A convention of spiritualists

According to Tom Stoppard ‘the media’ sounds like a ‘convention of spiritualists’.  In that a positive piece of media coverage can be reincarnated, used for promotional purposes and provide value, long after its first publication date, the statement has some truth, don’t you think?

If you are the company who has received the positive press in targeted publications, be they magazines, newspapers or on-line, only you will know the true value to your company or client. In your consideration and enthusiasm to post a scanned clip or text extract from a hard won publication, remember that the piece belongs to someone. In this case, it’s the magazine or newspaper publisher.

If like many others, you want to use the positive press piece as promotional collateral and extend its lifespan, by posting it on your website, Facebook page, Twitter and other social media you’ll need to acknowledge the publisher. 

You can do this by either:

-          asking explicit permission from each individual publisher.

-          or purchasing a licence from a collective licensing organisation like ourselves, giving you advance permission to post articles from multiple publications – prices start @ £158.00 per licence.

Recently NLA has had some Twitter comments from PR agencies surprised that NLA has contacted their clients, advising them of a licence requirement for re-use of published content. Whilst we appreciate that some companies are surprised, our role is to advise them of their obligations and offer solutions.  We will continue to make those calls and provide that advice. You can also refer your clients to our blog and website for further information on what we do, and how to get in touch with directly with publishers.

(You might also find this article, on simply linking to news stories of (commercial) interest as it provides guidance on what is (generally) permissible without the need for a licence or publisher permission.