royalty-free

Definition: Scheme for licensing use of images, graphics or music which allows purchaser of a collection e.g. on CD to use the material in the collection for unlimited or nearly unlimited purposes without payment of further fees. * Note copyright does not pass to the purchaser, but generally remains with the publisher or author of the images. The royal road to riches Well, maybe: royalty-free images or whatever, and whatever you might think of them, are here to stay. They are a major resource for users of photographs, music, etc. who otherwise would not have access to such material. The cost of one search fee at a picture agency alone pays for one or more CDs carrying fifty or more high-quality, professional images. There is no contest. Content producers like photographers, artists have only question to answer: which publisher to go with? Or miss the boat: for every photographer who gets on his high horse, there are ten who will grub for their own CD. But don't expect a pot of gold: the days of easy money are over. You've missed them.

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