Artists Rights — On Getting Paid for your Work in an Age of AI

November 19, 2025

On Getting Paid for your Work in an Age of AI - Russell Palmer

Originally published November, 2022: "Artists Rights by Russell Palmer" Edited with Andrew Palmer (2025)

I just wrote and posted this exact blog post you’re reading now.

Writers like me want to see our work go viral, and we’re happy to share it with an audience. However, if I published this post only to find it copied and spread around the world without credit to my authorship, I’d be upset.

Or, if someone copied my words, replaced my name with theirs, and passed my blog off as their own, I’d be frustrated. Even worse, if someone audaciously sued me after stealing my work and publishing it as their own — well, I’d counter-sue. By posting my work online, I’m automatically granted copyright and can decide whether to allow others to copy and reuse it.

What Should Writers and Artists Do About AI?

What about comic illustrators, cartoon animators, painters, and filmmakers? Should we ban AI forever? Yeah, right. Should some random guy in Cincinnati sue Big Tech for scanning his latest social media pictures? That’s debatable. These datasets are massive, and it would be nearly impossible for Jim to prove that any AI-generated image directly used his content. The “black box” effect of neural networks makes it difficult to trace sources. Even if he succeeded, the payout — based on current stock photo prices — would likely be mere fractions of a cent per use.

Aside: Is Writing the Hardest Art Form?

Some argue that playing a musical instrument is the hardest artistic skill to master.

I’ve always wished I could draw better. As a kid, I admired my favorite Marvel Masterpiece trading cards and comics, practicing by sketching the characters. My brother, on the other hand, could invent and draw his own original characters — it was amazing to watch. I managed a few decent copies, but when it came time to create my own superhero… let’s just say “Dogman” looked better in my head than on paper.

Drawing freehand is hard. Painting is incredibly difficult. Creating a new artistic style? That’s immensely challenging — despite the jokes some in the general public make about artists like Jackson Pollock. From Da Vinci to Picasso to the French Impressionists, every generation of artists, including paint-makers and technologists, has redefined what’s possible.

Imagine living in 1920 and seeing Walt Disney sketch a cartoon rabbit. You’d probably think it was cool — I know I would have. Of course, Walt’s first character was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, not Mickey Mouse. And Walt only switched to a mouse after a legal dispute over Oswald’s rights. Does that mean Disney was just copying others’ greatness? Certainly not. But respecting prior works and adhering to copyright laws is essential.