Feb 18 2010
If you've read this blog for a fair amount of time or know me or us evern somewhat, you'll know where we stand on spec work. Plainly put, it doesn't fly with us. So when I hear of a musician (of whom I'm a pretty big fan, btw), calling for spec work, my heart breaks a little. In this case, the musician is Ani DiFranco, making it a bit more bitter.
That's right. Ani DiFranco is holding a contest for tour posters (here's a screenshot of the contest page for posterity).
The short version: it's wrong. The long version: keep reading...
Ani DiFranco has been an independent musician since she first began her career in the late 80s and showed it by starting her own record label and thereby snubbing the conglomerates of the recording industry. I don't her whole history nor her core reasons for doing so, other than she wanted to remain true to her work and not get screwed or sell out the way so many do in the music business. Totally legit and I get it. She expects to put out uncensored quality and get paid for it. 100% fair.
Perhaps you can then see the irony behind her contest for posters. Rather than hiring a professional to create them, she's putting out a contest. To quote an article by Robert Wurth on the No!Spec website:
...there exists a trend in the business world whereby companies get it in their heads that it would be a good idea to run a contest for their design work. What they will do is announce that they need, say, a new logo. The intent is for designers to individually spend the time to develop designs and then submit them. The company then goes over the entries and selects a “winner.” Only the winner receives any compensation for the work.
Note that last sentence: "Only the winner receives any compensation for the work." And that's assuming that the contest holder decides to even choose a winner (it's not unheard of for contests to never see a winner). Assuming that a winner is chosen, what about all the other participants who didn't get chosen? What do they get for their efforts? Squat. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
A lot of critics of the no spec movement will say that it's simple, if you don't like it, don't participate. And to that I say, well DUH. That argument is a little like saying you should turn a blind eye if you see someone getting mugged instead of calling the cops. Of course those of us that expect to get compensated on some level for our work won't participate in spec work. But that's not the point. The point is that too many people and businesses especially, continue to practice spec work without much thought for what that means to both the producers of the works and to themselves. Even if we take out what it means for those creating the work, businesses and people should stop and think about what it means for their brand and their bottom lines.
As Wurth continues to explain in his article:
Advertising is a business, and working with a designer is a business relationship. Because of that, there are far more factors at work than just the final product. People will switch doctors because they don’t get along. They will refuse to shop at a certain store (despite really liking the products) because they can’t stand the employees. Conversely, people will go out of their way to do business with someone they like, even if doing so might be inconvenient or even a little more expensive. It is no different with a company’s relationship with its designer.
Choosing an ad or a website design or concert poster based on nothing but seemingly final submissions is missing out on what happens in a relationship a business and designer form before and during the process. In this case, what she and her camp are missing out on is messaging and communication that can only be had when a true design process is facilitated. Not to mention ensuring the direction of the design is going to line up well with what this tour represents.
"But it's only a concert poster!" I hear you saying. Yeah, sure, but the principle is the same: exploitation of many (uncompensated) creative ideas which are chosen from to then create the final product and make money. I know I'm not the only one that sees the ethical issue in that.
So I ask Ani: will you and your crew come put on a show for my friends and I? If we like it we'll think about paying you, say, $100.
Yeah, I didn't think so.