What's the hidden cost of digital signage content

I just read a great article on the hidden costs of digital signage content (click here for the original article).

As the article states, you don't always know who really owns advertising content.  Don't expect an ad paid for by a brand owner can be used at no additional cost.  Actual ownership of the ad may not have been transferred to the people who actually "ordered" it.  When this happens, the creative people who produced the ad retain ownership and they get paid each time it is used. This happens when a brand owner decides to keep their advertising costs low.  They don't purchase the ad itself, just the rights to use it.

In many cases usage fees will fluctuate depending on the target audience so an ad shown on national TV will be charged at a higher rate than when it is shown on a private digital signage network and the difference can be quite substantial. If you want to use that ad on your signage network, you must pay usage rights.

Fees must also be paid for royalty-free photography, video and audio content. This material is usually less expensive to acquire but you never actually purchase the media itself. You purchase the right to use the media for a specific purpose so the price will vary accordingly.

Then we have content that falls under a Creative Commons license or available in the Public Domain.

It's critical to determine who owns the content before you start distributing it.  Ultimately the cost will be based on the intended use, but remember there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Read the fine print and if you are unsure about the specific rights or ownership of any media, talk to the people providing the material or someone who specializes in copyright law.