The Typecast: Grow Your Art Business

Art Licensing: Our Favorite Secret Income Stream for Artists & Designers | The Typecast Episode 9

08.22.2023 - By Katie Johnson and Ilana Griffo of GoodtypePlay

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In this episode, Katie and Ilana discuss art licensing and how artists can license their work for products like greeting cards, apparel, and home goods. They talk about how licensing differs from freelancing, how royalties work, tips for building a licensing portfolio, and the pros and cons of working with an art licensing agent. While licensing can be a lucrative income stream, it requires patience and persistence as the process from creating artwork to seeing it on products takes a long time. They demystify the licensing industry and help more artists tap into this powerful (and potentially passive) income stream.Here's what you'll discover in this episode:• What licensing means, and how you can get paid to rent or sell a license to your work• What it means to be paid in royalties, and how to weigh the risk and reward.• How having an art licensing agent can help manage contracts and outreach — helping artists land or manage their opportunities• Thinking about the context and products where the artwork could fit well, like greeting cards, fabrics, home goods, etc. — considering scale, colors, and themes• How trend shopping and looking at what's already selling can help in identifying themes and prompts to create new artwork for licensing (and putting your own spin on them!)• The importance of contracts and licensing terms to understand the scope of how clients can use the artwork• Why licensing requires a ton of patience (it’s a slow game!) and why it’s worth it for artistsMentioned in the episode: AstropadFree Training: Three steps to turn your art into Passive Income with Art LicensingConnect with Katie & Ilana from Goodtype • Goodtype Website • Goodtype on Instagram • Goodtype on Youtube • Join the Good Guild Love The Typecast and free stuff? Leave a review, and send a screenshot of it to us on Slack. Each month we pick a random reviewer to win a Goodtype Goodie! Goodies include merch, courses and Kernference tickets!• Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts • Subscribe to the show• Tag us on Instagram @Goodtype• Follow us on Tiktok @lovegoodtype• Keep the conversation going on Slack• Learn from Katie and IlanaGrab your tea, coffee, or drink of choice, kick back, and let's get down to business!

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