Billie Eilish under fire for free labour fan art contest

[Teletubby 116,583]

Billie Eilish has come under fire for running a “free labor” fan art competition, the winner of which will be turned into a piece of official merchandise.

The Bad Guy singer has been slammed by professional artists on Twitter after she announced the “Make the Merch” competition in collaboration with Adobe. The artists called the competition exploitative.

While unpopular with the professional artists who spoke out against it, the competition is offering a $10,000 prize for the winner and $1,000 for the runner-up, as well as concert tickets and Adobe products, winners will have no right to own or distribute their winning art the website says.

source

 

https://makethemerch.prizelogic.com/

 

[Thomas P 18,375]

Damn, does this mean no fans own the right to their digital art they created for Gaga a while back? That really sucks, they look crazy complex and like a lot of effort was put in. 

[Chesescake 3,380]

Adobe and Billie why

[Damon 10,895]

i'm glad this situation is getting visibility, artists do this a lot and it really is a shïtty thing to do like you're a millionaire c'mon it won't hurt your wallet to pay them

[Fanta 5,019]

Celebrities need a reality check sometimes. Even the 'down to earth' ones can be so far removed from what the everyday person experience is. Thousands of fans will be participating and getting nothing.

I'm looking at Gaga as well. Little Monsters are some of the (if not the) most talented fans. I have seen some stunning artwork over the last decade, and I vividly recall Gaga hosting the exact same 'contest' recently.

The game I'm currently playing got called out for the same issue, and they've been hosting multiple contests recently with more winners that receive $ and in-game rewards as well as shout outs on all their official platforms. They also routinely credit and promote community artists on social media.

There are many ways to uplift artists online without scamming them or using them for free labor. This is embarrassing and kinda trashy ngl.

[TheSlash 14,539]

I believe she did this with good intentions but damn, these contests in general are just so shady and exploitative  . But I think and hope most of the legal stuff is on Adobe's and the label's side and not much her decision  .

[MadreMonster 2,584]

26 minutes ago, Thomas P said:

Damn, does this mean no fans own the right to their digital art they created for Gaga a while back? That really sucks, they look crazy complex and like a lot of effort was put in. 

100%

[myluis617 5,200]

15 minutes ago, TheSlash said:

I believe she did this with good intentions but damn, these contests in general are just so shady and exploitative  . But I think and hope most of the legal stuff is on Adobe's and the label's side and not much her decision  .

Yeah tbh i dont think she knew about it I think she would be caught by surprise if she knew what was actually being done with the contestants art.

[Togekiss 1,730]

47 minutes ago, Thomas P said:

Damn, does this mean no fans own the right to their digital art they created for Gaga a while back? That really sucks, they look crazy complex and like a lot of effort was put in. 

I’m sure, but Gaga’s not slapping that art on a $10 dollar tee and selling it for $65 unless I’m missing something

[Anderson123 30,821]

I don't think Billie is the one that should get the blame for that, probably didn't even know. The label and Adobe are the ones that come up with these things and such a shame that Billie is "under fire" for it. Like articles just keep and keep trying to write bad stuff about her all this time.

[NATAH 31,173]

yeah these competitions are shadey but i doubt billie or gaga know why

[Kimmo 76,574]

We been knew… artist do this so they can afford their mansion and luxurious life…

I mean you know the rules is up to you to decide if you want to compete or not.. 

In one hand you get exposure for your work so there’s that as well… 

Is like if I’m applying for a job and they tell me I can only get paid in prizes and I won’t own my work, the company will… then I take the job and complain for the way I’m getting “paid”… 

Just don’t compete and let her flop or teach them a lesson or compete and STFU!!!! 

[Lovelife 456]

yikes! what happened to the AdobeXGaga competition awhile ago? 

[andy232000 9,122]

I dont know if I understood 100% correctly, but how is this different from the way designing for any company works? 

The contract states that every entry has to renounce to their rights if they are picked as the grand prize. I think the section highlighted in green is creating confusion, making it seem like ALL entries belong to Billie. But just before it, it states that each entrant (unless the grand prize winner) retains ownership. So I think its just a ways of saying that if you win, you have to agree to all those things, but ONLY if you win. 
 

if thats the case, then the winner would get payed $10,000 in exchange for art and rights of distribution. Idk it doesnt seem that bad considering that most designer create logos for other companies everyday and end up selling them too. At the end of the day the logo belongs to the company who is paying for it. Also, if you participate in this contest you are also responsible for knowing the rules 

Now, if I misunderstood this and in reality Billie IS in fact getting rights to ALL entries, then yes all of this is ****ed up. But I have my doubts regarding the people who slammed this have painted it to the public

 

EDIT: Apparently that whole section is made to be confusing and it IS shady as hell. If you do not win, you can still use and own your artwork BUT Billie can use it too and modify it at will without you getting money for it. Id you win, you get the grand prize but cannot use your artwork anymore

[LaLa 18,520]

I mean, literally at this minute I'm wearing one of the fan-designed Born This Way contest t-shirts  I think the fans that won that contest (3 designs, right?) got waaay less than $10,000 

I do agree that these things can be exploitative though. Anyone who enters really needs to make sure they're okay with the terms