Paid Licensing Explained

Content “Commissions” | Stock Photo & Video Payouts

a.k.a.

HOW YOU (WE) WILL MAKE MONEY

“Licensing” can be a pretty scary word in general because it implies all kinds of legal agreements that you may or may not understand much less want to dive into. . .

So I’m not going to bore you with all the sordid details about why Commercial Content Licensing is a standard industry practice - you can just read about that here: COMMERCIAL LICENSING EXPLAINED

But if you want to learn how to earn passive income from the content we create, I’ll explain more below.

First, watch this easy-to-understand video that does a much better job of ‘splaining licensing than I do!

“So how can we collaborate to make money?”

Simple: You sign my Universal Model Release before or after our shoot and I do all the work to generate passive income for both of us.

How do I plan to do that? Submitting. Lots of submitting. Stock sites, agencies, royalty free archives, digital commercial content dumpsters…

It’s a S#!T-TON of work. And it’s really not fun. At all.

Those Third Party businesses then find “Customers” - brands, other companies, websites etc. - that need or want the images we’ve created to market or advertise products and services. They then pay those distribution outlets licensing fees to use the images or videos for a period of time. We get a cut of that paid licensing deal. And you’ll make 10% commission on that.

But if you don’t sign my Universal Model Release, I can’t use the images or videos we create together to earn a penny for either of us.

“What do you need from me?”

Once you’ve signed your Universal Model Release, I may need to “borrow” your signature to submit to a large volume of Stock sites and agencies. In other words, I need you to allow me to submit content on your behalf.

One of the big sites I use to submit to other popular stock sites is called BlackBox.

BlackBox is a revolutionary new site that was created by Content Creators for Content Creators. Essentially it’s a magic pot you put all your pretty pictures into and poof, out pops millions of shiny new pennies!

I’m kidding actually - millions of pennies is crazy-talk. Who would even want that many pennies?

Anyway, point is, BlackBox sends all the stuff to many of the top sites and then re-distributes the earnings back to the Creator.

Multiply that process by hundreds of times and that is the work I’m doing behind the scenes to incentivize you to sign my Universal Model Release.

“What is a Commercial Licensing Fee worth?”

There is no “one-size-fits-all” fee for licensing. It depends on a boatload factors ranging from use-in-commerce, to foreign vs. domestic distribution and projected profits vs advertising spend. In other words, don’t bother asking. Your brain will literally explode.

Bottom line is, all you need to do is sign the Universal Model Release. And that document stipulates that you get 10% of the sale - whatever that number happens to be.

And you should consider yourself lucky because most photographers just want you to sign off all Rights and then never pay you any of the royalties they receive! Not even a dime. True story.

“Okay, so how much is my 10% commission?”

In all transparency, maybe a few cents. Seriously. If we’re lucky.

Remember those jokes I was making earlier about a million pennies - Well, I’d much rather take a stack of those than what I’ve been paid in the past! It would actually be a lot more.

Fact is, there is very little money to be made in Stock Photo Licensing these days. The reason why is because it’s an insanely competitive space and there are a stupid amount of people already doing it.

The only way to do it “well” is to hyper-focus on a super super niche subject like: Tutu-Donning Dogs. Then and only then, you might, if you’re really really lucky, find a specialty area that someone like Coke® wants to pluck out of a haystack of tiny itty bitty photo needles to license for their next Global Ad Campaign. . .

Okay, I lied. That’s not a tutu. That’s a - I don’t know what the heck that is. . . Your guess is as good as mine.

But what it’s not is a can of you know what! Why? Because I don’t have the licensing rights to post or use this brand “in commerce” without their consent!

I did take this awesome photo of the dog though. Name is Spike. That’s not a lie - it actually makes sense, right?! I digress.

Here’s what I usually get paid:

Envato Pty is the legal entity / shell company / “Who Knows What” owned or operated directly or indirectly by a company/website called Twenty20.

Twenty20 specializes in what’s called UGC - or User-Generated Content - aka “Organically Branded” Content that might be useful to brands.

Good thing Spike signed my Universal Model Release because now that “C” bought it, we’re millionaires! Just kidding. The $.95 I made last month from Envato is all the money I made from about 5000 photos I have uploaded with Twenty20.

And if Spike were to get 10% of this sale for agreeing to my Universal Model Release then he just made a whopping $09.5 cents.

Check’s in the mail, bro, I promise. It’ll cost me $.58 cents just to mail it to you, but I’m good for the other $.37 cents! Better use VENMO. That’s at least FREE.

Moral of The Story: Don’t expect much. But if it’s pennies you want, I’ll fill a piggy bank and mail that to you for Christmas!

“What’s this about “borrowing” my signature?”

In my Universal Model Release, you sign off on signing off.

In addition to promising to pay you 10% of the licensing fee, I also request you give me your signature - or a digital copy of it anyway.

I need your signature to submit content. And I know you don’t want to receive HUNDREDS of email requests from me or any of those those companies asking you to fill out forms and digitally sign stuff.

So, Circle of Trust: You give me a copy of your signature, I am legally bound to ONLY use it for Stock Photo / Video submissions and nothing else. Then you earn 10% “Commission” on the licensing fee.

Why do you need to give your signature to me? Because I am essentially acting as your Photo Agent. If I owned an agency, I would ask my Lawyer to have you come in to our fancy conference room and have you sign all the fancy forms.

But in this case, our professional relationship is contingent upon mutual respect and ultimately, monetary gain. Not a fancy conference room with free cappuccino.

“What about signature / identity theft?”

In today’s world anything digital can and probably will get stolen. There are a lot of ways to protect yourself because identity theft is a real thing. And I take it very seriously.

I also take paying my rent and putting food on the table seriously too. Because I like to eat dinner and go to bed at night in a real bed instead of somewhere on the street.

So if you’re suing my pants off for alleged “Identity Theft,” “Defamation” or “Breach of Contract” then I will look super funny running around begging for handouts with no pants on!

Plus, here - I’ll trade you - you take mine and I’ll take yours… I promise not to submit your signature anywhere I wouldn’t submit my own.

“Does all this really work?”

Yes. It’s like magic. And yes, all this really works. Sometimes. It’s a numbers game. The more you submit, the better your chances of success.

But you make so little money - how could it possibly be worth the effort? Because if we don’t try, we’ll make ZERO.

Just ask my buddy, G. Brad Lewis who literally bought multiple houses and put his kids through college by licensing ONE single photograph - thousands of times.

Go ahead, Google “Brad Lewis Volcanoman” right now…

These days, Brad literally bounces back and forth between surfing in Hawai’i and skiing in Park City, Utah based on the passive income of his licensed photos. And he’s more than happy to tell you just how stoked he is about his awesome life!

Brad made his career when he snapped the famous “heart-shaped” lava-fart way back in the 80’s. Not. Planned. Or. Photoshopped. At. All. #nofilter #luckybastard

At the time, it was a real “wild” shot - so wild that National Geographic licensed it and slapped it on the cover.

Yup. From that day henceforth, The Universe decreed that Brad was to be known worldwide as “The Lavaman” and he went on to license his image to hundreds of outlets from stock agencies, magazines, card-makers, t-shirt companies etc. Definitely licensed it for Grandma’s coffee mug too.

It’s a truly wild story!

Here’s a photo I took of some ancient volcanic rocks that “swam” their way across a mud flat in Death Valley. How many houses in Hawai’i is this shot worth??? Wait - *is that a heart in the middle of the left one?*

Now, you may be thinking, if Brad made a fortune off ONE photo, how hard could it really be?

Instead, just ask yourself:

Did brad have a 4K cell phone back in the 80’s?

Was there Social Media back in the 80’s?

How often should one literally risk one’s life to capture cool photos?

And is all that worth a lifetime of payouts?

That’s your answer. It’s insanely hard to make any kind of consistent living on “Content Creation” these days because literally everybody with a cell phone thinks he’s a “Photographer.” But he is not Brad Lewis! So imagine how hard it is to actually make a living trying to be like Brad Lewis…

That’s exactly why I need YOUR help :) So help a starving artist out - please sign my Universal Model Release.