Ive seen quite a lot of talk about making a living as an artist (in any medium) lately. From watching a doco about Aussie cinema called Into the Shadows for uni to statuses and articles being shared around on here. I dont know how to do it. Clearly. If I did, Id be doing it... and selling a book about how to do it... so, I cant hand anyone a way to make money from art in this market. But, if you are also trying to find your way, remember that it is a market. It always has been and, like any market, the onus will always be on the vendor to draw in the audience. Too many of the people talking about this seem to be of the opinion that, when the dynamics of the marketplace change and their audience moves on, its the fault of the audience for doing it wrong, when really, its on the person trying to sell things to give the audience what they want, how they want it, when they want it and in a way that makes the audience feel like they should (or have to) come to you for it. Heres some examples, good and bad: * Trent Reznor has started to make Nine Inch Nails material readily available at release for everyone, but sells limited physical editions with added extras. The physical editions are expensive, but people buy them because a lot of people value a well made special edition of something they love, and that recoups most (if not all) the cost of production. Of course, this relies on a) being a top quality musician and b) having an entrenched fanbase. * Webcomics release their content for free, but make their money on books of their work, merch, and convention commissions. Again, presuming youre good at what you do and you are able to build a fanbase. * Foxtels an interesting example, with Murdoch using lobbying to limit the ability of competitors to surface by crippling the NBN, holding content hostage through exclusivity contracts, pushing for tighter controls on internet piracy that criminalise it, and then charging out the nose for sub-standard service. Its not ethical, but its the same principle. The lesson here is that you cant complain sales out of people. Moaning about the good old days, not to mention romanticising them, helps exactly no-one. Not you, not your peers, not your audience. If your audience arent willing to pay money for your content based purely on your word that its worth it, then let them experience it for free and give them options to support you in other ways. If people love what you do digitally, they will want to own it physically or with merch. Give them those opportunities to support you. People arent inherently assholes, youre just letting them slip through your fingers as you get left behind.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 22:50:19 +0000
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