Video Licensing Shockers
You’ve worked on a few exhibitions, doing image rights licensing. They went fine. You’re feeling good.
Your next project will license video footage as well. But hey, video licensing must be similar to photo licensing, right?
Uh.
No.
Unlike still images, video footage usually has many different rights holders for the same clip. And you’ll have to contact and pay each of them. Separately. (Yep, you heard that right.)
For example, here’s a very normal-looking list:
- the movie studio
- the on-screen talent (actors)
- the music composer
- the rights holders of artworks in the video
Not shocking enough? Here’s more:
- Simply finding a video online doesn’t mean it’s free to use.
- Museums aren’t protected by “fair use” just because they’re educational.
Licensing fees vary widely, from a few hundred dollars for archival clips to several thousand for commercial footage or music. But on average, it’s waaay more than still image licensing fees.
Using only public domain footage would make things much easier, sure. So would making your own footage. But those strategies very often don’t apply.
Here’s the thing:
If you’ve done still image licensing before, and you assume video footage licensing is similar, you might be in for a shock. Learn as much as you can, consider hiring a specialist, and prepare for things to get a little complicated.
Warmly,
Jonathan
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MtM Word of the Day:
Fair use. Legal doctrine allowing limited, brief use of copyrighted material without permission for lectures, editorial commentaries, or research papers. Museums sometimes invoke fair use for images or media shown in exhibitions, if used in an educational, non-commercial way. However, this can be a legal grey area, so lawyers often advise museums against attempting it.
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Alert! Complimentary Membership Offer
The SEGD Museum Exhibition Professional Practice Group, or ME-PPG, has a pretty hard-to-beat offer, while supplies last:
If you work for a nonprofit museum and need support to join, SEGD has a limited number of grants available to cover a complimentary membership —apply here.
Not ready to commit? Find out more about the SEGD PPG for Museum Exhibition.
