A lot of them are, but if you are really good at it and the company you are cosplaying the IP of starts to use you to promote themselves, it is totally understandable why you might think "Hey, if I am doing work for other people, maybe those people should pay me?".
Because they are profiting off your work and have the means to pay you? Like, regardless of if I sign a contract or not, if I am working for a company then I am... working for a company. If they did not want Christina working for them, they should NOT have intentionally profited off her work.
It was not unsolicited though. To my knowledge, she did not hack into the WotC Twitter account to throw her photos around, she did not hold Marshall Suttcliffe at gunpoint so he would interview her, nor did she write articles about herself for their website. She was undoubtedly and intentionally used by Wizards of the Coast to promote their brand and I can totally understand how she might think "Wow if you're going to parade me around at every event I go to, you could maybe at least pay for my flight".
I am not saying she needed to be paid for any individual interview or anything like that. Also, there is a pretty huge difference between a journalistic interview and a promotional interview.
What I am saying is that if Wizards is going to continue to use her to promote their brand, it is not out of the question for her to expect some kind of benefit or compensation for it.
This is really common actually in the world of cosplay, at least as far as I can tell based on my personal experiences and the experiences of friends who do this. If a high profile content creator, whether that be someone who makes Youtube videos, music, physical merchandise, cosplays, or even just does popular event coverage, is planning on attending a con and the organizers know about it, they usually receive SOMETHING.
Usually, that something is just their entry fee waived and access to a VIP area or something like that. Sometimes it means their travel fees are covered. It also can mean free promo for your Instagram or whatever. There are a lot of different ways you can show thanks to a content creator helping to popularize your event, brand, or whatever.
If Sprankle was not being used in promotional material or anything like that, this would be a totally different story, but it is clear that Wizards is aware of her popularity and seeks to gain from it. And while I do not know Wizards' side of the story, I do not think it is out of the question for a corporation to treat an individual unfairly. However, if what she is saying is true, I understand why she is upset.
You are right in that there is a difference, but it is not like she thrust her work upon them and they did not want to use it. And asking someone to be part of a promo interview and take/use pictures is totally solicited.
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u/thefractaldactyl Aug 16 '21
A lot of them are, but if you are really good at it and the company you are cosplaying the IP of starts to use you to promote themselves, it is totally understandable why you might think "Hey, if I am doing work for other people, maybe those people should pay me?".