It’s very true that artists earn very little. It’s also true that any artist who will be financially and/or commercially successful must view their work, time, resources, strengths/weaknesses, and GROWTH as if it were a business in order to reap financial reward at all.
In order to view one’s work through this lens though, an artist must grasp the value of what they create. It takes exceptional time and energy to produce art that has significant value, and yet most artists treat their work–here synonymous with career, education and ongoing development–like it’s of little worth or value. Even reduced to a simple question of supply and demand, artists produce works more often than not in very small quantities and demand for good art will almost always outweigh the available supply. Thus, the value of these artworks goes up.
Seth Godin wrote these insightful posts lately–
The first article is one of the best arguments I’ve ever read for spending money on individualized training that will make YOUR art differentiable from competitors. While $130/hr for a private teacher or $40K/year for conservatory tuition may seem like an awfully steep price to front for a career that has a very low, lifetime income potential (especially in relationship to the overhead), it makes total sense as a business model within a luxury market.
The second article by Godin provides some great question(s) needed to fuel the quest to 1) find a compelling artistic voice and 2) to generate audiences. How is my art different than nothing? What is it about what I will offer on stage/canvas/paper/my body that is better than the old armchair and SNL? This is especially applicable for arts that people decry as “in decline” or “of a former generation,” say, for example, opera. Many people have never really experienced opera and have lived happy, cultured, expansive lives without it. There is no competition.
Do people find their lives enriched at the simulcast of an opera compared to the armchair full of nothing that they have at home? Or is it just another chair of nothing? And what about slashed ticket prices? Does it do anything to generate audiences that are willing–regardless of their financial status or class–to pay the real value of a luxury product? If going to the opera is better for my life than nothing, wouldn’t I be willing to shell out the extra cash?
