2015 Articles

Nobody Can Compete With Free

Shaftel, Lisa

My heartfelt thanks to June M. Besek for organizing this Symposium at the Kernochan Center, and inviting me to participate on a panel as a representative of graphic artists. Usually the people who are invited to speak on panels or testify at hearings are aggregators or distributors of copyrighted works (publishers, production companies, stock image companies, etc.), IP attorneys representing large trade associations of corporate rights holders and law professors. Rarely are working professional artists invited to explain what we do in the marketplace and how we work with our clients. I am honored and very grateful for this opportunity, as well as the opportunity to write for the Journal.

June prepared those of us she invited on her panel by giving us some questions to discuss. In addition to our shared time at the Symposium, she suggested that we could write more for the Journal. There is so much more that I’d like to elaborate on for her first question to us:

“What is it like to earn a living in the current environment (obstacles and advantages, whether it’s harder or easier than when you got into your field, etc.)?”