How do artists qualify for the Y and K levels of the program? Why do Y and K level artists receive guaranteed picks?

Artists qualify for the Y and K levels of the program based on the percentage of total Minted sales that they account for in each of our key categories: Holiday, Wedding, Baby & Kids, Greeting Cards, and Art. During the annual CMYK qualification process, we review the sales for each artist against the total artist sales in each category to determine the artists’ percentage share of sales (also known as “stack ranking”). We then select the artists with the highest stack ranking for each category to qualify for Y and K. 

It’s also possible for an artist to qualify based on their total sales instead of sales in a specific category. In this case, the artist qualifies for Y or K in the category where they have the highest stack ranking. 

The same group of artists qualify for Y and K, but those who choose the K level will receive additional benefits (all benefits for the CMYK program can be seen here) and agree to limitations on some commercial relationships. K-level artists sign one-year exclusivity contracts with Minted for the category they qualify for. During the program year, Minted will be the exclusive provider of the artists’ work in the category they qualify for and they cannot enter into a commercial relationship for the sale or license of designs with competing brands or retailers.

One of the top perks of being a YK artist is receiving guaranteed picks in qualifying assortments. Each Y-level artist receives 3 guaranteed picks per year, and each K-level artist receives 7 guaranteed picks per year (Greeting Card Y and K artists have a certain number of their guaranteed picks placed in Target). These guaranteed picks are spread across all Challenges within the category that an artist qualifies in. Guaranteed picks can be fulfilled either via top-voted picks or Editor’s Picks for Challenges where winners are announced during the current program year. 

We also require Y and K-level artists to meet certain participation criteria during the program year in order to be awarded these guaranteed picks. Y-level artists must submit a minimum of 7 designs in at least 3 Challenges (5 submissions to 2 challenges for Art) in each of their qualifying categories, and K-level artists must submit a minimum of 15 designs in at least 3 Challenges (10 submissions to 2 challenges for Art).