Don’t Do Spec Work

I got this email today via this blog:

Hey  Ian,

Hello,

We are [redacted], a design your own custom quality skateboard company. We are contacting you because we thought your readers might be interested in our Third Thursday monthly design contest that we are starting. We have run successful design contests in the past, but wanted to bring it back to a monthly thing with different themes. Every month will involve a new theme and each winner will receive a $100 cash prize as well as their design printed on a skateboard deck. Each winner will also receive a spot in the new limited edition Third Thursday shop creating a ongoing catalog of winners and representation for those artist. Details can be found here [redacted], but if you have any questions or would like any further information or [redacted] materials please feel free to email me back.

Best, – [redacted]

My reply:

Hi [redacted] –

On one level this sounds like a cool way for artists to get their work seen and maybe make a couple of bucks. On another level, you’re asking artists to work on spec, and that’s not cool. Everyone has to make a living, right? If you have a bunch of people submitting their art and you only pay the one that wins, everyone else worked for free. That works out pretty sweet for you, but not so much for everyone else. As a creative professional, I can’t support this contest – getting people to compete to get paid for their artwork is part of the reason it’s hard to make a living as an illustrator. Threadless basically does the same thing for t-shirts and lots of people go for that, so you’ll probably do well with this initiative anyhow, but I’m going to have to politely decline your suggestion that I do free advertising for your contest to maybe get paid.

– Ian