Introduction

In October 2017, 48 American freelancers who contribute to Ebony and Jet, a pair of lifestyle magazines for African-American readers, filed a lawsuit against Ebony Media and the private equity group that owns the magazines, claiming that together freelancers were owed US$80,000 in unpaid fees. The group of freelancers included writers, photographers, graphic designers, and videographers who were each owed hundreds or thousands of dollars; money offered in exchange for articles and images but never paid (Channick, 2017). In the months leading up to the lawsuit, freelancers took their complaints to social media, using the Twitter hashtag #EbonyOwes to drum up public support, alerting many to a not-so-secret reality of freelance life: that when companies struggle financially, or when editors forget to file invoices, or when payroll departments are slow to process payments, it is individual freelancers who pay. In the Netherlands, similar action was prompted in 2015 with the Twitter hashtag #tegendebakker, and freelancers worldwide often share experiences of not being paid adequately using #freelance.

Waiting weeks, months, and even years to be paid for articles, photographs, and other pieces of work is a persistent reality for freelance media and cultural workers. ‘When you are a freelancer, getting paid for the work you do becomes a second job in and of itself’, writes an American freelance journalist. ‘You’re sending countless emails to dozens of people over weeks, months, and (in some cases…) years just to get paid for the labour you did’ (Chamseddine, 2017). Such firsthand accounts from freelancers working in media and cultural industries trouble the notion that freelancing means an easy life of sleeping in, working from home in your pajamas, going for a jog in the middle of the day, and plugging in to work only if and when one wants.