ATTENTION FELLOW ARTISTS:
(And anyone else, too. This applies no matter what you do.)
An ad agency emailed me asking to renew the usage on some voice work I did for their client a couple of years ago. (For the original job, I submitted an invoice the day they requested it and did not receive payment for almost 6 months. After half a year, when they felt like paying, they claim to have sent a check, but to the wrong address. A subsequent invoice for a late fee was completely ignored.)
A quick excerpt of our communication:
AGENCY: Please send an invoice for the renewal.
ME: If you want to renew, the terms are Net 30, plus 10% late fee for each month after that.
AGENCY: I have to be honest, I can submit your invoice for a quick payment, but that doesn’t mean it is guaranteed. I also can’t guarantee the late fees.
ME: Then you’re not being honest. That’s exactly what it is: a guarantee. You use the voice work, you guarantee payment in the manner indicated on the invoice. If your company cannot guarantee that they will pay what is owed when it is owed, It would be bad business for me to continue to allow usage. Use of the voice work constitutes agreement with the terms on the current invoice, and that means guaranteeing payment within 30 days or incurring late fees. Failing that, we can part ways and ██████████████████ Advertising is free to search for another voiceover artist.
And now this has been sent up the chain of command. I can only imagine the disbelief of the higher-ups when they hear the shocking tale of the lowly artist with the ridiculous demands to be guaranteed payment and treated with respect.
I’m sure somehow the electricity bill at the agency gets paid by the date the agency has guaranteed to the electricity supplier that it will be paid.
But artists? We’re not important enough in the corporate world’s eyes to be given the respect of timely payment. Perhaps fear is the issue here. They know the electric company can shut off the power, but I cannot flip a switch and have my voice go silent on their television and radio ads. Oh, if only I could…
Have I lost out on a good chunk of money? Time will tell, but it is very likely. I enjoy/need money as much as the next guy, but (as the old saying goes) if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. I will be taking a stand for respect.
Ahhhh. Living the dream! Does anybody have some ramen I can borrow?