Licensing and Royalties: A Closer Look at What “Fair” Really Means
Licensing can feel like a big word, but at its heart, it’s simply a way to share your work with the world while still holding onto what’s yours. For artists and designers, it offers a path to long-term income without stepping away from the creative process, and when done thoughtfully, it can help your work reach new audiences while building meaningful partnerships with manufacturers.
But if you’ve started looking into licensing, you may have run into questions about royalty percentages and what’s “fair.” This part of the process can be confusing at first, especially if you're new to how product development and manufacturing work behind the scenes. So let’s break it down.
The Role of Licensing
One of the biggest benefits of licensing is that it allows your art to travel further while you retain ownership and creative control. It also opens the door to partnerships with manufacturers who can turn your designs into tangible products and handle the production and distribution needed to bring them to life.
Just keep in mind: it’s a slow build. In the Interiors market, royalties often take 2½ to 3 years to show up, simply because it takes time for a design to move through development, manufacturing, and into customers’ homes. But when it does? It can be incredibly rewarding. And once those royalties start coming in, they can turn into a stream of passive income, giving you more time to focus on doing what you love—creating.
Let’s Talk About “Fairness”
A concern we sometimes hear from designers new to licensing is about the “fairness” of the royalty percentage, usually something in the 3% to 5% range. At first glance, that number might seem small. But that line of thinking often signals a misunderstanding of how the industry works.
The truth is, licensing is a collaborative process. When a manufacturer offers you a royalty of 3%, they’re not pocketing the remaining 97%. They’re the ones covering the full weight of production: sourcing materials, managing inventory, paying staff, marketing the product, handling distribution, and even dealing with returns. Essentially, handling all of the risk.
After all of that, their actual profit is typically in the 20–25% range. So when you’re earning 3% of the sale, you're actually receiving a notable portion—often around 15% of their total profit. That’s a sign of respect for your creative contribution.
Put simply, if the royalty number feels “low,” it may just mean the licensing model is being misunderstood. It’s not about undervaluing artists. It’s about balancing what it takes for everyone, creators and producers, to bring beautiful work into the world.
A Creative Collaboration
Licensing is a steady, thoughtful relationship. It’s a way for your art to move into the world with support behind it. And it’s built on mutual respect: your creative vision paired with someone else’s ability to produce and distribute with care.
If you’re curious about how licensing might fit into your own creative path, we’d love to keep the conversation going. Sign up for our newsletter for thoughtful insights, behind-the-scenes updates, and opportunities to work alongside Kindly Woven. You can also visit our website to learn more about how we support artists in bringing their work to life—beautifully and sustainably.
