Penny-a-word freelancers may earn "content farm" $1.5 billion

Section 5 of the Contributors Agreement

Freelance writers, opting to write for 1 cent per word under a “work-made-for-hire” contract, has helped Demand Media – through its content-production unit Demand Studios and website eHow – file for an initial public offering (IPO) that could make the company be worth $1.5 billion.  This in turn might generate a handsome income for company officers and outside investors (for example, CEO Richard Rosenblatt could receive $4.67 million from 2009.)

However, the filing is raising questions about the company.  Writers may want to check out the resulting articles, such as “Demand Media Faces Harsh Spotlight En Route to IPO” in GigaOm’s blog.  Also, Carol Tice’s informative blog post “Demand Studios’ IPO Reveals More Reasons Writers Should be Wary.”

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