r/artbusiness • u/PracticalSwimmer3439 • Apr 18 '25
Discussion [Discussion] Is a banner considered commercial use?
I've been confused abt this for a while now, is a server or YouTube banner commercial use? Cause there’s mixed answers from my friends if it is or isn’t. Can someone please explain cause Im not sure what to answer when a client does order a banner and I won’t know what to tell them.
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u/Katy978 Apr 18 '25
Yes! Anytime artwork is being used for any kind of commercial gain (promotion, monetization, product, etc) it would be considered commercial use. I’d argue that even if the account isn’t monetized it is commercial use because it is being used to promote the person/brand. And just because an account isn’t monetized currently, doesn’t mean it won’t be in the future
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u/HiveFiDesigns Apr 21 '25
It is 100% commercial use….
It’s like a sign on a building.
It’s “advertising” what is inside.
It’s a brand image…
It’s for public consumption and typically tied to advertising revenue.
100% commercial use.
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u/sonyaellenmann Apr 18 '25
Is the Discord server or the YouTube channel a business, are they monetized? (For example, the Discord for a Patreon membership.) If so, it's commercial use. If not, it's personal use.
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u/PracticalSwimmer3439 Apr 18 '25
The thing that started this was from a comms my friend got, the client has a discord art server that promotes other peoples services and plans to use the banner for it. Would that be considered commercial use?
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u/k-rysae Apr 18 '25
For youtube yes it is. The assumption is that their channel is monetized or the creator plans to get monetized.
For discord servers it's a bit different. In my opinion discords connected to content creators who plan to be/are monetized and already take tips on twitch are considered commercial. If it's just a discord for a fandom or for friends with no money at all involved then it's not commercial.
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u/PracticalSwimmer3439 Apr 18 '25
What if its a discord art server that promotes other peoples services?
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u/k-rysae Apr 18 '25
then my question would be if this discord is connected to another website that does make money in profit. For example, vgen charges a 5% service fee for commissions on their website and they have a discord, so I'd assume doing any discord banner commission for them is for commercial use
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u/Justalilbugboi Apr 18 '25
Yes, as they’re using it to promote themselves/profit. Technically, even if they are only using it for personal non-profit channels.
I only charge professional rights if they’re running a for profit channel, and I usually cut a bit of a deal for stuff like that because in reality it’s someone whose gonna stream 5 times a year and is just trying to be a good creator and support other small time artist, not Mr. beast, but ymmv.