Artists contribute a lot in today’s society with their creative work; however, statistics show they are not compensated enough. According to a recent study by Artnet, over three-quarters of artists in the U.S make less than $10,000 from their art while half barely hit $5,000 annually. Given the ‘emphasis’ that market stakeholders claim to have placed in the creative industry, the trend is quite worrying.
Notably, this growing sector features all sorts of creatives, including writers, designers, musicians, and painters. All these artist categories struggle to make ends meet, with only a few markets appreciating the creative work into artistic pieces. Even worse, society continues to view art as a hobby, leaving artists at the mercy of donations or other sources of income.
As a result of this bias, artists usually are forced to work multiple jobs. For most, art is just another source of income, probably done during their free time. While they may manage to score a few pennies here and there, the current compensation structure does not allow artists to take up art as a prospective career niche.
The Underlying Challenge
So, what are the challenges hindering fair compensation in the creative industry? The simple answer is that many factors contribute to this situation. Surprisingly, some lame narratives like the ‘myth of the starving artist’ have long been used to argue for the meagre compensations.
This myth resonates that a starving artist produces more creative content compared to one who receives fair compensation. In as much as there may be some truth, the current global economic conditions only favour those who are adequately compensated. How can the artists keep up in such an environment?
