Dan Robinson
EF5
I'll first say that I do not have ironclad proof of the rates some brokerages are charging broadcast clients, but I've heard from enough reliable independent sources that the following is plausible enough to be of concern.
If a broker is selling your video to networks for $150 or less - including even generic snow/rain video, you are being royally swindled. If you are being paid that amount for good tornado video or any type of compelling shot, the level of deception and conning being leveled at you is almost criminal. You are being taken advantage of by both the networks and your broker. Those kind of rates cannot come close to covering your costs of operation, which means you are personally subsidizing the profits of multi-billion dollar corporations who easily could pay you 10 times more.
Don't be conned into thinking that is good money. It is peanuts, it is insulting to you and to every photographer.
I no longer rely on ENG revenue for chasing, thankfully. But I do feel for the newer generation that is being led to believe that making less than $800 total for every national news network on the planet leading their primetime shows with your footage is "good money". How will you feel when the next generation of predatory brokerages starts charging national networks $50 or even $20 and all the new and naive student chasers (through no fault of their own, I don't blame them) raving about how "great" that money is?
You have to also think long-term. You can easily make $150/video by working on getting your Youtube channel monetized and exclusively posting video there, which will earn money for years to come. Not every video will go viral, but if one out of 20 does, you will do better than the absolute joke of the rates you are being sold on now. Every copy that you sell for $150 will torpedo your Youtube copy if it does end up doing well. These days, with a good-performing Youtube channel, you may be better off in many cases to not sell to networks or third parties at any price if it means a permanent competing copy is going to be available for viewing on competing sources.
Your video leading the nightly news broadcast of a major network should demand a premium price, not less than the janitors are being paid to clean toilets at a gas station. I know that with the rise of viewer video and cell phones that competition is worse, but the networks have the money to pay a premium for what is often leaps and bounds better quality material from a chaser. Look at all the news studios being renovated. Look up how much it costs to fly a Bell JetRanger for traffic reports. They have the money to pay for content, it is their primary product that earns them revenue. Holy cow, they are often leading nightly news with your video and you're getting $150 for that?
Part of the con is to make you feel like "it's better than nothing". That is pure manipulation. These vultures don't have your best interest at heart, only their bottom line. $150 to do ANYTHING for a multi-billion dollar corporation is appalling. That's a minimal consulting fee for a 30 minute phone call, not driving across the country for days on end to capture compelling footage for a primetime broadcast. You have to stand firm and if you don't make a sale, you don't make a sale. I pass on a dozen sales a year! Let them use the vertical shaky video from Joe Blow on his front porch if that's what they want.
Sell to who you want, through who you want. It's your choice. But at least be aware at how badly you are being taken advantage of by people who make their living and even their fortune off of your hard work, while you take a financial loss. It's easy to think that $150/video is good money when you're young and don't know any better. I guarantee once you grow older and realize the value of your time and what you are giving away, and the fortunes made by big corporations off of it, you will be absolutely livid at what has been done to you.
If I was in the position of someone who has been conned like this, I'd end my brokerage contract as soon as it was up and look for someone else that has the spine to stand up to the vultures in the industry (and isn't one themselves) to get me respectable rates.
If a broker is selling your video to networks for $150 or less - including even generic snow/rain video, you are being royally swindled. If you are being paid that amount for good tornado video or any type of compelling shot, the level of deception and conning being leveled at you is almost criminal. You are being taken advantage of by both the networks and your broker. Those kind of rates cannot come close to covering your costs of operation, which means you are personally subsidizing the profits of multi-billion dollar corporations who easily could pay you 10 times more.
Don't be conned into thinking that is good money. It is peanuts, it is insulting to you and to every photographer.
I no longer rely on ENG revenue for chasing, thankfully. But I do feel for the newer generation that is being led to believe that making less than $800 total for every national news network on the planet leading their primetime shows with your footage is "good money". How will you feel when the next generation of predatory brokerages starts charging national networks $50 or even $20 and all the new and naive student chasers (through no fault of their own, I don't blame them) raving about how "great" that money is?
You have to also think long-term. You can easily make $150/video by working on getting your Youtube channel monetized and exclusively posting video there, which will earn money for years to come. Not every video will go viral, but if one out of 20 does, you will do better than the absolute joke of the rates you are being sold on now. Every copy that you sell for $150 will torpedo your Youtube copy if it does end up doing well. These days, with a good-performing Youtube channel, you may be better off in many cases to not sell to networks or third parties at any price if it means a permanent competing copy is going to be available for viewing on competing sources.
Your video leading the nightly news broadcast of a major network should demand a premium price, not less than the janitors are being paid to clean toilets at a gas station. I know that with the rise of viewer video and cell phones that competition is worse, but the networks have the money to pay a premium for what is often leaps and bounds better quality material from a chaser. Look at all the news studios being renovated. Look up how much it costs to fly a Bell JetRanger for traffic reports. They have the money to pay for content, it is their primary product that earns them revenue. Holy cow, they are often leading nightly news with your video and you're getting $150 for that?
Part of the con is to make you feel like "it's better than nothing". That is pure manipulation. These vultures don't have your best interest at heart, only their bottom line. $150 to do ANYTHING for a multi-billion dollar corporation is appalling. That's a minimal consulting fee for a 30 minute phone call, not driving across the country for days on end to capture compelling footage for a primetime broadcast. You have to stand firm and if you don't make a sale, you don't make a sale. I pass on a dozen sales a year! Let them use the vertical shaky video from Joe Blow on his front porch if that's what they want.
Sell to who you want, through who you want. It's your choice. But at least be aware at how badly you are being taken advantage of by people who make their living and even their fortune off of your hard work, while you take a financial loss. It's easy to think that $150/video is good money when you're young and don't know any better. I guarantee once you grow older and realize the value of your time and what you are giving away, and the fortunes made by big corporations off of it, you will be absolutely livid at what has been done to you.
If I was in the position of someone who has been conned like this, I'd end my brokerage contract as soon as it was up and look for someone else that has the spine to stand up to the vultures in the industry (and isn't one themselves) to get me respectable rates.
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But I assume you are running quality rigs, not cell phone video?
