#i feel a wee bit mean about this... but i'm very tired of seeing concepts put in front of people without any substance backing them

[harfblarf]

It's interesting, to be sure, though a few things stand out to me off the bat. This ended up long as hell so I'm stuffing it under a readmore.

Most artists aren't lawyers; God knows I'm not. From what I've seen on your blog, I don't think you are, either. That's not a bad thing and it doesn't preclude this from happening, but it does raise some issues. The complexity of licensing and legalese is the very thing that makes smaller and less experienced artists vulnerable to exploitation under the current system. As it is, I don't fully understand what the process would be to publish under the "OAG License", whether that would be different whether or not the hypothetical OAG platform existed or not, and what steps would have to be taken to make the "OAG License" a legally recognized form of artistic license. Do you know those details? Have you confirmed them with a copyright lawyer? I saw you say in another post that being backed by the guild would turn any legal action "into a class-action suit by default". I am like 90% sure that is not what a class-action lawsuit is or how it works, unless a VERY interesting spin is put on members' copyrights and interests under the guild. I advise caution in slinging around legal terms and talking about how the hypothetical OAG would legally function if you are not working with a lawyer and/or 1000% sure you understand exactly what every term means and the involved requirements and standards. Misinformation of that nature can harm your credibility.

"Art" is not defined here, which is a problem when members are supposed to exclusively work under the OAG License when they can. A screenplay is obviously art, and you note fanfiction as an exception because it is explicitly derivative, but what about a digital art piece commissioned by someone else? What about a fanfiction adapted into an original work? What about livestream and video footage of things like lets plays? Those fall in a murky grey region of legality under fair use due to transformation, but that grey area means, in many cases, the person who created the stream or video has copyrights over the video and can turn a profit, but they can also be hit with DMCA claims. If that isn't art, what about livestreams of someone working on their art? Livestreams of someone working on fanwork? Does that count? Is non-fiction work included under the OAG? What about other weird things that can be copyrighted, like written and filmed book reviews, or the stories attached to recipe pages? When does code qualify as art-- does it always, or is it only when that code is in service to another form of art, like a videogame, art software, etc? Some of this, I'm sure, would need to be gone over with a copyright lawyer who can appropriately assess what the existing law says qualifies as "art" and can reasonably be protected by the guild and its license, but that step would be critically important for getting this at all off the ground.

"The artist" also needs clearer definitions and structures. What happens to works with multiple artists? Do all need to be active members of OAG to submit? Is collaboration and publication with non-OAG artists forbidden? Will the OAG have any say in how profits are split between multiple artists of a project, or will the expectation be that the artists work that out for themselves?

How will OAG enforce the 30% profit rule? Will there be limitations on where works can be published and sold to ensure the revenue stream is documented and under OAG purview? What if the artist has posted it to a platform where revenue directly associated with a specific work is unclear, such as Patreon? What if the artist sells their work in bundles or collections-- what if they sell it in a bundle with something ambiguous or simply unenforced under someone else's copyright, like stickers of fanart for existing media properties? Do artists owe OAG 30% of ALL income potentially associated with the work they published under the OAG license? That's bonkers, and I'm pretty sure entirely unenforceable unless you demand horrendous levels of financial transparency from every single member. If OAG has a hosting platform capable of turning profit and thus is in charge of processing those payments, will OAG automatically take its 30% from that? Presumably the 30% applies to "profit from a work" and not "each artist's profit from a work", but for multiple-artist projects that should be made explicit, and any platform built for OAG structured to account for multi-artist projects, for both payment and project controls.

Required monthly submissions as the sole way to uphold your membership status is not a good strategy. For one, a lot of work simply isn't complete in a publishable state within a month, even for full-time and wholly able-bodied artists: traditional paintings, novels, poetry books, videogames, sculptures, etc. Despite the guideline for the platform specifying that disabled artists should not be excluded, this also absolutely annihilates the ability of disabled artists to participate. "Once a month" may sound like very little to an able-bodied person accustomed to seeing digital artists crank out a dozen finished works a month, but there are disabilities that disable people for several months at a time, disabled artists who can only produce art once a year, once every two years. There are artistic fields that take months and months to complete a single work. You fundamentally exclude both groups from participation in this protective guild when you require constant proof of work.

It's also unclear what defines a "monthly submission"-- obviously submitting the same exact thing two months in a row would be a Problem, but what about revisions to a previous work, or alternate versions like recolors? Where are the lines being drawn? Is incomplete work, like drafts and sketches, considered an acceptable submission? I mean, it's still a unique piece that would fall under the artist's copyright, even incomplete. What will the overhead and supervision of this requirement look like, what will the appeals process be? Who will be in charge of checking a member has fulfilled their requirement?

Suggestions:

Also, what about an artist who has previously published work but now wants to join OAG? What are the expectations for their backlog, if any? This will be almost all artists. This is critical.

Quick edit: also, what about people like professional screenwriters, who already work with trade unions? Will OAG be in competition or collaboration with those trade unions? How will that affect profit share requirements? Is OAG specifically catered to small and freelance artists-- how will it account for members who work with studios, production houses, publishers, and large companies and copyright holders? Will being a member of OAG preclude any work on projects by those entities? Will working with non-approved companies earn membership blacklisting, like scabbing does with trade unions? That means people might have to choose between OAG membership and a stable job, or working on a Disney movie. How will OAG handle those split incentives? How will OAG negotiate with powerhouses to change the industry, should they gain sufficient influence? How can leadership be held accountable to these goals and values?

Do away with monthly work requirements. Members of other successful unions and guilds, such as SAG-AFTRA, are not expelled if they are unemployed for a time.

Reduce the profit cut taken and structure the OAG around tiers of member fees and an annual donation drive instead. Operate on the same basis as organizations like the Organization for Transformative Works-- you're providing a valuable service, and those who benefit from or believe in that service will want to support that service to the best of their ability. Run donation drives and offer higher donation tiers of membership fees with the explicit understanding that higher membership fees do not provide greater benefits to the member, only provide more support to the guild. Membership fees and donation goals will also stabilize the guild's income and allow it a consistent budget.

Reconsider the guild's understanding of profit from artwork, and its very mission. Yes, the landlord system of copyright is extremely fraught. But OAG, as I understand it, would not overhaul copyright law or magically exclude its artists from its effects. Rather, OAG would create a collective force for bargaining and enforcement of individual artists' rights, and a collaborative space within the guild for a radical change in our understanding of what it means to "respect" that copyright. It bears a lot of similarities to the Organization for Transformative Works in that way, albeit primarily protecting profit-turning original works rather than transformative ones. This is important because individual artists cannot produce sufficient art at market price to survive off of selling their work only once. Small artists will be turned away from OAG if its philosophy precludes the validity of selling their art in forms like stickers, buttons, and shirts.

On the same note of reconsidering the OAG's mission and turning it to better serve its potential members, consider the merits of OAG running its own member-owned (and potentially member-operated) shop for the small things artists subsist off of-- prints, buttons, shirts, etc. Also consider what services OAG could provide to entice potential members, such as how SAG-AFTRA provides the option for medical insurance. This is also a major concern for freelance and independent artists and would be massively appealing. There are other things that only something like OAG could do, as well, such as coordinating a standing group of beta readers and sensitivity consultants partially paid through membership fees, lowering the requirements for artists to access that tool while providing better and more reliable pay and content moderation for the job.

Consider developing an initiation process for membership. OAG will have better prestige if a certain level of skill or quality, or at minimum a certain extent of portfolio and backlogged work, is necessary for full membership, but that will also reduce access to artists, so I would weigh this carefully. Potentially, newer or less experienced artists could have an apprentice membership title while they develop their skills. A (voluntary) mentorship program pairing more experienced member artists with apprentices learning their specialty could be a great incentive for joining the guild. In that case, some degree of member accreditation for specific artistic fields would be necessary, which does become a bit complicated.

Even if you don't have a formal initiation process for standard members, some degree of checks for stolen work, ai-generated work, and content farms would be a necessity.

If you have any intention to begin turning this wheel on your own, I recommend looking into if this project might qualify for any grants, and if so, using some of those funds to pay copyright lawyers to consult on the project and its ideas. If the basis is shaky and unclear, no artist will want to bind themselves to it, especially not when the price of entry is forsaking their only legal defense for their creative work. Paying artists and affiliated workers (editors, publishers, programmers for a potential website, storefronts) for consultation would also probably be a good idea, as possible.

Eventually, you will need to develop and provide proof of concept beyond overly formal pseudo-legalese terms and conditions. I get that it's in a very larval stage right now and you're seeking feedback on a very exciting idea, but randoms on tumblr who dislike copyright law aren't the best avenue for that. Connect with actual artists of several sizes, those large enough to live off their art and those who are not, and canvas them for their opinions of copyright and their understanding of it. Stop by an artist alley at a convention and ask the people with booths what resources would benefit them as an artist, and if they would enjoy operating under guidelines such as what you've laid out in your post-- what they would be willing to do and pay to participate in a community with these understandings shared between them, what they would be willing to do and pay to have the security of a guild with legal and artistic resources available to them. What they COULD do and pay for that. This is labor- and potentially cost-intensive, but there is no avoiding that if you actually want to make this happen in a way that takes off and serves artists.

Figure out what can be launched on a small scale and do it, then invite artists on board to test it.

At minimum, figure out what kind of legal entity OAG would be. Would it qualify as a trade union like SAG-AFTRA? Would it be a non-profit organization/corporation like OTW? These are the basics. It's gonna be hard to get people on board to work on something that stays nebulous. Working in a conceptual space is flexible, but it's also flimsy; people don't want to commit time, energy, or money to flimsy.

As an extension of that, set up OAG as a legal entity (whatever suits it best) and build it a simple website. Put something concrete into the world for people to sign onto.

TL;DR - cool concept, but it's just a concept right now, the sort of exciting thing drawn up in brainstorming and not yet grounded in practicality. That limits the potential for its development and growth. It lacks research and professional input. Consult experts. Consult artists. Get a PR person who can sell the idea. Etc. Put your boots to the ground and either start making it happen, or find someone who will. Otherwise, it will remain only a concept.

What's funny to me is that nobody cares about copyright outside the US and maybe, I dunno, Canada and Europe? For the entire third world, it's something we politely pretend is real so we don't hurt their feelings, but it's probably the fakest and less upheld concept here, absolutely nobody cares.

Some yanqui says something deranged like "um, uh, yeah, you should pay for every time you play a song otherwise you're stealing" and we just pat their head and say "claro que sí tesoro" while we download 15 GBs of movies and the local pizzeria has a mural of like Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny to promote it.

[the-fire-bubble]

I invoke thee, Yemaya, Mother of all her numerous children like the fishes, for a rant about my shitty earth mother and family.

Hello Mom. You're the only person I feel comfortable calling my "Mom". My grandmother may have raised me, but she had little influence on who I am at my core values. My birth mother..... is essentially a stranger now.

For ny 23rd birthday, as you may already know, she bought me concert tickets. 2 each for 2 concerts costing over 400$. Now, why, out of the blue, she decides this year, to spend a load of money on me for concerts I didn't want to see in the first place? I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA. I mean, I know her reasoning..... but the logic is lacking. She knows I'm autistic like her other child, who wears ear defenders to a baseball game. So, what in her mind thought " Oh. I'll just randomly gift her concert tickets so she can go sing her head off for her birthday even though I have no idea who she has ever liked in music? " I distinctly remember telling her about Panic! At The Disco on 2 occasions and she on the first one said "the singer sounds like he needs to hit puberty" "(please don't bring that CD back next time you come over)". The second occasion, I quoted her and told her I didn't bring it. And she said "Stop being a tape recorder (in front of my friend)". Ya know. Because the echolaila I've had since forever is just something I can turn off. I didn't go to either of the concerts. Most would say i should be grateful she got me anything at all. But the thing is....

It's essentially the gift of a stranger.

We haven't spoken directly in 3 whole fucking years. And she had the nerve, to send me a white elephant gift, and expect me to just forgive her. Like nothing has happened and no time at all has passed.... FUCK THAT.

I'm sorry, but she took Grandpa Tom's jacket and that was my designated comfort item. She has another autistic kid. She's a wonderful mother to him. She should FUCKING KNOW. WHY I'M MAD. And yet she claims to have no recollection of the events taking place that day. And insists if I were to take it back, I don't wear it every day.

BITCH IT WAS MY PERSONAL PROPERTY. AND YOU SAID "I WAS NOT WORTHY TO BE A PART OF THIS FAMILY" In reference to me SIMPLY STANDING UP FOR MYSELF TO YOUR SHITTY BOYFRIEND.

Please. Just .... I am so furious at her, Mom. I'm like so on the verge of tears, and I know my sadness makes you sad but like...... it hurts. All I wanted for my birthday is a quiet and good time. She keeps thinking I'm someone I'm not. And even when I told her who I was.... she lacked the ability to truly listen to me.

I got tired of being ignored or misheard and misquoted to fit her crazy mind's concept of reality. I got tired of having to mother her because she is really shite at asking for help from her mother or any real professionals in a timely manner. I got tired of crying myself to sleep. Because she kept making jokes at my expense and they weren't funny. I try to explain my special interests to her and she shuts me down and tunes me out. While she is just.... all ears for Isaac my little brother.

I hurt, mom. And it's my birth mother who inflicted the damage. Just please, take away my worries again so I can go back to sleep soon. Or get something done. Idk. I hear you comforting me now. And I appreciate you always listening to me.

I did want to tell you, I had a great birthday in spite of my birth mother. I went out for a quiet dinner with my beloved. Got stuffed and a wee bit tipsy. But not that much. And I had a blast just being there with my Honey Bat. Also, I bought more spooky decor lately. C: It makes me very happy. And I know my happiness makes you happy too. I have other concerns but right now, I think I've rambled on long enough and I'm too hungey to focus anymore. Please know I love your protection and guidance and comfort and presence always even if I don't always say it outloud or invoke you as much as I should. Idk. I just kinda got used to the whole absent parent dynamic .... I'm still learning this 'how to be a daughter proper' thing. But I love you lots and I hope I make you smile as much as you make me smile. Thanks for listening Mom. *hugsies * You're the best.

Meferefun Yemaya. Always.