Commercial rights - how does it work?

[moikchap]

From what I understand, yes.
Judging by Fiverr's ToS, the licensing format for Voice Over is a "perpetual, exclusive, non-transferable, worldwide license" for any channels you buy out. What differs between basic, commercial buy out, and full broadcast buy out is which channels that license encompasses.

[mandyzines]

On 12/20/2022 at 7:15 PM, newsmike said:

This thread demonstrates exactly why VO artists should price themselves high enough to insure that they only work with pro buyers who understand how the business works and expect to pay the usual and standard clearance fees for usage. Life is too short to deal with people that have such strong opinions on topics of which they are absolutely ignorant. Work for peanuts, deal with monkeys. 

If Fiverr's TOS dictate a full buyout then does that create problems for sellers down the road in being able to voice for competitors of clients they've done orders for--"soft exclusivity" I believe it's called? 

[newsmike]

38 minutes ago, mandyzines said:

If Fiverr's TOS dictate a full buyout then does that create problems for sellers down the road in being able to voice for competitors of clients they've done orders for--"soft exclusivity" I believe it's called? 

I am certain that there is a huge difference between a full buy out, which means that there are no additional fees required to keep using the work on an ongoing basis, and a "non compete" clause, which specifies that you won't work for a competitor for a certain period of time. If you simply had a buyout, you could work for Ford on Monday, and Chevy on Tuesday. Client may not be happy, but if they did not ask for and receive a non compete clause, that is on them. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by newsmike

[dkambury]

On 12/20/2022 at 8:43 PM, alexfox559 said:

So, I will ask a question. If I hire a Voiceover person to narrate my YouTube video and I post the video to YT, then I have no right to do that? Can they claim $ made from the video then? If so, that is like owning your car except the right to actually drive it. 

There's a lot of legalese nonsense floating around this thread, but it's really quite simple: on Fiverr, under the system we've all agreed to, Commercial Rights and Broadcast Rights are not included in a VO gig unless either explicitly specified by the seller, or explicitly granted by the seller from your purchase of said rights. It's no more complex than that. You may not like it; you may not think that's fair. You are even welcome to your opinion, but you should know you are setting yourself up for failure.

No, it's not "like owning your car except the right to actually drive it." That's a weak analogy, but let's take it for a spin: it's more like owning your car, but not having a license to drive it because all that "legal stuff" is just the State trying to steal your hard-earned money. You can certainly drive that car all you want, and you may even get away with it. At least for a while. But if you get caught driving that car without a license? No driving for you!

If you choose to ignore all that, post a video on YT without securing the rights, and it is discovered, you would be legally liable in a civil suit. If your YT channel is like most — like mine — and in the bottom 1% of channels, chances are nobody will discover your skulduggery. On the other hand, if your YT channel has millions of viewers, that civil suit would be worth a lot of money, so I guarantee you it would happen, as well as having your video removed, and having a strike against your account.

It's a matter of professionalism. I've found, working with professionals and non-professionals alike, that the pros don't think twice about paying the asking price, or maybe negotiating a better price. What they don't do is chisel. They don't complain about a $50 extra, because it's part of what they're buying. They don't short the word count (yes, people do that), and they don't take offense. Because they are professionals, and they are successful. Amateurs, on the other hand, do chisel. They'll acknowledge they need to pay rights in the requirements, then not include them. They'll under-count the words. They'll avoid any Extras that cost them only $15. They think by stiffing the VO person, they're pulling a clever fast one. These people are not ever going to be successful, because they are acting like they've already failed.

I guess it comes down to value. If you think a VO artist's voice adds value to your channel (and believe me, we do ad value — I've heard some of the cringy self-narrated or AI-narrated content out there), and if you're monetizing your channel, then pay them fairly.

It's funny, talking about fairness. Too many YT creators want VO folks to do a dozen 10-minute videos for $5 each, saying "I'll give you lots of work every month, so it adds up!" So here's some perspective: A single 10-minute VO at $15/100 words (cheap) would cost $225 for the the words alone. 10 minutes = 1500 words. A dozen of those "little" 10-minute videos? $2700. Compare that to the $60 total the YT creator wants to pay, and then they complain about another $50 for rights? That falls under the rubric of "get real," or as my partner like to say, "move on, dot org."

If you want a good working relationship with a VO person, talk with them without copping that "I'll do what I want with your work" attitude. You'll get much further right out of the gate.

Then, understand what you're asking: a bargain basement price for somebody who has invested a good amount of money in the training and professional tools to give you a quality product. It's why you don't ask your cousin Jimmy or ChatAI to do it for you: you know a professional voice adds both value and credence to your video.

Finally, if need be, negotiate with the seller up front to come to an agreement you're both happy with. Whatever you do, make sure that however it's accomplished, that you secure the Commercial and Broadcast Rights. If you're decent to work with, and have a legitimate reason that you can't afford the extra $50, then tell the seller up front. You might get a reduced price. You might even get a freebie. Who knows? The thing is, we don't want to screw you. We want you to be happy you worked with us so you give us a good rating, so you come back for repeat business, or just because we take pride in what we do. But we also don't want to screw ourselves. 

You may wish those rights weren't there as extras; you may even think they're bullshit. It doesn't matter really, because they are there, so either accept it or go talk to Cousin Jimmy. Let's hope he has a mic.

[gwyneth_galvin]

Just caught up on this thread for the first time and wow, the hostility some people have towards sellers, like we are all waiting in the shadows to rip them off, is incredible. I think y'all think we are taking away a much bigger profit from this platform than we actually are 😂

[dinoz9]

Hi Guys

I'm interested in creating a Youtube channel that is narrated (by a voiceover, obviously), narrating famous quotes.

Will I have to purchase Commercial rights if I'm going to use the voice over for the Youtube video?

I just want to know where I stand, in order to understand the situation more thoroughly.

 

Thanks!

[terrygrantvo]

On 7/4/2023 at 6:10 AM, dinoz9 said:

Hi Guys

I'm interested in creating a Youtube channel that is narrated (by a voiceover, obviously), narrating famous quotes.

Will I have to purchase Commercial rights if I'm going to use the voice over for the Youtube video?

I just want to know where I stand, in order to understand the situation more thoroughly.

 

Thanks!

Yes, especially if you plan on monetizing the channel in any way.