Companies Are Not Moral.
Mike Sprang airs his bitter disappointment in Platinum's work-for-hire policies here, Joey Manley responds with artful metaphor here.
I still work for Platinum, and Tokyopop for that matter, so I obviously don't think quite like Mike and Joey do. But I think it comes down to one question. The question is: Can you live with losing control of this work?
I long ago decided my answer was "yes," as long as I had other work that remained my own. Now I have some projects like Divalicious of which my creative partners and I have surrendered some or all control, because there are other benefits, financial and creative. (We never could have gotten Diva into bookstores under our own power at that point in our careers and the market.) Others like Penny and Aggie are all ours.
But if your answer is "no," then don't work for hire. Nothing personal against Platinum, or Tokyopop, or Marvel, or any publisher. Companies are not moral.
I still work for Platinum, and Tokyopop for that matter, so I obviously don't think quite like Mike and Joey do. But I think it comes down to one question. The question is: Can you live with losing control of this work?
I long ago decided my answer was "yes," as long as I had other work that remained my own. Now I have some projects like Divalicious of which my creative partners and I have surrendered some or all control, because there are other benefits, financial and creative. (We never could have gotten Diva into bookstores under our own power at that point in our careers and the market.) Others like Penny and Aggie are all ours.
But if your answer is "no," then don't work for hire. Nothing personal against Platinum, or Tokyopop, or Marvel, or any publisher. Companies are not moral.
Labels: Personal, Treecomics, Webcomics
Posted at
8:12 AM
5 Comments:
Business can be harsh sometimes. Especially when you don't know what you're signing or understand it. In that case you need to get a lawyer, or even really smart friends to look over these things for you.
What I've always done is had a list of "HERE'S WHAT I WANT OUT OF THIS" when I sign a deal with anyone. And if the contract doesn't point its way to what I want out of the project, I know its not the project to sign to that contract. Pretty simple stuff.
I think it has to depend on what sort of control you give away. As I understand it, Mike's chief accusation against Platinum was that they were separating him entirely from the work, leaving him no further part in it either creatively or financially. That much control is clearly too much to sign away unless you're happy to regard the characters and concept as a property for sale.
Companies are not moral.
I think they're theoretically classified as "lawful evil".
I have no idea about the nitty-gritty of this case but, the funny thing is, any contract that allows a the more powerful individual, and certainly a company against an individual, more rights than they should have - if it exercises an imbalance of power, it would be torn up in the UK. A rare case where our laws are more inclined toward the individual than in the US. Gitmo apart, of course.
Some thoughtful comments here from people that have been to that contractual for in the road. I think giving up all rights is not right and I routinely forgo business opportunities when I see that in a contract and am not allowed to take my pen and strike it out.
And, yeah, companies are amoral. Anyone see THE CORPORATION documentary?
Post a Comment
<< Home