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Billie Eilish criticised for asking fans to design merch for her upcoming tour
28 January 2022, 13:27
Billie Eilish partners with Adobe for fan merch competition
"Billie Eilish has a net worth well above 50 million but she wants you guys to submit artwork for free in which she will have full control over. Know your worth. Pay artists!!!!!!"
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Billie Eilish is being criticised for partnering with Adobe to run a competition that would give a fan the chance to design her merch.
The 'Ocean Eyes' singer will kick off her Happier Than Ever world tour in New Orleans on February 3. On Wednesday (Jan 26), Billie announced that she would be selecting one piece of fan art to be used for merch on the upcoming tour.
The 'Make the Merch' competition is in collaboration with Adobe, who she ran a similar competition with back in 2019. "As you know I'm going on tour this year and I know how creative you guys are, so I wanted to see if you guys would like to be involved," she said in the video, which was shared on Twitter.
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"I am going to pick out my favourite piece of fan art to be on one piece of official merch on my tour. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with."
The winner will, of course, get the chance to see their creation immortalised on Billie's merch. However, one lucky fan will also receive a $10,000 cash prize, two tickets to Billie's show plus travel and accommodation, and a one year Adobe Creative Cloud membership. The 10 runners up will also receive a $1,000 cash prize as well as two tickets to Billie's show plus travel and accommodation and the one year Adobe Creative Cloud membership.
Per the competition rules, the winning artist will have to sign over all rights to their art. However, people who do not win will retain the rights to their artwork.
Several people have called out Billie for the competition, accusing her of exploiting labour by replacing paid work with free submissions.
Logo/art contests are a scam. The winner gets a prize, but every single entry belongs to the contest organizer, forever. They give out one prize, they have THOUSANDS of designs they can make money off of, and they've created a merch line without paying a single artist. https://t.co/3pDXX9jyzM
— eri pixie riot (@mspixieriot) January 26, 2022
Adobe made almost $16B in revenue in 2021 but are still constantly asking artists to work for free. https://t.co/cDo3UBmTt7
— Kat Lyons (@katlyyons) January 27, 2022
Spec work is bad for any working artist. https://t.co/O8IexO1Ttr pic.twitter.com/pD96x7rHK3
— Megan Rose Ruiz (cute but spicy) (@meganroseruiz) January 26, 2022
That small print is really something https://t.co/EDkUoAZFR4 pic.twitter.com/5ggCBemhHD
— Trey the Explainer (@Trey_Explainer) January 27, 2022
No.
— Chris Hackney (@ChrisHackneyGGK) January 27, 2022
Pay artists to design something.
The rules of these kinds of contests pray on your love for the celebrity and require that you sign away the rights to your art so the celebrity & company can make money off of it without compensating you.
It's theft. Say No. https://t.co/fMSfNZtQei
Billy Eilish has a net worth well above 50 million but she wants you guys to submit artwork for free in which she will have full control over. Do not enter competitions like this and never work for free. Know your worth. Pay artists!!!!!! https://t.co/P5vwzooREH
— Aoife Dooley (@Aoife_Dooley) January 28, 2022
This is exploitative, scammy behaviour.
— Eren’s NEWSLETTER IS LIVE! (@ErenAngiolini) January 27, 2022
Artists & fans, don't let billionaires & corporations lure you into making free art for them, in the hope of getting exposure. They refuse to let the winner keep ownership, no royalties, no nothing.
Please never enter contests like this. https://t.co/cHLCcNATgB
Nothing to see here. Just another rich celeb and the brand sponsoring her wanting you to pay for the product, work for the exposure, advertise for them, and they get to keep your design whether or not you win. https://t.co/bRPvFgy1pv
— Matt Mason - Bend those genres, yeah baby!🧟♂️👻 (@MGMasonBooks) January 27, 2022
just hire artists and pay them, ok thx bye https://t.co/43Emgif9A6
— kassiopeeia 🔮 (@kassiopeeia) January 27, 2022
do not do merch contests
— 2 kat 2 furious (@whackkat) January 27, 2022
get paid for your work
esp by artists that can afford it
ok thanks https://t.co/egDOmZa1y2
What do you think? Tweet us @popbuzz and let us know!
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