Category: Artists

NEW section about being an artist - under development

22/8/2017

I'm currently developing a new section on Art Business Information for Artists to make room for all the tips I've developed and collected about

being an artist and
how to be a successful artist!

STEP UP

The name keeps changing but it's essentially about stepping up to the reality of what it takes to become a successful artist. It's about:

habits
practices for real life
learning - and continued professional development.

Below are a sample of some of the topics it will cover
plus two topics I've recently posted about on Making A Mark.

HABITS

This is essentially about being an artist and

what are the things which make an artist different,
what are the challenges they will face,
what are the habits they need to develop if they want to be successful

Topics will include

Starting out as an Artist - moving on from being an amateur to becoming a professional artist
Being a Professional Artist - this will include coverage of the nature of an artist's career. This section will include a page devoted to examples of the working lives of professional artists. Yesterday I wrote about A Portfolio Career as an Artist
Teach Art - this might be a seperate section, but will cover the various ways you can teach art and what the requirements are if you do.

Step Up #2

REAL LIFE

This is about real life and professional business practices for artists.
Art is not all about making art. There's a lot of routine which you need to make time for and which need to be followed if you aren't going to be wasting your time and living and working and storing your art in a complete mess. Plus professional practices which can make a difference between being a successful artist and an "also ran".

Topics will include:

Studio Practices - what needs to happen to if you want to e.g. how to be safe in your studio; how to store your art; how to inventory your art
Office Practices - things that need to be done to keep on top of the paperwork - and the art! Examples include: How to back up your images; how to comply with legislation relating to data protection - see below.
Time management - how to differentiate between the important and the urgent
I'll also be adding in book-keeping, budgeting and business planning into the Money & Tax section

I've just written a blog post on Making A Mark about Is your art organisation or business ready for GDPR - the replacement of the Data Protection Act? - which is about the new mandatory legislation which will be introduced and become effective on 25th May 2018. It applies to all artists maintaining a contacts database for marketing and/or sales.

LEARNING & Continued Professional Development

Topics will include

The Best Business Books for Artists
Art Schools in the UK - for those wanting to develop further by taking a degree in fine art at undergraduate or postgraduate level
Art Business Courses Online - for those wanting to develop their knowledge, skills and competences relating to the business of art. I'll be giving particular emphasis to those where I've had positive feedback
Mentoring - opportunities to consult with me in relation to different aspects of your development or conundrums to face.

"I want to thank you hugely for such a very useful and shrewd report and for all the time and thought you have put in. I agree with virtually every point you make and recognise the need to address a lot of the issues"
a recent client

Let me know your priorities

I'm always very interested to hear about people's priorities as to things they want to know about. So let me know what you think. You can

leave a comment on this blog post
or, if you'd prefer to be more private write to me via the feedback form on my Contact Page.

Step Up #1 Photo by Daniel von Appen on Unsplash
Step Up #2 Photo by Mikito Tateisi on Unsplash

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Court Order: Zazzle to pay $460,000 for copyright infringement

20/8/2017

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A court has determined that online stores, such as Zazzle, that manufacture products cannot enjoy the "safe harbor" benefits of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. §512 normally made available to online service providers - to the extent that they satisfy required conditions.

This is due to the fact that Zazzle has a responsibility to control the production of merchandise for sale and ensure that it does not infringe copyright.

Below I try to tease out the key elements of the case and why the plaintiff succeeded in getting a a ruling that the plaintiff (an agent for an artist) can recover $460,000 in pecuniary damages from Zazzle.

The 'safe harbor' protection is only afforded to those who contend that they only operate as a publishing platform ONLINE. (Which is why Facebook is safe from prosecution). The notion is that an online publishing platform cannot be aware of everything posted 100% of the time.

However the protection only applies if a site immediately takes action to remove any copyright infringements as soon as it is made aware of them and has received appropriate proof of infringement. (which is why you need to serve a DMCA notice on the host if you see an image of yours online - see What to do about copyright infringement - for artists).

What's different about this court decision

What's different about this court decision is it states that when publication of images by an online platform moves into the production of tangible goods based on those images then the online service provider has the right and responsibility to protect creators from copyright infringement and hence can also become liable for any copyright infringement.

In other words in order for Zazzle to be protected by the DMCA's safe harbor provisions (relating to storing images of GYP's copyrighted paintings) - the provisions of 17 U.S. Code § 512 - Limitations on liability relating to material online required that Zazzle had to:

qualify as a service provider
lack specific or "red flag" knowledge of the infringement committed by its users; and
AND importantly for this case "does not receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity, in a case in which the service provider has the right and ability to control such activity" (para C 1 (b) )

In this case, the Court decided that Zazzle did not pass the third test.
For the record, this is the Zazzle Copyright Policy. I'm guessing it might be rewritten by the lawyers in the future to pass liability for any costs awarded against Zazzle to the user - and make this explicit to every user of Zazzle.

This judgement has very considerable ramifications for:

all online service providers of "print on demand"
involved in the production of tangible goods for sale which involve uploaded images that infringe copyright.

Interestingly there is no press release about the Court Judgement on the Zazzle website and no blog post either. I'm unclear as to whether there is going to be an appeal although I understand the level of damages are likely to be contested further.

In effect, the court sets up a double standard: physical vs. digital. Zazzle is protected if users upload infringing images but not if customersdecide they want a copy of this image on a t-shirt or poster.
Court Says DMCA Safe Harbors Disappear Once Infringing Images Are Printed On Physical Items | Tech Dirt

The claim

Court Case: California US District Court case (Greg Young Publishing, Inc. v. Zazzle, Inc., 2017 WL 2729584 (C.D. Cal. May 1, 2017)
Plaintiff - Greg Young Publishing, Inc.
Defendant - Zazzle, Inc.
The Claim - In brief (as I understand it), the case involved a claim that Zazzle was jointly liable for the copyright infringement of certain images because Zazzle was:

publicly displaying images of an artist on its website that that GYP represented and that GYP had never given permission for uploading
AND that Zazzle was making tangible products from these images which were then sold
AND Zazzle enjoyed a pecuniary benefit as a result for an activity which it could control i.e. the making of products
AND that the safe harbor protection consequently did not apply.

GYPI alleges that Zazzle has publicly displayed 41 paintings by Westmoreland or Erickson on its website, and that Zazzle has created consumer products bearing these images. It asserts claims for copyright infringement and seeks injunctive relief, statutory damages (or, in the alternative, actual damages and restitution), and attorney’s fees.
Case 2:16-cv-04587-SVW-KS Document 81 Filed 05/01/17

The Judgement: Greg Young Publishing, Inc. v. Zazzle, Inc., 2017 WL 2729584 (C.D. Cal. May 1, 2017)

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How best to generate tax payments to HMRC

14/7/2016

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Did you know you can set up a budget account to spread your UK tax payments to HMRC?

Do you know how to budget for tax when your income as an artist is highly variable?

This post covers:

the basics of making a payment and
ways of creating a fund to make that payment.

How to pay tax and NI to HMRC

Still from the HMRC video "Paying your self assessement tax bill" - highlighting conventional payment methods

Below is a video which highlights:

the many different ways to make payments for Income Tax and Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payments.
These include an option to use the HMRC budget payment system.
what you need to do to take advantage of the different ways of making a payment

If you've always paid the same way you might find this very helpful and will change the way you make your payments.

The video is part of a series produced by HMRC to help people understand the different stages of the tax process.

Click Self Assessment Help and Deadlines to see the entire list of videos available

Budget for your tax bill

The main problem for a lot of artists is that their income can be very variable. That's why a lot of artists like to generate a steady income stream from something like teaching to reduce the stress of not knowing when and if you are going to earn income.

Three approaches I know are used by a number of artists to reduce stress about tax payments are as follows

1. Regular savings

Of course another way to set up a budget account is to pay a regular sum into a savings account each month - rather than an HMRC budget account!

You can opt to take a holiday from making a regular saving if you have an expensive month. However the principle is that you get used to putting money away to meet your tax bill on a regular basis. That is something that is especially important to do if your art business suddenly moves up a gear and you start making a lot more money from your art. You also need to change your habits in relation to how much you save!

You then pay your tax bill using the resources in the dedicated tax savings account.

That way you also get a moderate amount of interest on the balance as it accumulates.

2. Regular % top slice of all income received

If you generate enough income each year to pay tax then you will be left at the end of the year with a big lump sum to pay in one or two payments in January and July after the end of the tax year (i.e. 10 and 15 months after the end of the tax year).

This is a different approach to creating a savings fund for the tax payment.

What you do is take an automatic percentage based top slice from EACH receipt of a fee or payment for sales of your art. That is then set aside in a dedicated tax savings account.

It can take a bit of time to work out from payments received what the percentage should be that you deduct deduct for tax after you set aside for a figure for business expenses and your pension

These are the deductions you need to make before you arrive at the net income you actually get to enjoy or use for living expenses. If your income is variable it's very likely that the percentage may also vary with your gross and net income for the year. For example, if you start making a lot of money your taxable income could move into the top rate tax band and you then need to put aside more for tax.

One way of working it out is to look at past tax years and work out what percentage you would have needed to save to hit the target for the tax bill payments after the end of the tax year. If you're not too good with numbers you probably know somebody who can do this for you. Or you can ask and pay an accountant to advise you. However it's not rocket science.

Another approach is to see what would have happened if you had saved (say) 10% or 20% from every receipt - then see whether you need to increase or decrease from there.

3. Spread your tax bill across different tax years

One option for those who have highly irregular income streams (eg reliant on sales from solo shows) is to exercise your right as an artist to spread your income across tax years to smooth out the highs and lows.

The technical term for the option is "averaging". One of the conditions of claiming is it that your profits are wholly or mainly derived from literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works or designs. In other words it is a tax option solely designed for creative people.

This is the latest statement (April 2016) on HS234 Averaging for creators of literary or artistic works (2015).

Authors and artists who have fluctuating profits may pay a large amount of tax in a good year and little or no tax in a bad year. A relief, introduced in the March 2001 Budget, allows such people to average their profits for successive tax years. This can reduce their total tax bill for the 2 years concerned. The relief replaces previous reliefs for spreading of royalties and sums received for the sale of works of art. The same sort of people will benefit but this relief is simpler and more people will be able to claim.

Averaging will only help you if the top rate of tax that you pay is different for each of the 2 years. For example, averaging:
- will not help you if you pay higher rate tax (40%) each year
- may help you if you pay tax at the basic rate one year and higher rate the next
- may help you if you are liable to tax one year but your income falls so you are not liable the next

If you want to take advantage of averaging you either need to read the tax advice on HMRC website VERY carefully and/or consult a tax adviser.

You can read more about Tax Tips for Artists on this websit

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Tax Tip: Travel expenses for artists

28/1/2016

Reader's question #1: Are taxes the same for all income - and what about travel expenses?

Two questions from a reader:

Are taxes the same for all different sources of income?
Can I deduct my travel expenses from my income before tax?

Read on to find out my opinion on the questions asked (and don't forget to read the note at the end)

Reading through articles about taxes for artists, they all assume that the primary income comes from the sale of art (paintings, etc.)

Are taxes the same when the primary income is freelance teaching (as a Teaching Artist)?

For example, may I deduct my mileage to and from individual teaching stints at art centers where I teach children?

Are taxes the same for all different sources of income?

In the UK, the answer is ALL INCOME is liable to tax assessment - no matter how you earn it.

In fact, my P60 (for my pension) has a neat quote in it which I've added into the HMRC section of Tax Tips for Artists.

By law you are required to tell HM Revenue & Customs about any income that is not fully taxed, even if you are not sent a tax return.

Can I deduct my travel expenses from my income before tax?

Whether you can claim travel expenses depends on how you earn your income

You may not be aware but many artists do NOT just earn income from sales of their paintings.

Very many professional artists who also teach earn income:

EITHER through a full or part-time job as an art teacher (i.e. they have a contract of employment; they are an employee of a school/college/university who pays them a salary and deducts tax and NI at source).
OR their services are hired by an education provide on a sessional basis for a fee r (i.e. there is no contract of employment - hire is on a 'session by session' basis only).
OR they run their own independent workshops and courses.

The issue of whether or not you can claim travel expenses relates to whether or not you are a sole trader and wholly responsible for all your actions.

So for example, (in the UK) if you are an employee with a contract of employment and what you do is dictated by others (eg you teach a set curriculum); you are managed and assessed as to competence by others and paid on a monthly basis - then you can't claim home to work travel expenses.

That's because you are the same as every other employee in the UK - and employees can't claim home to work (and back again) expenses as a business expense.

However if you are completely freelance and have a number of different people who hire you to teach art and/or you deliver your own workshops at different venues you hire around the country - then you are self-employed and you can then claim your travel expenses.

Basic principles: you can only claim travel expenses:

when self-employed AND
for journeys wholly and exclusively for business purposes.

EXAMPLES:

If you're employed by a school as an art teacher, you will have one designated work base and cannot claim travel expenses to and from where you teach by way of a tax deduction.
If your school requires you to work peripatically on different sites, you can claim travel expenses from the school for trips away from your designated work base. You cannot claim travel as a tax expense.
If you're employed part-time as an art teacher, you can also choose to deliver an independent workshop in a venue of your choice. In these circumstances you cannot claim travel expenses for your contract of employment as a part-time teacher BUT you can claim your travel expenses from home to the venue where you deliver an independent workshop. However you must also then complete a set of basic accounts and the self-employment part of the self-assessment return.
You deliver workshops all over the country and have no contract of employment. You can charge your travel expenses as a deductible expense according to the rules defined by HMRC. If you don't use public transport, it's often useful to use the HMRC approved mileage rate for the number of miles you do per annum.

Note: This article is intended to be for general information and is should not be relied on as definitive tax advice. It's your responsibility to check the rules for the country where you live and work and the relevant tax year. The tax rules may be similar or they may be different.

Welcome to Business News about Art and for Artists

12/11/2015

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This is the brand new NEWS blog for the Art Business Info. for Artists website.

It's about business news about art and for artists.

I've been writing about the art business for nearly 10 years. I've also been passing on useful information, tips and advice on my 'resources for artists sites' for nearly as long.

All the art business-related sites are now all being consolidated on this one site.

In future, I'll be using this blog to:

introduce new pages added to the website (often from previous sites but also brand new pages)
provide major updates to information and advice in existing sections and pages
highlight current news about the art business
suggest articles and blog posts to read written by other people
highlight major blog posts about the art business on Making A Mark - where I will continue to write about the art business

I'll also be linking to other art business blogs that I rate in the side column. Tell me if you think there's any I've missed.

You'll be able to able to comment on posts and ask questions - by using the comments facility. Please note all comments will be moderated so will not publish straight away.

If you're interested in staying up to date you can also subscribe to the blog in the side column.

Do feel free at any time to tell me what's puzzling you and what you can't find any information about. I'm always happy to look at adding in a new page to this website to cover very specific aspects.

You can navigate around this site via the dropdown menu on the top line (in desktop view) or via the hamburger menu if you're on a mobile device.

Past blog posts will be archived and, in future, you'll be able to look up everything on a specific topic by reviewing the categories which will develop as I publish posts

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Forward>>

Art Business Info: NEWS

NEW section about being an artist - under development

STEP UP

HABITS

REAL LIFE

LEARNING & Continued Professional Development

Let me know your priorities

Court Order: Zazzle to pay $460,000 for copyright infringement

What's different about this court decision

The claim

The Judgement: Greg Young Publishing, Inc. v. Zazzle, Inc., 2017 WL 2729584 (C.D. Cal. May 1, 2017)

How best to generate tax payments to HMRC

How to pay tax and NI to HMRC

Budget for your tax bill

Tax Tip: Travel expenses for artists

Reader's question #1: Are taxes the same for all income - and what about travel expenses?

Are taxes the same for all different sources of income?

Can I deduct my travel expenses from my income before tax?

Welcome to Business News about Art and for Artists

Art Business Info. News for Artists

Visitors so far

GET Art Business Info. NEWS by Email

Author

Archives

Categories

Art Business Info: NEWS

NEW section about being an artist - under development

STEP UP

HABITS

REAL LIFE

LEARNING & Continued Professional Development

Let me know your priorities​

Court Order: Zazzle to pay $460,000 for copyright infringement

What's different about this court decision

The claim​

The Judgement: Greg Young Publishing, Inc. v. Zazzle, Inc., 2017 WL 2729584 (C.D. Cal. May 1, 2017)​

How best to generate tax payments to HMRC

How to pay tax and NI to HMRC

Budget for your tax bill

Tax Tip: Travel expenses for artists

Reader's question #1: Are taxes the same for all income - and what about travel expenses?

Are taxes the same for all different sources of income?

Can I deduct my travel expenses from my income before tax?

Welcome to Business News about Art and for Artists

Art Business Info. News for Artists

Visitors so far

GET Art Business Info. NEWS by Email

Author

Archives

Categories

Let me know your priorities

The claim

The Judgement: Greg Young Publishing, Inc. v. Zazzle, Inc., 2017 WL 2729584 (C.D. Cal. May 1, 2017)