Recently there’s been an uproar amongst artists exclaiming that they are constantly harassed for the use of their work in return for no pay at all.
We all appreciate art in one way or another, whether it’s watching films, listening to music or even the delightful decor in everyday public sight from illustrious street art to the graphics on business signs. Though in the fast paced and easily accessible world of the internet, many artists are having their work stolen or greedily negotiated by people who intend to use their art for their own benefit.
Remember when Metallica sued Napster because people were given access to their music for free?
There are still musicians who have their work shared for free online, and although there’s now the positive ultimatum of making a slow churning profit through streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, musicians have to more realistically rely on making money from touring and merchandise.
While this may not be a monumental problem for bands such as Metallica, there’s currently an underwhelming profit of less than 10% from what is made in the music industry that recording artists actually receive. Thanks to the rise of piracy and bootlegs online it’s not likely that today’s musicians will ever see the fortune made from their peers in the past.
It’s devastating that the drop in public interest for local musicians, who miss out on even a profitable bump in touring and merchandise, is evident but it’s even tougher for artists of different mediums, such as writing and illustrating. While it’s true that everyone has to start somewhere, there’s a disrespect that looms amongst the demand for these fields.
More recently there’s been a rise in artists exposing real requests for their time and final products in exchange for exposure alone. While debatable that exposure is valuable, there’s also a common trend of firm negotiations from people who have a misjudgement of how much an artist has already lost in materials, time and energy to create the expected artwork.
Do any other professions receive such treatment for their services?
Sure, artists could just make a living with more stability elsewhere but then who will be relied on to create profound works that help others wind down from their busy hours at such jobs? It’s a sad reality that as long as there’s artists who understand the emotional and social demand for music, books and paintings than unfortunately there also seems to be others who continue appreciating their work without considering its financial worth.
– Michael Naidos
