Survival of the Freest? - 5 Tips for Artists in a Free-Culture Society

The world is spinning faster than it used to.

Technology is raging full speed ahead and culture in general is being swallowed up. So where does that leave art?

Actors, film-makers, painters, writers and musicians are finding that the economic models that once defined their place in society are being challenged. An increase in free information and access to technology previously only available to “professionals” has led to a D.I.Y. ethic that’s bringing talented individuals out of the woodwork in droves to (in many cases) take the place of their highly paid icons. And what about the “free-culture” movement which is rapidly changing how society looks at intellectual property?

If you want to compete as an artist in the coming years, you better start changing your perspective: keep moving or you’ll get hurdled.

Here’s a list of 5 things you can do to get ahead of the game and make sure you don’t get trampled by the herd while looking at your watch.

Although these ideas are written from a visual arts perspective, I’m sure that readers from other creative backgrounds can also apply them to their field. And please be warned, this is not an article about free-culture. It is about adapting to some of the changes that free-culture ideas are creating. If you want to learn more about this phenomenon, there are links after the article:

1. Don’t Just Sell, Give.

Remember the old saying “you have to give something to get something?” Guess what; it’s true.

Businesses use the lure of free stuff to get people interested in their products and services all the time, so why not artists? One of my professors once told me that he knew an artist who used matchbooks as covers for miniature accordion-folded books of illustrations that were handed out for free at his gallery openings. Why not send them home with something to remember you by? Better yet, create something that they’ll come looking for!

Cory Doctorow, of BoingBoing fame, is a great example of this. He is a science-fiction writer who makes his books available online as free downloads! Sound nuts? Here’s what Cory had to say about it in Forbes:

Most people who download the book don’t end up buying it, but they wouldn’t have bought it in any event, so I haven’t lost any sales, I’ve just won an audience. A tiny minority of downloaders treat the free e-book as a substitute for the printed book–those are the lost sales. But a much larger minority treat the e-book as an enticement to buy the printed book. They’re gained sales. As long as gained sales outnumber lost sales, I’m ahead of the game. After all, distributing nearly a million copies of my book has cost me nothing.

So, what can you bring to the table? Be creative and share. The most important thing is to get your name and your work out there.

2. Cut Out the Middle-Man.

Dealers, galleries, record companies, brokers, publishers- whatever your angle on the art business, surely you have to wrangle with one or more of these beasts. Whenever you hear arguments against free-culture it is usually coming from one of these sources because these are the people that want to license and control the use of your art. They promote you. They advertise and show your work. And they are the ones who negotiate the sales of your product. This is how they make their living.

So why cut them out?

Be advised that times are changing and changing fast. All of the squawking you’re hearing about copyright and the free use of intellectual property will not be limited to downloadable music or videos on YouTube forever. The art world is about to become very different from what it once was, so be careful that you’re not relying on people who don’t understand (or even worse, don’t care about) these new business models.

That being said, art can be a very complicated business. You may or may not be able to D.I.Y. your way through it, but the more you do on your own the more you can be in control of your own destiny. Learn to negotiate deals and contracts and how to promote yourself. And leave the middle-men for when you really need them instead of letting them use your ignorance against you.

3. Support Free-Culture.

Are you a “traditional” artist who thinks none of this free-culture stuff applies to you?

See what happens when someone walks into your gallery, snaps a pic of one of your paintings with a camera phone, and then uses that picture to make derivative artworks in a digital format and reach a far larger audience than your original works ever did.

But what if you created your artwork using a Creative Commons license to actually encourage others to copy it or make works based on it in some way as long as they attributed it back to you. That’s not just advertising, that’s the best kind of advertising because the artwork of others is referencing you!

My point is that this is going on with or without you. It’s better to figure out what’s happening and how you can manipulate it to your benefit rather than being left clueless. And who knows, be vocal in your support and you might even be considered a revolutionary!

4. Advertise.

Sell out alert!

Advertising may sound evil and scary, but most industries use sponsors of some sort. So think outside the box.

Magazines and other publications do it all the time with ads that are tailored to fit their content (some fit in so well that they actually add to the experience- forgive the pun). Photographers get sponsored by camera companies all the time too. In fact, a very hot topic right now is whether musicians can use advertisers to sponsor albums that are available for free (or cheap) download.

Be creative and try to work out new business models directly between advertisers and yourself. For example, a good way to break the mold might be to find someone to foot the bill for showing your work in exchange for advertising. Don’t be afraid to try something new; this is an exciting time for artists and for advertisers. You may be surprised how many potential sponsors out there could be persuaded to try something different if you pitch it well and you’ve done your homework.

5. Adapt!

Like it or not, the market for sculptures made out of decomposing meat, photos of brutal crime scenes, and paintings done in animal feces may be rather small. Be honest with yourself. If you have a vision that is only going to appeal to a small segment of the population or one that is difficult to publicize due to its graphic content, it is a real long-shot that you’ll ever be able to make a living doing it. Does that mean you should stop?

Hell no!

The world needs your vision; just be smart and don’t keep that vision locked up waiting to be “discovered.” You have skills and talent. Do what the rest of the world is doing and use what you’ve got to make opportunities for yourself. One way you can do this is by sharing your art or copies of your art for free. Another way is hit the art world from more than one angle. Make yourself useful. The days of society bending itself around the stoic artist have pretty much come to a close.

Is this selling out?

That of course, is for you to decide. But ultimately, the key is how flexible you are and are willing to be. As the world changes and technology changes, so does society and so does art. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and don’t be so quick to pass judgment on new mediums. Be a free thinker and you’ll open yourself up to more possibilities. There’s no telling where this could lead if you’re down for the ride.

More to Explore:

Link to Cory Doctorow’s story “Giving It Away” @ Forbes and
Link to his blog where he often discusses artists’ rights and free-culture topics.
Link to the Creative Commons website where you can read up on free-culture, search for free art and music, and even license your own work!
Link to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization dealing with free and fair-use issues in all digital media.
Link to Students for Free Culture, a student organization with over 40 chapters.
Link to the book “Free Culture” by Lawrence Lessig. It is licensed via Creative Commons and is available for free download.

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