Animal Planet wants to license my video
 

Does anyone have an idea of how much I should charge Animal Planet to license a video I took while on vacation. They contacted me and want to use it for one of their shows. I have it posted on You Tube. I had no idea I would be asked to license it.

YouTube - Bear breaks in car at clingmans dome, smoky mountains, TN

I need some help quick on this. They are acting quick on this licensing.
Thanks Rich

Have they already sent you a standard agreement yet?

I can tell you that Hollywood is full of maggots with the mentality that they should get the material for free and you should just be happy to have your material seen. A standard offer is a free DVD and t-shirts or similar. And if you don't like it, they will move on to the next sucker.

However, I could be totally wrong.

If they are actually asking for how much compensation you want for full unrestricted rights given to them, I would ask for something reasonably low if you want them to use it. Ask for $500USD, maybe you will get $200USD a t-shirt and a DVD.

Comeon - we are talking broadcast here people. Animal Planet will not go buy footage from youtube's compressed flash format. Pertaining to the question, call up Corbis or Getty images, say you want to buy stock footage for Animal Planet. The dollar amount they give you is what you forward to them. Also heighten the fact that your master looks tons better than the youtube version. It is too bad about the date burn-in though. That will lessen the clip's value.

-C

I am sure youtube has all the full quality versions of the footage from the original uploads. Thats probably how when they changed formats a while back most videos gained quality. They do own the video now, and they are going to want to make money off of it if somebody is interested.

I agree, good sound advice on the Corbis or Getty images prices.

Sounds like a good reason to watermark any material before uploading it onto YouTube.

- Martin

Generally when you upload to youtube, it's a reduced-size, heavily-compressed file which would look like a poorly-animated mosaic on broadcast TV.

Martin

Rich, Just to clear up a few things here.

1. As someone who sells stock footage I recommend you charge them a standard per second rate. Those rates can run anywhere from $30-$100/sec depending upon rarity and quality of the footage. From the looks of your footage (even though it's compressed) and because it has the date and time burned in your rate will probably be at the lower end of the above range.

2. They will want the original footage or as close to it as they can get. If it's VHS have a professional dub house make a copy to miniDV or DVCAM. If it's on DV make an exact Firewire dub onto another DV camera/deck. Do NOT send them the original. I also require payment up front before I deliver footage.

3. YouTube does NOT own your footage or get a share of your sales and has no rights to any sales you might make. YouTube owns their website and it's design but not your content.

Finally, the production company is always in a hurry because they work on tight deadlines and their deadline real or imagined is a way to pressure you to make a quick sale without thinking. Also, please check the profiles of people who give answers on this site then you'll know who to listen to.

Thanks for the replies guys. I was contacted by thier licensing person before i got a chance to read these replies. They offerred $500 and I accepted. For what this video is, I'm very happy with that amount. They will be emailing me a contract agreement for me to sign. If I would have had a better composed video maybe I would of asked for more. It will be interresting to see what they can do with it to improve the quality. The show it's for is Untamed and Uncut.
Rich

Good news Rick!

That helps to pay for the next "vacationers in peril" episode ;-)

Look at paragraph 10 of the YouTube Terms of Use for what usage rights you license to YouTube (/Google). I would post a snippet, but the site won't let me display the English version (just Dutch thank you) even though it mentions that any translations from English are not legally valid. Nice.

In short, you license them to distribute everything you upload and allow them to sub-license and create derivative works. On that basis you can ask YouTube for a license to use any video uploaded to them and the creator/copyright owner would get none of the proceeds.

This is a bit of a sidestep from the orginal post, so if more discussion is nessesary I suggest we create a new thread (or maybe there already is one).

George/

YouTube Theft
 

George - thanks! Missed that one in my original read. The English version reads;
6. Your User Submissions and Conduct
C. For clarity, you retain all of your ownership rights in your User Submissions. However, by submitting User Submissions to YouTube, you hereby grant YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the User Submissions in connection with the YouTube Website and YouTube's (and its successors' and affiliates') business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the YouTube Website (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels. You also hereby grant each user of the YouTube Website a non-exclusive license to access your User Submissions through the Website, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such User Submissions as permitted through the functionality of the Website and under these Terms of Service. The above licenses granted by you in User Videos terminate within a commercially reasonable time after you remove or delete your User Videos from the YouTube Service. You understand and agree, however, that YouTube may retain, but not display, distribute, or perform, server copies of User Submissions that have been removed or deleted. The above licenses granted by you in User Comments are perpetual and irrevocable."

Expletive here! I agree it's time for a new thread and time to remove some content from the thieves at YouTube.

It's not about the money...
 

You should decide if you want any info burned in over the footage you give them.

The clip will probably get broadcast over and over, in a few years time, what they paid you will end up working out to a buck a play. However, if they would agree to burn in your website address or your name during the clip and credit you or your company at the end of the show, that can end up being far more valuable.

If it were me, the 500 dollar price would be the "courtesy" price as long as they burn in a credit over part of the clip (I think 4 seconds for the credit to appear is considered the standard minimum length) of my choosing.

If it were me and they didn't want to burn in your credit over the clip, I would want (and probably not get, at least 10 times that amount, aka $ 5,000).

lol, you should tell them it's 5,000 dollars with no credit, or 500 dollars with a credit. If they go for it, pick your credit wisely. If they don't agree to give you credit, they are being jerks.

The other issue is even if they do you give a credit on this show, what if the clean master gets borrowed by the same producer for an entirely different show. What if they turn around and sell it to McDonalds for a commercial 25 grand! You'd be upset, wouldn't you?

Ideally, you should put a credit burn in and give them the clip with the burn in already in.
I would not ambush them (surprise them), tell them up front that you prefer to give it to them with a four second credit burn in.

However, if you do this, be very careful to not put the burn in at 100 I.R.E. Put the credit luminance at 60-70 IRE level max so that way if the show has to boost or reduce the level they won't have to deal with too hot luminance.

Let's get back on topic and leave the Youtube legal discussion for a different thread.