Creative economy: How to monetise and structure your digital assets
Monetisation begins by understanding that a digital asset is a property. The same principles of sound property management would apply to management of digital assets.
The creative economy is a source of livelihood for many households. However, one of the main challenges it faces is talent management. Funding remains a huge challenge for many creatives who do not know how to make money from their works.
However, with the right structures and strategies, it is possible to fund and make money from their works.
Supposing a creative has an awesome idea of making a certain film but lacks the funding to pursue the dream. What strategy can he or she use to raise funding for the project? Most creatives would use their personal savings and maybe take soft loans to fund the project.
However, it is possible to fund the project using innovative funding methods like copyright mortgage.
As the name alludes, this is where a creative mortgages his works through copyright assignment, to a lender in exchange for funds. The collateral in this type of arrangement is the copyright itself.
This means that revenue generated from the work would go towards paying off the loan, for a period of time until the debt is fully repaid.
In the interim, the lender has the right to collect revenues from the work. Using this strategy, it is possible to fund capital intensive films and movies.
Kenya's Moveable Property Securities Act provides a mechanism for creatives to assign and even mortgage their intellectual property rights.
However, despite the existence of legislative provisions, the Kenyan lending market may still be sceptical of funding projects in the creatives sector.
To feasibly pursue copyright mortgages, creatives can consider external jurisdictions where copyright mortgaging in industries like filming is common.
Creatives can make a lot of money from their works if they use innovative monetisation strategies.
Monetisation begins by understanding that a digital asset is a property. The same principles of sound property management would apply to management of digital assets. There are many ways creatives can monetised their digital assets.
Use your digital platform to monetise
Many digital platforms also provide creatives an opportunity to monetise their works. For example, YouTube has a detailed monetisation programme on its website such that creatives can earn money from hosting their works on the platform. Most of the monetisation from YouTube comes from advertisements. Entertainers like Jimmy Donaldson earned as much as $31.6 million from his channel.
This demonstrates the potential for creatives to generate extra incomes if they embark on a good monetisation strategy. It is good to be acquainted with the monetisation strategies of your digital platforms so as to make extra revenue from the same.
Licensing the works
Licensing happens when the owner of the works gives a third party access to the use of his works in exchange for a periodical payment known as royalties. For example, it is possible to write a script or a play and license third parties to perform it. This means that the writer will have an opportunity to earn extra revenue from their works.
A songwriter can also write and compose music and license others to perform the song. In this way then, there is opportunity to earn extra from the works.
Sale
A creative can opt to sell his works so as to earn extra revenue. They can sell and assign all their rights over the works to a third party. To embark on a sale strategy then it is important to undertake a valuation of the work to ensure that a fair price is paid for the work.
