Survey points to value of retaining copyright and reduced photographers incomes

British Photographic Council Industry Survey shows true value of creators’ copyright. Retaining copyright could be one of the best business decisions that freelance or selfemployed photographers make, according to new research from the British Photographic Council.

The survey was completed by 1,698 photographers working in the UK market who were asked about themselves, their views on copyright, their income and the threats to their businesses. The results, published for the first time today, show those freelance photographers who keep their copyright earn on average 33.2% more than those who routinely give their copyright to clients.

British Photographic Council chair John Toner said: “Copyright is not only the cornerstone of the creative industries, it is the foundation stone of creativity. Without it, creators would find it impossible to survive.” Freelancers who said they retained their copyright reported an average profit of £19,272, compared to £14,471 for those who said that they gave it away by default. The survey showed nine out of ten freelance photographers keep their copyright rather than assigning it to their clients – despite almost three-quarters saying that they had encountered clients in 2009 who wrongly believed copyright belonged to whoever commissioned the photography.

During 2009, 71% of freelance respondents said they had been asked to give copyright to their clients, and 62% said they were pressured to give clients a more extensive licence for no increase in the fee. Three out of every five photographers said they knew of instances where their copyright had been infringed in the previous three years, costing them on average just over £3,600 each. But only 30% of these photographers pursued all known infringements, with most citing difficulties in bring legal cases for copyright infringements. Overall, 82% of photographers said their businesses would benefit from a quicker and easier legal redress for copyright infringements.

Just over half of photographers said their businesses would be adversely affected by any ‘orphan works’ legislation – the controversial proposals which would allow photographs to be published without the copyright holder’s permission if the copyright owner could not be identified or traced. An attempt to introduce such legislation in the UK was defeated in the last days of the previous government. Half of photographers said that current laws affecting photography in public places were a threat to their business, with 82% saying their businesses would be adversely affected by similar additional legislation. The results show a predominantly male industry, with fewer than one in five photographers being female. 91% of professional photographers who responded were freelance, with staff photographers earning significantly more than their freelance colleagues.

The average salary for a staff photographer was £34,535 – 83% higher than the equivalent average profit for a self-employed photographer of £18,821. 41% of staff photographers were paid between £20,000 and £30,000, compared to just 15% of freelances. Only 19% of freelance photographers made a profit of £30,000 or above, compared to 35% of staff photographers with an equivalent salary. 61% of photographers surveyed said that photography was their sole source of earned income, with almost one in five professionals saying that photography was not their main source of income. Only a third of respondents said they had spent 91% or more of their working life as a photographer.

The survey showed photographers’ career paths to be less regimented, with only half having industry qualifications, and many entering the industry in middle age. Two out of every five photographers are educated to at least degree level – but those with an undergraduate degree were twice as likely to have it in a subject other than photography. While 73% of respondents said they thought formal photography qualifications were “essential, valuable or useful”, only 5% considered formal qualifications to be “essential” for working in the industry. Those respondents without photography qualifications are less likely to consider those qualifications to be “useful” or “valuable”.

“We believe the findings of this survey are crucial for anyone seeking to understand the photography industry in this country”, said British Photographic Council chair John Toner. “Photography is important to the cultural life of our citizens, and legislators would ignore these findings at their peril.”

Picture: www.sxc.hu | Marcin-Rybarczyk