Apple to Pay Licensing Fees to 'Shot on iPhone' Contest Winners After Artist Complaints

Apple is planning to pay the photographers who win its "Shot on iPhone" photography contest, the company announced today in an updated press release.

Apple clarified its position on payment for the photographs following multiple complaints from artists that were highlighted earlier today by The Verge.

iphonexsrearcamera
The "Shot on iPhone" contest was first announced on Tuesday, and at the time, Apple appeared to be offering no compensation to the photographers. Winners would be paid in exposure, with Apple planning to display winning photographs on social media and on billboards.

Photographers were understandably upset at a company the size of Apple asking for artistic work sans compensation.


Apple now says that all photographers who win the contest will receive an unspecified licensing fee for the use of their photos on billboards and other marketing channels. It was not previously clear if Apple had intended to pay licensing fees, as the prior language released by the company did not mention it.

Apple believes strongly that artists should be compensated for their work. Photographers who shoot the final 10 winning photos will receive a licensing fee for use of such photos on billboards and other Apple marketing channels.

The updated information is available in the press release announcing the contest and the PDF with the official rules.

Apple's "Shot on ‌iPhone‌" contest kicked off on January 22 and will run through February 7 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. The contest will be judged by both professional photographers and a selection of Apple employees with photography expertise.

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...

Top Rated Comments

480951 Avatar
81 months ago
Oh good grief. How ridiculous. All because a handful of pro photographers whined on Twitter.
People should be paid for their work. Apple is obscenely wealthy, I think they'll be okay. They could give each of the 10 winners $1 million each and it would be absolutely nothing to them. People defending this nearly trillion dollar company are gross.
Score: 86 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LinusR Avatar
81 months ago
No photographer was forced to enter the competition -- professional, amateur, or otherwise. Complaining about the T&C's after submitting their photos is borderline ridiculous.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
81 months ago
Oh good grief. How ridiculous. All because a handful of pro photographers whined on Twitter.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brofkand Avatar
81 months ago
The next slogan should be: "Customers who have a bent iPad should are encouraged to contact AppleCare"
[doublepost=1548382319][/doublepost]
Oh good grief. How ridiculous. All because a handful of pro photographers whined on Twitter.
You can't buy food with a medal or happy thoughts, takes money for that. I don't work for free, do you?
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheShadowKnows! Avatar
81 months ago
This isn’t work.
Maybe not to you, but it is copyright.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stevez67 Avatar
81 months ago
Why not just reduce the contest to amateur only? If the alleged pros were as good and deserving of compensation as they claim, they should be too busy for contests like this.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)