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posted by janrinok on Friday August 05 2022, @11:52AM   Printer-friendly
from the has-anyone-seen-my-face? dept.

Who owns the rights to your face?:

Last year, I received an Instagram DM from someone I was friends with in college. It had been a couple years since we'd caught up: We lived in different cities, had pursued different careers and, of course, the pandemic had brought any plans of hanging out again to a standstill. I was surprised to see her name pop up on my screen but even more so by the contents of her message.

It was my face. Specifically, it was me in a sponsored Instagram Story ad, putting on a lip balm. In the video, I applied the balm and smiled at the camera, looking pleased with my newly moisturized lips. In real life, I was confused. I had never agreed to appear in a nationwide social campaign, otherwise my checking account would have a couple more zeroes to show for it. I worked in the media industry then, sourcing the right influencers to participate in sponsored articles. I've spent years casting with talent, negotiating contracts to ensure fair compensation and modest usage rights for influencers, models, and real people. Based on my experience, it was clear that my image was being exploited by a multibillion dollar brand.

Usage rights dictate who owns an image or asset, exactly how, where it's allowed to appear, and for how long: A video is pricier than a photo, one month costs more than one year, and you'd charge a global brand much more than what you'd charge a growing business. Depending on the talent, the scale of the client, and the length of the campaign, standard licensing of images on social media alone can cost anywhere from $250 to $20,000.

Despite this, anyone who has worked at a media company will tell you that employees are often pressured to serve as a stand-in or supplement to these influencers. However, these campaigns are not a part of the full-time job and likely go uncompensated.

[...] Generally speaking, we hold the copyright to any content we upload to social media platforms. However, when we create our accounts, we agree to grant those platforms a free license to use our content as they wish. Twitter's recent ad campaigns are a perfect example: the everyday thoughts of regular people are what fuel the platform, and the decision to feature those tweets in marketing has been widely applauded. But as a Twitter user myself, spotting my own words on the train ride home would feel great, until I remember that one month of subway ads can cost up to $75,000. But, based on the terms and conditions I agreed to, none of that money has to make its way to me.

Our content is even more valuable to brands, who are slowly narrowing in on the average social media user. Where large companies were once funneling most of their influencer marketing budget into one or two macro influencers with 500,000 followers or more, companies like HelloFresh and Canon are now prioritizing the niche audiences of micro- and nano-creators. Research shows that shoppers find smaller creators "more authentic" and brands have identified those creators as "less costly," making regular people a win-win for boosting sales.


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  • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Friday August 05 2022, @07:22PM (2 children)

    by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 05 2022, @07:22PM (#1265155)
    Well in that case why did this person's job even exist? If, as you say, it is so easy for a company to violate the law, why hire a person to go out and recruit talent, get releases, and, actually pay them when they could just steal their images, Photoshop them, and sell them on to put in ads? Shit, why does any company follow any laws then?
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  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday August 05 2022, @08:03PM (1 child)

    by Thexalon (636) on Friday August 05 2022, @08:03PM (#1265170)

    Shit, why does any company follow any laws then?

    1. The risk of bad PR, which might shrink their customer base.
    2. If they go too far and haven't paid off all of the right people, they might end up having to deal with organized opposition or a government agency.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Friday August 05 2022, @10:10PM

      by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 05 2022, @10:10PM (#1265181)
      You might want to try a slightly larger tinfoil hat my friend. Your current one is a bit too tight.