Google has been recruiting artists to put their designs on its new Web browser, as described recently in the New York Times. The only trouble is, it’s not paying them. It’s exposure, you see—millions of people will see their work! Isn’t that great! Who needs money?
The counter-response: “I have done gift cards for Target that are in stores nationwide and animations for Nickelodeon that run 24 hours a day worldwide on cable TV,” Melinda Beck, an illustrator who is based in Brooklyn, wrote in an e-mail message to Google rejecting its offer. “Both of these jobs were high-profile and gave my work great exposure but both clients still paid me.”
Bite me, Google. If these people are good enough to use, they’re good enough to pay. Admittedly, I’ve had plenty of stories—OK, most of my published stories—printed in small, non-paying markets (or token-fee markets). But those are small-press operations; Google is not small, and it’s not strapped for cash.
Plus, they’re courting commercial artists with established careers. As a fiction writer, I’m a lightweight; as a nonfiction writer, I’d laugh off anyone who suggested I do my work for them just for “exposure.”
OK, another topic: Tune in Sunday and you’ll see the new guest post from one of my fellow drollerie writers while I post elsewhere (I’ll give the site when I introduce Joely tomorrow).
