Art Licensing: 2012 Top 150 Global Licensors

Advanstar Communications released their digital May 2013 edition of License! Global magazine that includes the Top 150 Global Licensors for 2012. As usual Disney tops the list with their brands on products selling a whopping $ 39.3 billion at retail. Unfortunately there are not many art licensors on the list. However, this is not surprising because art licensing is a small category (only 3%) of the total licensed merchandise sold according to LIMA (Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association) in the article "Licensing Industry Sales Jump 5% Marking First Gain in Five Years". Note: Five years ago more artists made Advanstars Top Licensor list but now artists have a hard time competing against all the various brands (food, fashion, home improvement, sports, magazines, cars, etc.) that have entered the licensing industry. Brands have the spending power to hire experts in marketing and advertising besides hire celebrities that endorse the brands. Thus, they get more exposure than art and tend to sell more product.

The Thomas Kinkade Company held strong by Kinkade art selling $425 million products at retail (p.52). Wood carver and painter Jim Store creations sold $150 million products at retail (p.57); photographer Rachel Hale (Dissero Brands) $45 million at retail (p. 63), and Suzy Zoo $42 million at retail (p. 63). MHS Licensing artists art sold $100 million products at retail (p. 60). That is a combination of all the art licensed by the 32 artists MHS Licensing represents. They attributed a sizable portion of the amount to their wildlife artists Al Agrew, The Hautman Brothers, and Darrell Bush.

Below are articles about top licensors from the previous years.
• "Tracking the Success of Top Art Licensors" (from 1998 to 2008)

• "2009 Top Art Licensors"

• "2010 Top 125 Global Licensors"

• "Licensing: 2011 Top 125 Global Licensors"

Your comments are welcome. Please click on the comments section (below) to write your comment.