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Licensing stock footage
Dear Cows, I hope someone can advise me a little on this!
I was recently contacted by a German production company regarding a film of mine that is on Youtube. The company is producing a ‘journal’ which requires a few shots of a particular location which is featured in my film. They’ve asked to license some of my footage and have asked a price.
I originally understood it as being some kind of single broadcast news program so quoted them what I thought was an appropriate but modest amount. Having looked into it I now realise it’s more of an entertainment / magazine style show and will have multiple broadcasts.
They’ve responded asking me to invoice them for the original amount and to send paperwork detailing the rights I am licensing them. I was just seeking some advice as to how I might go about charging a higher fee and what might be a realistic / appropriate fee! The footage isn’t particularly astounding but there is very little of it online, they’ve also told me that some of my footage has been ripped off Youtube and is already in their first cut!
Any tips Cowsters?
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1 Reply
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Don’t hold out for too much: it is better to get them on-board, paying affordable installments, than working out how to evade paying you. Once they have that unique access to the rights, they are going to help you defend that unique footage, in their own best interest.
It’s better to work with a customer like that as a team. Put in a clause that says all the rights revert back to you in a year, but they get first option to renew, at a discount. Make the cost significantly less than hiring someone to go out and replicate the shots.
Main point: instead of trying to win a big lottery payday from this footage for a one-time deal, instead, make a steady stream of revenue trickle from it over a longer period of time, and use it to leverage more work.
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