Digital Media and YouTube Revenue Sharing

The types of compensation received by digital media producers for their work present a good example of why it is important to stay abreast of trends in digital media. You are a creative professional with a stake in the field of digital media if you produce work, publish it, market it, and sell it online.

If you sell your photos, illustrations, videos, writing, music, and other forms of digital media on the Web, you should investigate the laws governing how you sell your work and how it may be used by others. It is not enough to understand the licensing structure for each Internet marketplace where you sell rights to your work products. The website’s system for selling licenses may or may not reflect the way the law works.

The ways you can protect your work are always changing. With the Internet, no piece of work you post online is completely safe. There are people on the Internet who will go to great trouble to rob you of your hard work. However, if you take the risk of posting your work for sale online and accept the reality some work might be stolen or compromised, you can make a living with Web licenses for your creative works.

Digital Media Wire is a good Internet source for information on issues affecting your work as a digital media content producer. On March 17, 2010, Digital Media Wire reported YouTube will begin offering ad share revenue to independent musicians who post their music on the site. You can earn revenue on your video if it achieves a specific level of popularity.

This important development reflects the growing realization among owners of large Websites that sharing revenues with or offering compensation to content producers helps their business model. Why should content producers publish their work for free just to make another website company rich?

To learn more about your intellectual property rights and how federal laws affect your protection of your work, use Digital Media Wire and other websites for the most up-to-date information. If you take the time to read the newest trends in digital media production, you can take more proactive steps to obtain fair compensation for your work.