Spiral (my friend and a badass, longtime hoop performer) posted a blog recently about "artist abuse." It had to do with artists getting SHAFTED on pay by people who constantly, constantly, constantly expect entertainers to keep exchanging "the great opportunity to be seen" ... for little or no money.
I then sent out a corresponding bulletin that's getting such interesting and emotional responses -- sent directly to me -- that I thought I'd repost this as a blog. If anyone who responded to the bulletin would like to post a story here, please do. No pressure. But I think it's helpful to share our experiences. I've so far heard back from people who have been robbed on everything from sound engineering to handcrafted jewelry to singing.
Creativity is not something extra-curricular to "the real world." Art is an essential part of what it means to be human -- and when we entertain audiences, develop projects, adorn bodies with handcrafted gear, conjure up the right words, sing our hearts out, dance our asses off and blow people's minds ... we deserve to then be able to pay rent, buy food and keep LIVING so we can continue to entertain, develop, adorn, conjure, sing, dance, blow minds, etc.
Here's the Harlan Ellison rant on "Not taking a piss without getting paid for it" (from my earlier bulletin). People seemed to enjoy it. Probably sounds familiar to a lot of us.
And here's Spiral's original blog (which she also passed along from another source):
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This is brilliant, and applicable to the performance art industry as well. PLEASE READ IT if you are a performer, party promotor, or aspiring to be either. And just in case you don't get this from the article, here's a paraphrase: It is not worth risking my life on stilts at your party full of drunk people spilling their drinks on the slippery floor and the costume I spent countless hours creating for free entry and a couple of drink tickets. And for those of you who think it is, stilters (and other performers) or party hosts, you're idiots. I don't care if you're just starting out or not. If you're stilting (or flying or doing acro), you're risking your life. No matter what you perform you are providing something that only someone with your hard earned skill and talent can provide. If you're throwing a party, you have a budget for entertainment.
PERIOD.
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This came from here:
sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/com...945.html
Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking "artists" for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.
But what they're NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.
To those who are "seeking artists", let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?
More than likely, you don't know any. Otherwise, you wouldn't be posting on craigslist to find them.
And this is not really a surprise.
In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.
So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?
Would you offer a neurosurgeon the "opportunity" to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him "a few bucks" for "materials". What a deal!)
Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?
If you answered "yes" to ANY of the above, you're obviously insane. If you answered "no", then kudos to you for living in the real world.
But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?
Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.
A few things you need to know;
1. It is not a "great opportunity" for an artist to have his work seen on your car/'zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a "great opportunity" for YOU to have their work there.
2. It is not clever to seek a "student" or "beginner" in an attempt to get work for free. It's ignorant and insulting. They may be "students", but that does not mean they don't deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a "student" once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.
3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it's one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their "portfolio". They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It's not compensation. It's their right, and it's a given.
4. Stop thinking that you're giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.
5. Students DO need "experience". But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the "experience" they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother's house when they were seventeen?
If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.
6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to "submit work for consideration". They may even be posing as some sort of "contest". These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the "contest", or be "chosen" for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or "spec", work. It's risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.
So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are "spec" gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.
And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you're accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.