The creative process is front and center on AMC’s newest Reality TV show – The Pitch
I LOVE reality shows about business! From ABC’s Shark Tank to Bravo’s Tabitha Takes Over… there is always something to learn from the way others run a business, how they create, ideas they come up with… I find it all fascinating.
AMC has a new show – officially beginning on April 30th but that previewed 4/8 and is available to watch online called The Pitch. The premise is that each week, 2 ad agencies compete for an account. The first episode shows two agencies vying for the business of creating an ad for Subway – to market their breakfast to 18-24 year olds.
You get to see them learn about what Subway is looking for, go back to their offices and the creative process they go through to create concepts. You then see the pitches and the decision by Subway.
I liked the look inside their creative process – made me feel a lot better about having my own not-so-fabulous ideas on my way to things I like – because they had them too! And they were documented on national tv.
I also thought a lot about art licensing… the manufacturers are going through a similar process, we just don’t get to see it. They have accounts, they find out what they want, they go back and figure out what they have to offer. Often we as artists are called upon for concepts so they have something to pitch… and hopefully land the deal. Sadly these deals aren’t usually worth millions like the Subway account, but the process is similar.
Finally – I loved this dialogue at about minute 39 – the Chief Creative Officer of the McKinney agency says,
“this is what is so tough about this business,…”creativity”… yeah, it is great, it is creative but it’s pressure too because it’s not like go paint a picture… it’s go be creative and make sure you do this, and make sure you do it in the next 24 hours – see you then”
Hello! That certainly sounds like what I do on a daily basis… oh, but painting pictures is part of the process. I will admit to being slightly insulted at the way he said that – it was a little demeaning… but maybe I’m overly sensitive. You can decide for yourself – you can watch it online at http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-pitch and if you like it, set your alarm clock or DVR to watch or record the show on Mondays at 9 pm / 8 central time on AMC.
Here’s to your creative success and finding inspiration…
– Tara Reed
Successful licensed artist, Thomas Kinkade, dies
I was shocked when I logged onto the computer on Saturday and saw the headline – Thomas Kinkade dead at 54. What?? I posted a link to an article on the Art Licensing Info Facebook page and a discussion ensued. With his huge success in art and art licensing, I thought it only fitting to tip our hats to a man who created a very successful brand in art licensing.
Thomas Kinkade died of natural causes (as yet, that is all that is being said) in his California home. “The Painter of Light” – whether you were a fan of his art and style or not, has one of the most recognizable brands in America. An article in the New York Times describes Kinkade and his work:
Though often disdained by the fine art establishment, Mr. Kinkade built a decorative art empire by creating sentimental paintings that were, for the most part, relatively inexpensive and resonated with the desires of homeowners who did not ordinarily buy art. He sold his work directly, through his own franchise galleries or on cable television home shopping networks, and eventually online.
Much of his work reflected Christian themes or visions of a traditional, rustic America residing in comforting solitude. The paintings — of homey cottages and rural churches and rivers flowing gently through brilliant foliage — rarely included people, which allowed the owners to project themselves into the scenes.
This, and other descriptions saying he did “art for the common man” really show the rift within the art community that artists in licensing face on a regular basis. It’s like there is a “team fine art” who look down their noses at artists who create art for commercial purposes – as if it isn’t really art at all if you can figure out that a snowman is a snowman without a lot of deep reflection.
There are so many measures of success – it’s up to you to create your own definition and not worry about how others look at it.
From where I sit, Thomas Kinkade was a very successful artist. He had his challenges, certainly, both in his business and personal life. But he set out on a mission to build a business based on his Christian values, create art that would connect with the masses, and earn a very, very nice living at the same time.
He thought outside the box and adapted his brand and offerings over time. Beginning with training in art from UC Berkeley he then painted backgrounds in an animated movie. He later sold prints of his work so the price points made the art accessible to a wider audience. In the ’90s he opened his own galleries and in the late 90′s he began licensing his art so it could appear on more products. He even created gated housing communities in California with houses that looked like those in his paintings… now that is some out-of-the-box thinking!
Some lessons to be learned from Thomas Kinkade in both his life and death include writing your own definition of success, finding your market and being true to the consumers that resonate with your art, build your brand and above all – take action because you never know how long or short your life might be.
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
Art Licensing Story – Kelly Rae Roberts
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly Rae Roberts – live and in person and not at a trade show! (Novel, I know!) She’s a Portlander like myself and has hit the ground sprinting in art licensing. With licensees including Demdaco, Creative Co-Op, Calypso Cards, Magnet Works and more, her business is, like her first book – Taking Flight.
In her own words from a snippet of her incredibly cool studio (yes, a little studio envy here!) – is Kelly Rae’s story:
To learn more about Kelly Rae Roberts, her art, her books and what she can teach you about a creative business, visit www.KellyRaeRoberts.com
– Tara Reed
P.S. Anyone who submits a video will receive a $20 coupon good towards eBooks, teleseminars (live or replays) or Ask Call Replays from ArtLicensingInfo.com as a way of saying “Thank you for sharing!”
It’s been a while since we got new inspiration – when can I expect to see your story?
For all the details or to see all the stories submitted to date, click the “Stories” tab at the top of the blog or go to http://artlicensingblog.com/stories/
Eliza Doolitte would have a hard time in art licensing…
The other day I was talking with an artist about distribution channels. Their products are mainly sold in more boutique stores and a product or two had been placed in a “big box” store like Bed, Bath & Beyond. Pretty new to licensing, the artist was shocked at the emails that started coming in from Hallmark store owners and the like – who are huge fans of their art and have been instrumental in their success. “Please don’t go into the big box stores!” they lamented! “We want to keep carrying your products.”
It’s an issue. It’s important to figure out where your art will be a fit and then be true to your customers. If your art does well in more upper tier distribution channels – a fancy way of saying higher end boutique and specialty stores – you have to be very careful about having your art show up in mass market chain stores.
It’s hard for the smaller stores to compete with the likes of Target, Wal-Mart and Bed, Bath & Beyond. The large retailers have more clout and pull with pricing since they are obviously buying in much larger quantities than the store down the street owned by a local family. So the specialty stores do their best to offer things not found in the larger retailers. Different designs, different products, etc. If your art is a fit in that market, mind your brand!
There are different ways to handle this.
First, you could have a policy that your art doesn’t go into larger stores – period. You would need to carefully define distribution channels in your contracts and monitor placement. Many artists will do this as long as they are being well-received and experiencing good sales in the specialty markets. There could come a time when trends change and their sales dip significantly, which might be when they shift their brand to a more mass marketplace.
Alternatively, an artist might have two distinct brands – with two styles and even two names, that are placed in the different channels. The best way to do this would be for the art to be so different in style or color or theme that no one would realize it was by the same person.
Another strategy might be to have all new art go through the specialty store channels and then when they phase out there, let them trickle to the mass market.
But again – if you try to serve both levels of licensees, you need to be careful that you don’t shoot yourself in the foot!
So why is the title of this blog post “Eliza Doolitte would have a hard time in art licensing…”? If you don’t get the reference, I’m referring to the main character in My Fair Lady – a musical and movie about a poor girl with a Cockney accent who is taught to be a lady. If she were an artist in licensing, it would be the equivalent of an artist who only designs for Dollar value stores who is then transformed into a coveted specialty brand. Let’s just say this would be harder to accomplish than teaching Eliza to lose her accent and head to the ball!
You can start in specialty stores and move to mass market over time – it’s rather hard to do the opposite.
Does this mean everyone should be in the upper tier distribution channels or they are ruining their business from the start? Absolutely not! The most important thing is to know where your art will be a fit and where it will sell. Don’t try to put a square peg in a round hole. Know your “who” and be true to your clients.
Here are two clips from My Fair Lady – one when Eliza is just learning to lose that accent and one when she is transformed into the belle of the ball – enjoy!
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
P.S. Now that I think about it – Henry Higgins was to Eliza what a coach is to an artist. Need one? Paul Brent, Jill Seale & I all offer coaching – learn more at ArtLicensingInfo.com/coaching.html
SURTEX – how some artists get their booth together
The SURTEX art licensing trade show is right around the corner and I’ve been getting questions about how artists decide what to do with their booth and how the process works. I thought I’d share a few videos so you can see first hand…
Cathy Heck and her daughters did a cute video of their set-up process from 2011 – what a gorgeous display they created! There was shipping of materials involved and some waiting around for crates to pack up at the end, but again, a great booth that really captured the feel of her art and brand.
You can read more about their show experience on her blog at http://www.cathyhecknurseryart.com/blog/2011/05/surtex-scrapbook-2011-part-1-sunshine-on-3-rainy-days/
My process is a little different because I try to keep shipping to a minimum and bring my booth with me. I sometimes ship a few things ahead to my hotel but it all rolls into the building with me and I don’t have to wait to tear down and head out at the end of the show. Here’s my blank canvas to finished booth from 2010.
Finally – check out this 11 minute video that talks about the show and gives a trend tease that was created last year by the SURTEX show itself.
Hopefully that gives you a little more of a feel for the show and the process. If you will be in New York in May and want to learn more, SURTEX has a great conference program where you can learn from a variety of industry experts over the 3 day period. I’ll be teach the Basics of Art Licensing part 2 on Sunday with agent Alicia Dauber of Licensing Liason – maybe I’ll see you there! Check out the class options…
Back to getting my booth and art ready – it will be here before I know it!
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
Art Licensing Ask Call replay sale price ends Saturday, March 31
Get it while it’s at its lowest price… The Art Licensing Info Ask Call replay – with me & Maria Brophy is on sale for only $20 through this Saturday, March 31st. If you don’t have a copy yet – here is what we talked about in the hour long mp3 audio replay:
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!
FAQ: What is the difference between selling your art, licensing your art or doing a flat fee license?
Lingo, lingo everywhere! Many artists (I was one!) get rather confused about what some of the terms used in art licensing really means. It is really important to understand the difference between selling your art vs licensing it for a flat fee vs traditional royalty based licensing. Let’s look at all three…
>> Selling your art.
This is not licensing. If you are a “selling artist”, you are selling your art outright to a manufacturer. For a set amount of money, the manufacturer buys the art and all copyrights associated with it. Some manufacturers and industries will only buy art. They want to pay up front for a design and walk away with it — all copyrights included. Then they can take it, tear it apart, change colors, put anyone’s name on it, etc. It becomes theirs completely, you as the artist create something new. You can not use the piece of art in any other way or version, you start over.
So that is “selling your art”. Many artists like this format. They create, they get paid, they move on.
>> Licensing your art.
Licensing your art means you retain the copyrights and control of our art. You “license” the rights to manufacturers, through written contracts, to use your art on their products for a certain period of time. The goal is to license the rights to the same art to many manufacturers so you can earn a nice living.
Traditionally, licensing contracts are based on royalties so artists are paid based on sales. That means you wait, sometimes 12-18 months to be paid, but you share in the risk and reward of the product. If the product does well, you should make a lot more in royalties than you would be paid if you simply sold a design. If it doesn’t do well, you may make less.
“Licensing your art” means you can use your art more than once, you retain the copyrights and you have to wait a little longer to see the money. But once you get projects in the pipeline, you can earn a nice income.
Here’s a video I did about pie that illustrates the differences between selling and licensing your art…
>> Flat fee licensing.
Taking a “flat fee” is often confused with selling but it isn’t. To my way of looking at it, flat fee licensing is like a hybrid car – it has some things in common with selling art and some things in common with licensing. The contract is like a licensing agreement (products the art will go on, time frame for the usage, you retain copyright) but instead of a royalty percentage, you both agree to a set fee. The key difference between this and selling your art is that you still maintain the rights to use the art in other areas, you have simply agreed to an amount of money you make up front.
I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion – here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
P.S. You will notice there is a lot of talk about contracts in the licensing explanations – it is very important that you understand how they work and what they mean to your business and art if you go into art licensing. To learn more, check out the eBook How to Understand Art Licensing Contracts.
Know your strengths…
During last week’s Art Licensing Info Ask Call, one of the questions was about how to stay motivated without a boss to answer to. This led me to mention a great book that I think everyone should get – Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath.
Strengths Finder 2.0* is based on over 40 years of Gallup poll research and helps people discover and describe their five core talents. When you buy a copy of the book, you also get to take the online survey that gives you your core talents. It isn’t as simple as it may seem – when you look at the list of 34 common talents, what you think are your 5 core talents might be slightly different that what comes up from the survey.
I found this to be a really interesting exercise. Not only can you learn about yourself and how to structure your work and life to be a great fit for your personality, but you can also use the information to help you understand how to best work with others. If you have employees, this could be a valuable tool to use – get each person a copy and look at the suggestions for how to manage people based on their talents and not based on your perspective of the world. Take it a step further and have your family each do the survey (you do have to get a book for each person to do this but they are only $14.49 each on Amazon*) so you can better understand how to keep everyone happy in the family dynamic.
Each talent – or Theme – is described in the book. It then gives ideas for action for those with that as a core talent as well as ideas for working with those who have that talent. Does it sound a little confusing? It really isn’t.
Let’s look at me and my 5 themes as an example.
My five core talents came out to be Achiever, Learner, Relator, Responsibility and Strategic. These don’t surprise me but I was having a hard time narrowing down to five when give the list of 34.
Now let’s look at what Relator means, what it means to me and what it would mean to anyone working with me.
What it is: “Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships. In simple terms, the Relator theme pulls you toward people you already know.” It goes on to say Relators like intimate relationships and really want to understand how others tick. Relators enjoy being with close friends.
- Is this accurate? Absolutely! I’ve recently discovered that I’m an “extroverted introvert” – meaning, I can put myself out there but it isn’t what I absolutely love. I’ve always had a few close friends and enjoy small groups much more than large gatherings. I’m not a person who can be around people and on the go all day every day – it can be draining! (By the end of each day at SURTEX I just want to go relax in my hotel with my sister!) I need a lot of alone time and yes – I love to really understand people!
Some of the ideas for action: They recommend a work environment where friendships are encouraged and that isn’t overly formal. Let people know you care more about a person’s character than their title and that is how you prefer to be seen as well. Be careful not to open up too quickly to new people until you see the openness from them as well – not everyone wants the same level of connection.
- So how does this sound to me… again, quite accurate. I like to work with people I trust and like and like the freedom to be creative so less structure is better. The most miserable I ever was was reading a script doing telemarketing and filling out reports… so boring! I’ve also been burned more than once by opening up too quickly with others…
Working with Relators: Relators are very loyal, place a high value on trust and will want to know where they stand with you. Relators enjoy genuine bonds and will take the time to build them.
- All true.
Understanding these things about yourself will help you in your life, your relationships and your business. I have a lot of core themes that are ideal for being in business for myself and that would make me much less happy in a big corporate environment. My fiancé is the opposite – he says he loves having somewhere to go and somewhere to leave – he works hard at work but doesn’t think he’d have the long-term motivation to work from home, let alone for himself. These are good things to know when deciding what to do with your life!
If you require more direction, structure and accountability, you might be happier in the art licensing industry if you work with an agent. If you love your independence and are very self motivated, create and represent yourself.
To sum it up, I highly recommend everyone get a copy of Strengths Finder 2.0*. You will learn something that will help you live a happy and fulfilled life.
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
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!
The Art Licensing Ask Call is tomorrow – will you join us?
Maria Brophy and I will be doing our third Ask Call together tomorrow night – the feedback from past calls where we both give our unique perspectives on questions submitted by artists like you has been great. We love doing the calls together so we sure hope you join us!
If you have signed up for an Ask Call before, you should receive or have received an email reminding you of all the dial-in details. If not, head to www.AskTaraReed.com to get signed up and get the numbers. We start promptly at 5:30 pm Pacific / 7:30 pm Central / 8:30 pm Eastern.
We hope you can join us tomorrow! If you can’t, the audio replay will be available for purchase – watch your email or the blog to see when it is ready.
Here’s to your creative success!
– Tara Reed
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