DC Comics announces new creator payment plan, gives colorists cover credit and royalties
Creator rights are an ongoing issue in the comic-book industry, and DC Comics took big steps today to make it a more lucrative destination for work-for-hire talent. Comic Book Resources has posted an e-mail sent to freelance creators from DC co-publishers Dan Didio and Jim Lee, detailing a new payment plan that previews some considerable changes coming on July 1—starting with a new method of determining royalties based on net revenue, rather than cover price. Print and digital sales are now added together, and that sum counts toward reaching the threshold that triggers royalty, or “participation,” payments. There are also no longer separate thresholds for direct market, digital, and newsstand sales, making it easier for creators to reach the sales required for further financial gain.
DC has recently come under fire for its treatment of colorists, and this new payment plan sees the publisher remedying its past mistakes by finally granting “Color Artists” cover credit and royalties for their work. Digital First talent will also be eligible to “receive additional compensation and share financially in the success of their books.” These are the kinds of moves DC needs to make if it is going to secure the strongest talent, and hopefully this financial restructuring will reap creative rewards.
Didio and Lee’s full e-mail:
We have news to share regarding a project we have been working on for some time. We will be rolling out a new, modernized participations payment plan effective July 1, 2014.
DCE’s current participation plan dates back over 30 years and was created for a simpler and very different marketplace. The current plan no longer reflects today’s business landscape where comics are sold in a variety of formats and through a myriad of sales channels. Ultimately we made the decision that the best path forward was to create an entirely new plan that covers new work going forward. Great care and consideration went into building this new participations structure and we feel that it provides both us and all of you with a fair, competitive, and versatile plan for the future.
There are a few significant differences between this new plan and what DCE has offered in the past. Perhaps the biggest difference is that all participations will now be calculated based upon DCE’s net revenue from a book’s sale rather than on the cover price. This change gives us more flexibility to sell our material in new distribution channels that have different pricing models.
In addition, physical and digital sales will no longer be treated separately. Digital sales will now be added to print sales and the sum will count towards achieving the sales threshold which triggers participation payments.
We’ve also standardized sales thresholds for all periodicals. There are no longer separate thresholds and percentages by channel (direct market vs. digital vs. newsstand). We’ve also added a threshold for collected editions. The new thresholds and percentages are designed to generously reward high sales performance.
We are pleased to announce the very welcome addition of Color Artists to the participations pool. Color Artists will receive moving forward cover credit for their work alongside Writers, Pencilers and Inkers. In addition, Digital First talent will now be eligible to receive additional compensation and share financially in the success of their books.
In addition, DCE is modernizing our systems for both reporting participations and making payments. Beginning July 1st, all reporting under the new structure will be sent electronically. Also, those of you who live in the United States will now be able to receive your payments via direct deposit. Information on how to sign up for direct deposit payments will be sent to you shortly from the Talent Relations department. International talent will continue to receive payment via wire. We’re very happy to offer these upgrades, which will result in getting paid faster.
And last, beginning on July 1st, DCE will begin transitioning to the use of electronic serviceagreements. The work-for-hire service agreements that historically have been transacted on paper will now be handled electronically and sent to and from your editor via email. We are confident this will make the process quicker and more efficient for everyone.
We recognize this is a lot of information to take in, and we anticipate you may have questions. The DCE Talent Relations team is well-informed in the new participations plan and looks forward to discussing with you any inquiry you may have. Feel free to reach out to the team at [email protected].
DCE is committed to being the publisher of choice for top talent in the industry and to further strengthening our relationship with our talent ensuring that together we continue to create the comics we can all be proud of. Thank you and we look forward to working with you throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Dan & Jim
DC Entertainment Co-Publishers