Permalink8 September 2009 at 13:11 by James Allsworth
Posted under Advice and tips
© david sanger photographyWe often tend to get emails and calls from contributors worried because they have seen an image being used without it yet showing up on their sales summary. In order to help alleviate those worries we'd like to inform you of the typical lead times associated with certain types of publications.
So what is a lead time? Well a lead time is a period time between usage and billing of that usage. Billing is often left until an image has gone to print as that way, the client can be 100% sure that the image has been used and not swapped with another at the last minute.
Although it's normal for each publication to be slightly different, here is an overview of some typical lead times:
- Newspapers - newspapers can take up to 3 months after the issue date to confirm usage. This allows time for remittance/self-bill confirmation to arrive. The time can vary depending on how up to date the billing department is at the newspaper but the time should never exceed 3 months.
- Magazines (print and online) - most magazine clients confirm at month-end or quarter end, so it's normal to expect at least one month for usage confirmation. There is usually a 4-6 week turn around period between going to print and usage confirmation being received. If the usage has gone beyond one month and the sale has still not appeared in your summary, then please let us know. It may well be that the magazine has an agreed deal with us to report on a quarterly basis - we will let you know if this is the case. With bi-monthly and quarterly magazines, 6-10 weeks between going to print and usage confirmation being received is the norm.
- Book publishers - we usually receive usage confirmation within a month of publication, often before.
- Advertising/promotional - rights should always be cleared before any promotional or advertising use.
If you see any of your images being used that have not yet appeared in your sales summary please try to bear the above in mind. If you have spotted a usage that has gone beyond the typical lead time outlined above that has not yet appeared in your summary please let us know and we will follow it up accordingly.
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