Typophile

Different pricing models for typefaces

Christopher Tim...

Keeping in mind I am not a type designer (AKA this might sound like a stupid question), and this may have been discussed in a previous thread…
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Over dinner with an (ex)photographer friend of mine we got to talking about the various pricing models of stock photography companies — that existed at the time he got out of the industry c 2004 — and one of them was to the effect of “every time a customer wanted to use this photograph, the original photographer got a little bit of money.”

Questions:
1. Does such a pricing model exist for typefaces companies?
2. What other pricing models are there? (not including web fonts)?
3. Who uses which model(s)?

With this info, it should be fairly simple to create an informative matrix.

This is just out of personal interest. Not for research, professional, &c.

David Berlow

“every time [a] customer wanted to use this photograph, the original photographer got a little bit of money.”

Everytime a customer wants to use most fonts we license, the original type designer gets a little bit of money, or more.

Many type licensing companies also follow this "royalty" model for print and web fonts.

There is another model where the type licensing company owns the font without royalties to any designer.

The model in use depends on the font, in some type licensing companies, while others only license fonts without designer royalties involved.

Christopher Tim...

a) Does the type designer or company get to choose the model?
b) Or does it vary depending on the foundry?

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