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Data licensing for news and media companies

Get paid to license the news archive your company owns

AI data buyers pay publishers and media companies to license the articles, back issues and footage they own. We match you with the buyers that fit best. We email you within 24 hours.

Check If You Qualify

Free. About 9 questions: industry, size, records. Compare any offers before you sign.

Company records live in tools like these

SharePointGoogle DriveAmazon S3DropboxFrame.ioAdobe Premiere ProGmailOutlookSlackMicrosoft TeamsNotionSalesforce
SharePointGoogle DriveAmazon S3DropboxFrame.ioAdobe Premiere ProGmailOutlookSlackMicrosoft TeamsNotionSalesforce
SharePointGoogle DriveAmazon S3DropboxFrame.ioAdobe Premiere ProGmailOutlookSlackMicrosoft TeamsNotionSalesforce

What licensing your company's records means

Licensing means an AI data buyer pays the company to use copies of its work records, under a signed license that says what is shared and how it is used. You fill in one form with OpenTrain, we match your company with the buyers that fit best, and the license is between your company and the buyer. Book, journal or course publisher? See publisher content licensing.

License only work your company owns or has written rights to license

  • Wire stories and photos, syndicated columns, and third-party footage and music usually belong to the agency or other owner, so leave them out.
  • Freelancers, stringers and outside photographers may keep rights in their work, so check each contributor agreement before you include it.
  • A right to publish or broadcast work may not include a right to license it for AI training, so check the terms.

How much a news or media company can earn

"We're paying out $100k-3M+ for the data your business already generates"

What one AI data buyer says on its own site.

That buyer says its payments typically range from $100K to over $3M, based on the quality, uniqueness and value of the data.

The buyer sets any offer after it reviews your company.

One of the AI data buyers we work with lists $35,000 to $370,000 for long-form content the company holds the rights to, such as magazines and video.

Which news archives and footage AI data buyers want

Stories and footage your company owns or has written rights to license, like the ones below. They show how real news gets reported, edited and published.

  • Article archives SharePointGoogle Drive
  • Back issues and page scans Amazon S3Dropbox
  • Magazine features and essays Google DriveDropbox
  • Raw footage and B-roll Frame.ioDropboxGoogle Drive
  • Newscasts and finished edits Adobe Premiere ProFrame.io

Keep personal files, subscriber payment data and confidential source material out of any license.

How personal information is handled

  • Before you sign, ask each buyer to show you in writing, with a sample, what personal information it removes or transforms, when it does so, and who can see your records before then.
  • OpenTrain does not remove personal information for you.

Leave out anything that could identify a confidential source, plus reader comments, subscriber lists and staff details. Names, faces and voices in your stories, photos and footage are personal information too: include them only where the applicable notice, consent and law allow this use. Also leave out stories you took down or anonymized after a privacy request, legal complaint, settlement or court order.

  1. Your records
  2. Buyer explains what is removed or transformed
  3. You review
  4. You approve
Check If You Qualify
How It Works

Three steps to license your company's records

01
Step 01

Answer a few questions about your company.

Your industry, how many people work there, your role and where its records are kept. About two minutes.

02
Step 02

We find the buyers that fit.

We check your answers against each buyer's requirements and send your details to every buyer that fits. We email you within 24 hours and name each buyer once we've sent your details.

03
Step 03

Each buyer reviews, then you decide.

You don't have to find or contact buyers yourself. If a buyer asks you to fill in its own form, our email has the direct link. Each buyer reviews your company and may make an offer. You choose whether to sign.
Check If You Qualify

Who can sign for a news or media company

An owner or founder, the CEO, COO, CFO or general counsel, or a board member who has authority to sign contracts for the company. If you are not sure you can sign, ask your counsel before you apply.

New to this? Read how to sell or license company data to AI buyers.

Sign a license before you share any records

  1. First, ask each buyer to put its security and privacy terms in writing, and to confirm that nothing leaves your systems until you approve it.
  2. Then sign a license that says what is shared, how it is used and what you are paid.
  3. Share data only after you sign, and only what the license names. OpenTrain does not audit or guarantee any buyer's security.
Check If You Qualify

Paid licenses

for the records your team already keeps

You decide what is shared

You pay OpenTrain nothing
Check If You Qualify

In the news

Data licensing by industry

How OpenTrain gets paid

OpenTrain costs your company nothing. If a buyer credits your referral, the buyer may pay us a referral reward. You license your data straight to the buyer. We never receive, hold or sell that data.

FAQ
Can a news or media company license its archive for AI training?
Yes, if your company owns the work or has written rights to license it, and no contract stops you sharing it. AI data buyers pay publishers and media companies to license articles, back issues and footage for AI training. Wire stories, syndicated columns and freelance work often belong to someone else, so check each contract first. Fill in one form and we match your company with the buyers that fit best.
Do AI companies pay smaller news publishers, or only the biggest ones?
Smaller ones too. The AI data buyers we work with take small and mid-size publishers and media companies, not only the biggest names. Each buyer decides which companies and archives fit. Fill in one form and we check your company against every buyer we work with.
AI companies may already have crawled our website. Is there still something to license?
Often, yes. Much of a news archive may never have run on the open web, like stories behind a paywall, print-era back issues and raw or unaired footage. Each buyer decides what fits. Tell us in the form what you hold and where it is kept, and we check your company against every buyer we work with.
What happens to names, confidential sources and other personal data in our stories, photos and footage?
Stories, photos and footage name and show real people, and notes or raw tape can identify a confidential source. Leave out anything that could identify a confidential source. Before you sign, ask each buyer to show you in writing, with a sample, what it removes or transforms and who can see your records before then. OpenTrain does not remove personal information for you.
Is it legal to license our company's data?
It depends on your contracts, your privacy notices and the law where you operate. Each buyer's license sets out the rights it needs. We don't give legal advice, so check with your own counsel before you sign.
Why apply through OpenTrain instead of going to a buyer directly?
You can. But you'd have to find the buyers, learn what each one wants and fill in each one's application. Each buyer takes only some industries, sizes and kinds of data, so many of those applications go nowhere. Through us you fill in one form, we send it only to the buyers that fit, and you can compare their offers before you sign. It costs you nothing.
What does OpenTrain cost?
Nothing. If a buyer credits your referral, it may pay us a referral reward.
What happens after I apply?
We check your answers against every buyer we work with and send your details to each one that fits. We email you within 24 hours and name each buyer once we've sent your details. You don't have to contact any buyer yourself. If a buyer asks you to fill in its own form, our email has the direct link. Each buyer decides whether to contact you, and you can compare any offers before you sign.
Can a closing or closed company license its data?
Yes, if someone with authority acts for it: the founder or board, or a person appointed to act for the company as it closes, such as a trustee, liquidator or assignee for creditors. Who can sign depends on how the company is closing, so check with your counsel. See closing or closed companies.

Find buyers that fit your company

Disclosure: OpenTrain is an independent referrer. If a buyer we match you with credits your company's referral, that buyer may pay OpenTrain a referral reward. You pay OpenTrain nothing. We never receive or hold the data your company licenses. We keep the company and contact details you give us. When you submit the form, you ask us to send them to AI data buyers that fit, and we email you to name each buyer we send them to.

Check If You Qualify

Product names and logos belong to their owners. No endorsement is implied.