Licensing & Commissions

Business or Non-Profit.
These are clients who own for-profit businesses, registered non-profit organisations, or are representatives of businesses or non-profits. These clients use mass media to bring attention to a product, service, or cause. This also applies to clients whose projects have commercial sponsorship, including but not limited to YouTube channels, livestreams, and podcasts.

Independent Creators.
These are people with non-commercial endeavours, such as Twitch streams, and non-sponsored YouTube channels. While they might make a little money doing it, their project is not owned by a large company, corporation, or non-profit organisation.

While attempting to concretely separate these into absolutely discrete categories is difficult, I can make a generalisation. If the entity whose project you want me to work on supplies you with enough money that you can consider it your main source of income, you're a Business. If the entity whose project you want me to work on is registered with the state government as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(7), you're a Non-Profit. If your project is yours alone, you're an independent creator.

Still confused? So am I. Here's an example...
If your YouTube channel has supporters on Patreon, click here.
If your YouTube channel is sponsored by Patreon itself, click here.
If you set up your YouTube channel as part of your job at Patreon Inc., click here.

"What if my business model changes? Like, what if I license LCI Music as an independent creator and later on I get corporate sponsorship? Will I have to re-license as a business?"
No. Any existing licenses from your previous business model will still be valid under a new one. However, if you wish to license any other LCI music after the change, the new terms will apply. For instance, you license Real Life Fast Travel as an independent creator and then, 2 months later, you start a sponsorship deal with NordVPN. Your indie license for Real Life Fast Travel is still valid, and you will not need to pay anything extra on it to keep it so. However, with corporate sponsorship, you now want to license Source Port; you will need to purchase the business license.

It works the other way, too. If you purchase a business license and your model changes to independent creator, your business license will still be valid, but any additional licenses you purchase will need to be independent creator licenses.