Billion dollar per year company asks illustrators to work for free.

Google recently invited dozens of prominent artists to contribute work to be featured on its new Web browser, Chrome, coercing them with the promise of huge "exposure". The project will let users customize Google Chrome pages with artist-designed “skins” in their borders.

The trade-off is that this "exposure" will net the illustrator zero compensation for his or her time and talent. Google expects their chosen artists to work for free.

Shame on Google. This billion-dollar-per-year company, whose pubescent founders recently negotiated a contract to pay $1.3 million per year for the right to land their jumbo jet at a restricted NASA air strip near their home office, don't seem to believe that talented illustrators deserve to be paid to, essentially, "rebrand" Google's product. Never mind that Google employs (pays) a small army of in-house designers to keep their brand on target.

“While we don’t typically offer monetary compensation for these projects,” the statement said, “through the positive feedback that we have heard thus far we believe these projects provide a unique and exciting opportunity for artists to display their work in front of millions of people.”  [Google]

Translation: "We are so egotistical we believe that people outside of our direct employ should work for the privilege of associating their name with our earth-shatteringly awesome product".

There is a monumental difference between doing pro bono work and having a behemoth billion dollar corporation that has more than enough money to pay illustrators to create "skins" asking them to work for "exposure". There is also absolutely no guarantee for the illustrator that his or her hard work will pay off. More often than not, such arrangements only benefit the recipient.

The exposure these artists will receive is offset by the simple fact that Google stands to gain enormously from their arrangement. The artists participating in this massive spec project will be guaranteed only one thing ...

The unfortunate fact is that Google is taking advantage of a horrible economy, a dying publishing industry, and the naivete of professional illustrators to get work done for free.

Google should be ashamed. They have more than enough money to pay professional illustrators and artists industry-standard fees for their talent. By using their clout to get illustrators to work for them for free, Google is setting a horrible precedent - One that will undoubtedly do more damage to our industry than all of the professionals who work-for-hire in order to make ends meet.

We are proud to see the integrity of a handful of the industry's brightest talents who declined Google's invitation. While we wish more of our compatriots were capable of seeing the damage their decision to work with Google for free will cause, we can only praise those who have spurned Google's less-than-honest offer.

Read the Original New York Times Article: Use Their Work For Free? Some Artists Say No to Google.