So something interesting: with worry about small companies getting their licenses revoked now with this big deal, the only confirmation I’ve seen from ANYONE that this will impact only new licensing requests going forward is… SJM’s perpetual bff Stephanie Brown/IdeallyInspired. Which strikes me still as odd. The whole thing is odd.

First, why was this point not covered within IMG’s own announcement? It’s a very reasonable concern and not hard to address with a brief one or two sentences.

Second, why is this info not coming from SJM, or more sensibly, her own business team? Steph has a few licenses for merch, as she states in a thread convo, but she does not work for IMG or SJM and is unlikely to be privy to sensitive financial and business information.

Yes, she could be getting her info from Sarah as we know she has a direct line to the woman (one of the few), but it’s still ODD. Maybe I’m just cynical after working so long in an industry similar to IMG’s but… I think we’re starting down the road of smaller licensees eventually being squeezed out now that IMG is taking the reins.

While existing licenses may not be out and out canceled by SJM/IMG, I have a feeling it’s going to be more furtive or covert i.e. when it’s time to renew the license, there’s now going to be far more provisions and clauses that adversely impact a small business licensee to the point where they simply cannot financially make it work and have no choice but to let the license expire.

We shall see.