DCMS report: Creator remuneration
Fixing it for freelancers, and the future of creativity on the web.
How are you doing?
I’ve been reading the new report on creator remuneration from the Culture Committee-a good summary of the issues and potential solutions, which the NUJ’s Freelance organisers have commented on here.
✅ A Freelance Commissioner to advocate for creative people and the self-employed, for legal protection & rights, and to address outdated copyright and IP regulations. Yep — it’s urgent.
✅ Tackling stagnant fees -some companies are paying the same rates they did 20 years ago and generally rubbish rates across the sector. I had to chuckle (and cry) at our Swedish colleagues’ cake celebrating ’20 years at the same pay rate.’
✅ A UK private copying scheme to remunerate creators such as the Smart Fund, which safeguards payments from abroad.
✅ AI and creators: “The Government must ensure that creators have proper mechanisms to enforce their consent and receive fair compensation for use of their work by AI developers.” (You can block AI training on Substack, which “may limit your publication’s discoverability in tools and search engines that return AI-generated results.”)
Good stuff. Let’s share it about and fix it for freelancers! We have a manifesto at #FairDeal4freelances, which includes a charter of freelance rights that the self-employed should enjoy. Gov has two months to respond to the report.
Self-employed rockstars make up a significant part of the creative workforce. I read that more than one million over 50s now work for themselves despite the pandemic’s impact on self-employment [IPSE]. Folks who want to start their own biz or have had enough of the 9–5.
Yet we lack a single voice to represent our interests in government. And support and biz training generally, which is why we have such active unions, small biz orgs and freelance communities.
AI and creative work
This week, we had a lively meeting on AI and creative work with speakers Laurence Bouvard from Equity (actress and computer scientist) and John Sailing from the Writers’ Guild. Interesting to hear about Equity’s successful campaign #StopAIStealingtheShow. The NUJ is also developing an AI toolkit for writers; watch this space.
Laurence said part of the problem is that the gov doesn’t understand the tech/AI and that there’s a general malaise: “People just don’t care.”
It’s not that we don’t care, but it feels futile; the horse has already bolted. AI is here to stay; the companies already have our data, and what’s depressing is they’re so hungry for new data (i.e running out) that they’re now developing ‘synthetic’ info — i.e. training AI on text generated by AI (this NYT article went viral).
They hope that bringing different AI models together will solve the data problem and that “it should be alright.”
Where will it end?
I agree with Laurence that it isn’t just about protecting jobs (AI will create new jobs-I’ve had recruiters reach out for help training AI systems for $15 an hour!) but about protecting what it means to be an artist and writer-and keeping the human at the heart of it.
And protecting our planet — can you imagine how much power these machines are using?
Things I enjoyed this week
▶️ Death of the follower & the future of creativity on the web with Jack Conte [ SXSW]. Amazing keynote and storytelling. His thoughts on the arc of the internet, how it will continue to evolve, and Patreon’s place in it. A call to make beautiful things that light you up and go deeper with your ‘true fans’ rather than chasing followers/algos/other people’s agendas. Love his passion. Go Jack!
▶️ The #1 Neuroscientist: After listening to this, your brain will not be the same [ Mel Robbins]. Practical tips on how to trick your brain into manifesting your goals and desires and using manifesting as a tool for success, happiness, and better health. Dr. Tara has a knack for simplifying science and making it fun.
▶️ I’m analysing 49K Substack newsletters [ Newsletter Circle]. Understand the newsletter space and other creators’ behaviours and strategies in this new report. I’m enjoying Ciler’s work and love that she’s dreaming big. Her goal is to create a full-fledged media company for newsletter creators.
▶️ Axios sees AI coming, and shifts its strategy [ NYT]. “ The premium for people who can tell you things you do not know will only grow in importance, and no machine will do that.” Spot on, Jim. Axios is focusing on live events, a membership program centring on its star journalists and an expansion of its high-end subscription newsletters. Can’t wait to see how this plays out.
▶️ NylonMag is getting back into the print biz and relaunching its physical magazine for the first time since 2017. Back on the newsstand on April 16 with cover star Gwen Stefani to celebrate their 25th birthday.
It may be less frequent (bi-annual) and more of a coffee table magazine, but that’s not a bad thing. Quality over quantity is better for the planet. A keeper!
I’ve been enjoying reading physical magazines lately — I have to give my eyes a break. Seriously, I look up, and I can’t see! 😱 We’re not built to sit and stare at a screen all day.
Have a great week.
Nika :)
PS. I’m compiling a list of niche media events — newsletter conferences, creator events etc. If you have any recs, let me know.
Hi, I’m Nika! 👋
I’m a writer and founder of Firebird, a small but mighty content consultancy.
I help entrepreneurs and biz leaders impact the world with their stories. Life is too short to play small. See my services here.
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Originally published at https://www.nikatalbot.io.
