitted their portfolio to a few art publishers and agents and now have a few that are interested in signing the artist. The main question was
Is it better to go with an agent or a publisher/licensor?
First it is important to understand the distinction, especially if you are new to art licensing.
A publisher is a company that publishes art prints – for wall art, canvas, etc. Many publishers also act as agents for their artists because the majority of those artists have no interest in pursuing licensing themselves but are happy for the added income. It becomes a win-win with the publisher not only licensing their work but connecting them with manufacturers in other areas. You can have a relationship with a publisher and NOT have them act as your agent, but many do both for their artists.
Then there is the more traditional agent. An agent is a person or company that represents artists and works to connect the art with the manufacturers. That is all they do – they don’t have the publishing business first and agency aspect second, they are agents. Agents can connect artists with publishers as well.
Back to our artist’s conundrum -
They are each telling me they are the answer of course, and then within that I have each of them (being the various publishers & agents) saying that THEY are the best choice. Each is making a strong argument for me choosing to work with them. I don’t know what to do and I just want to give myself the best opportunity to make money. I’ve asked so many people….please help. I can’t tell if a publisher has the same opportunities an agent does….
So publishers are saying going with them as a publisher and an agent is better than just having an agent. The agents disagree. Both are quite persuasive and the artist doesn’t know what to do.
Here is the advice I gave to them and how I would handle it if I were faced with the same situation.
First, I congratulated the artist on having so many people interested in their work. Agents don’t pursue people they don’t think can be successful and make money in licensing so this is a fabulous sign.
Next I asked to artist to be clear that they want to work with an agent and don’t want to market themselves – if they weren’t sure, I thought they should read this post:
http://artlicensingblog.com/2011/11/02/faq-do-i-need-an-agent-to-succeed-in-art-licensing/
As to who will be best and are agents vs publishers better – each artist will have to make that decision – if I did if for you I might as well pick your spouse or life partner while I’m at it. I’m not an art licensing yenta! 
When making the decision, you need to look for the best fit in terms of the working relationship – who will you trust with your business and who do you believe is most aligned with what you see for it? You either go with a publisher who then promotes you elsewhere or you go with an agent who finds you a publisher and other deals.
If it were me I’d be doing a serious comparison of the contracts – what are they asking of you and what are they promising – in writing – to do for you? How long of a commitment and how can you get out of the contract if you don’t feel it’s going well? And when – after a year, 3 yrs? etc.
My advice would also be to consider the eBook How to Understand Art Licensing Contracts as well as having someone review your contracts. My co-author Maria Brophy does contract reviews (and you get $50 off if you buy the book) or you could have an attorney look at it/them. Make sure the attorney has experience in the industry tho or they won’t catch the nuances. Here is a link to some attorneys if you don’t know any that work in licensing: http://artlicensingblog.com/attorneys/
It is one thing to review and negotiate your own contract for a one-design license for a specific product or products for a period of time. If you make a mistake, it will be a lesson learned but won’t affect your entire business. When you choose an agent or publisher/agent, it can so I would definitely get a second opinion before signing.
Of course this is just my opinion – if you have other advice or ideas, please add them to the comments!
This is pretty exciting and I hope more artists are faced with this type of decision! I also hope this helps you think through your strategy for your business.
Wishing you much success -
– Tara Reed
P.S. Not sure if you want an agent or want to go it alone? Download the survey to help you figure it out…
P.P.S. If you aren’t to this point but want help getting ready to find an art licensing agent, be sure to check out How to Find an Art Licensing Agent.
FAQ: Do I need an agent to succeed in art licensing?
The answer all depends on you!
The art licensing industry is accessible to individual artists who want to do the work of marketing their art. However, there are also many agents who help artists who choose not to take care of that side of their business.
Here are five facts to consider when deciding if you want to work with an agent:
FACT: Agents want to work with artists who “get” licensing and have enough work to make it worth their investment of time and energy to promote. If you only have a limited portfolio, you may have a hard time finding an agent. Licensing is a numbers game – manufacturers are always looking for “what’s new” so agents need artists who can really produce on a regular basis.
FACT: Agents do the marketing side of your business and for that, they share in the royalties. Most art licensing agents work with a 50/50 split while some take less and a few take more. So you need to assume that you will get more than twice the business with an agent than you would on your own, or you will be behind before you get started.
FACT: Marketing your work isn’t easy. Licensing is a competitive industry and there will be lots of rejection – or lack of response – so you need to have a thick skin and the ability to keep at it. Just as you need to create a lot of art, you will have to make a lot of phone calls, send a lot of emails, and nourish relationships to get business. Sometimes you will feel like you are communicating into a void… the reality is that many manufacturers are so busy that you won’t get a response unless they want your art.
FACT: Some artists will find every excuse under the sun to postpone making a call or showing their work to anyone. Those are the artists that should absolutely consider an agent – SOMEONE has to do the marketing, if you aren’t going to, try to find someone who will.
FACT: Finding an agent doesn’t mean guaranteed riches. You still have to do the work, create the art, study the trends, meet the needs of the manufacturers and work as a team with your agent. You don’t head to an island to sip margaritas and paint every so often.
Not sure if you would be happier working with an agent or doing your own marketing? Click here to get a free questionnaire to help you decide…
No matter what you decide is best for you – for now – I’ve written an eBook to help you shorten your learning curve.
| I want help finding an agent…
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I want help doing my own marketing…
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If you want to find an agent, there are more than 25 listed on the AGENTS tab of this blog. Thirteen of them gave feedback in the eBook and the rest have asked to be listed for artists to find. This is a resource only and I can’t guarantee that you will hear back if you contact them.
Whatever you decide – I wish you much success!
– Tara Reed
Tips for Getting from an Art Licensing Dream to Art Licensing Dollars
Every business starts as a dream and artists making a living in art licensing are no exception.
My dream started with a phone call: “You should check out this SURTEX show – artists are showing their work to manufacturers who want to put it on products. You should do this.”
The phone call was followed with about 5 months of reasons why I wasn’t good enough… and a persistent friend who kept telling me I could. So we shared a booth at the Licensing Expo in 2004 to see what happened.
Now I work full time at licensing my art (and writing about the industry here and in eBooks).
So how did I – and how might you – turn the dream into dollars?
1. Learn about art licensing and decide if it is a fit for your art and your lifestyle. Don’t decide to do art licensing based on the dream of the huge success stories – the artists who have built multi-million dollar businesses so why can’t you too? To my way of looking at things, you should honestly consider how you will feel about the day-to-day efforts you will need to put in to get from the dream to the big bucks – and know that you might just get to getting-by bucks. If the effort to give it a shot sounds like torture, look at other options. There are many, many ways to make money with your art – find the one that sounds like the best fit for you.
Recently there was an article about the author of The Help – a novel made into a great movie recently released – and how her manuscript was rejected 61 times before she found a publisher. It’s a really inspirational story but it doesn’t mean that everyone who wants to write a best-selling novel will succeed if they send their manuscript to enough publishers. It still has to be well written, a compelling story and the author has to have a mountain of tenacity to keep on trying. Not everyone will be able to deal with the day-to-day work of writing, revising, sending things out, getting feedback, etc. And there is more day-to-day than there are success stories like this. (Read the full article here)
If you are new to the idea of art licensing, check out the FAQ page of this blog for basic information as well as the many resources for people new to the idea on the ArtLicensingInfo.com website.
2. If you get past step 1 and think this sounds like a viable option for you and that you are motivated to put in the effort, it’s time to create or organize your art for licensing. In art licensing, manufacturers usually want to see groups, or collections, of art more than stand alone pieces.
How an artist goes about creating these collections seem to fall into two categories – those who take a ‘fine art approach’ – creating painting that could be put in a frame and hung on the wall. The type of art that easily lends itself to gallery sales, for example. The other way is to start with icons and build to a scene or image digitally. Art can either be done by hand or completely digitally – there are both types of artists successfully licensing their work. Click here to read more about creating art in collections…
3. While you are creating art, it’s a good idea to be thinking about the types of products the art would be best suited for. Not many kitchen textiles feature baby art and not many school fundraising companies use wine art for products sold by children. Noticing what art is on products in stores is a great way to get your product placement juices flowing to start making a game plan of the types of companies to contact when your art is ready.
Click here to watch a video about shopping research…
4. While you are creating art, you can also be weighing the pros and cons of doing your own marketing or working with an art licensing agent. Do you enjoy both creating the art and doing the sales and follow-up or would you rather leave that to someone else? Click here to download the free questionnaire – TO USE AN AGENT OR NOT TO USE AN AGENT – this 25 question assessment will give you a better idea of what will work for you.
5. An art licensing business isn’t all about pretty pictures – it’s important to treat it like a business. Create a plan and set goals to keep you on track. Get organized. Build systems early on to organize your art (create a code system), your contacts and your follow-up.
If goal setting and staying focused is a challenge, you might want to consider my system – The Goal Wheel for Artists…
6. At some point you won’t be able to do everything yourself, so get help! When you are starting out, you can probably handle everything in order to save money. But at some point, you will be losing money by doing your book-keeping- clerical work that is taking away from your studio time when you create the art that brings in the royalties. Even before you can afford help, think about what someone else could do when you build your business to a point that can support outsourcing some of the work.
Maybe someone can help with your website, press releases, even some of the graphic design/layout work. Don’t think the artists making the big-bucks (the ones they write inspirational stories about) are doing everything themselves– they have employees helping this process along!
The best advice I can give anyone trying to turn a dream into a reality is to take some action – no matter how big or small – every day.
Here’s to your creative success – where ever you may find it!
– Tara Reed
Do you have an art licensing attorney that you would recommend?
I need your help! I am regularly asked for attorney referrals by artists starting out or needing help with specific issues in art licensing. I have decided to create a page on this blog to list attorneys who work in the art licensing industry. This won’t mean I’ve worked with them personally and give them my stamp of approval, but that they have worked in the industry and it will be a great starting point for artists to decide who might be a fit for them.
We have a similar page for art licensing agents – it started with the 13 agents who responded to my email and contributed to the How to Find an Art Licensing Agent eBook. Since then, more have contacted me asking to be listed and there are almost 30 agents there for you to consider for representation.
I need your help to make this new resource a reality. Please contact us at info@artlicensinginfo.com if…
– you are an attorney who works in the art licensing industry and would like to be included on the upcoming Attorney page on this blog. I will need your basic contact info – name, address, phone, email, website.
– you are an artist who has worked with an attorney that you would recommend to others. Send me their basic contact information and I will get in touch with them to see if they are interested.
Thanks so much – I look forward to your recommendations!
– Tara Reed
Artist Questions about Agents and Manufacturers Answered!
I got a few last-minute questions that we weren’t able to get into the call line-up but I thought would make helpful blog posts. These two are related to agents and manufacturers….
Marilyn asked: What are the best ways to let agents or licensing companies know about my work – website, mailing, etc?
There are many things you can do to get the attention of agents or manufacturers – here are a few basics.
- Have some sort of website they can go to to see your art. It could be a blog with some images or a more traditional website. These days most people expect you to have some space on the internet so they can quickly look and decide if they want to learn more.
- Email or Direct Mail or dare I suggest you pick up the phone? Getting your name and art in front of the right individuals is important since they make the decisions. Check manufacturer websites to see if they have submission guidelines or pick up the phone and ask who to contact.
- Trade Shows. There are a variety of trade shows for artists in licensing as well as industry shows where the manufacturers can be found. Here’s a blog post with links to the art licensing shows.
Be sure to look at the “agents” page of this blog for a growing list of art licensing agents and their contact information. They have all asked to be there so they are open to new artist submissions. I have also written an eBook – How to Find, Interact and Work with Manufacturers Who License Art if you prefer to market yourself.
and Karen wanted to know: Once you sign up with an agent and submit images, how much time can you expect to pass before you start seeing results?
Karen’s questions is a bit trickier and if we were on the live call I’d start with my famous “it depends”… There is simply no way to answer this because there are so many moving parts.
Things that could influence the timing could include:
- The time of year you start working with an agent and how your art lines up with what manufacturers are looking for at that time.
- How much art you have in your portfolio for them to license. Licensing is like a dart game – the more art you have the more likely you are to hit the bulls eye.
- The agent’s process – how long does it take them to get you into the line-up and out the door to be presented to manufacturers? What type of marketing do they do for new artists, if any?
I think this is a great question to ask an agent that you are thinking about working with. You want to go into an artist – agent relationship with some realistic expectations. If you think you should see results within 3 months and they have found it takes a year to see if your art will be a fit for them and the market, that’s good information to have upfront.
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